Hi - I’ve been suffering with symptoms for the last 9 months. It started off with a dull ache on the right hand side, hot and cold flushes and diarrhoea - which was constant for about 3 months after I ate anything at all. I lost 1.5 stone in this time. I had an ultrasound in January and they found 2 gallstones (I’m 28 years old and slim so they were quite surprised)and dilated bile ducts (not too sure what that means). I was also sent for a Hida scan which showed the ejection fraction as normal at 36%. From January to now, the diarrhoea has subsided but I still get it if I eat anything too fatty, I get bad nausea (particularly during the night), indigestion, a burning/nausea feeling in my stomach between my breast bone and belly button, I also have a constant ache on the right hand side, including into my back. The pain has never been awful but it is a constant ache, always getting worse after eating, particularly anything fatty, or if I drink squash for some bizarre reason? A glass of orange squash/Ribena kills me, it makes me feel so sick! Alcohol is also a huge no go!
I have been placed on the list to have my gallbladder removed. I’m just conscious that my gallbladder function is considered normal so it’s making me slightly apprehensive for surgery. I suppose I’d just like to know what others think/experiences are etc. Thank you x
I had my GB removed in 2015 … I still suffer with diarrhoea and have to take immodium. About a year after removal I had to have a further scan because I was still suffering pain almost as though the GB was still there. Someone on here told you to think carefully before having your GB removed; I would go along with that - my reasoning is this … doctors do not seem to have any clear idea how to deal with these issues after removal. Yes, they know you should be careful with diet i.e., as little fat as possible but other than that there seems little backup from them.
Of course if your pain became really bad/unbearable then of course you don’t really have an option. But I wish you well.
Surgery is always big decision. Some of us do continue with the RHS ache but many don’t. I had mild RHS ache before and still have it after cholecystectomy. I did have gall stones but probably, in retrospect, I could have lived with just having the ache. However you have other symptoms too which are affecting your life. . A low fat diet isn’t the end of the world :0) … it really isn’t.
However the one thing I would say is that people don’t often mention that if you leave it and it becomes worse, if you get GB attacks, the GB can become inflamed. Inflammation is a slightly different situation to taking out a ‘quiet’ GB with just stones in it. Leaving it until it becomes inflamed can lead to the GB being effectively ‘stuck’ to the surrounding tissue including your liver. The inflammation makes it a little harder for the surgeon to see what’s going on when they come to do the op. If they can’t see too well they will abandon the keyhole surgery and move to open surgery which is a much bigger deal. It’s because if a GB that has inflammation and gunk surrounding it, then it can be difficult for them to image via key hole and as they need to be sure they are cutting the right duct … well, you definitely don’t want the wrong one damaged.
It’s just a consideration that if you decide to go for the op it … get it done sooner rather than later. Don’t wait until you have had multiple GB attacks. IMHO of course.
Since my op, which didn’t change the RHS ache, I have had managed indigestion for about 4 years but which has currently stopped and the loo is manageable too. Bear in mind I am a great deal older than you.
Do your research, ask yourself about your diet and what is more important to you. I have been vegan for decades and so dairy isn’t an issue for me but like anyone, I like chips :0) . I can eat them no problem !
Good luck if you go ahead.
You are very young to have gall bladder problems as you say. Not many doctors or patients are aware that gall stones of type can be dissolved with Ursodeoxcholic acid tablets. You may well find you’ll be told your gall bladder must be removed to sort you out but that may be the wrong information…
I was well past 70 when my gall bladder started playing up in a terrible way. I like you had a functioning gall bladder but mine had 5 cholesterol based stones in it.
I was told by an inexperienced registrar that I must have it out. She said that removing the gall bladder was the only way to get any ones problem resolved. That was a blatant lie.
Her superior confirmed she was wrong in writing. He gave me my first ‘script’ and within 6 months 3 stones had gone and two remained but I was symptom free. The biggest stone was 17mm was reduced to 10mm and the other stone was insignificant. at 79 my gall bladder is operational with no symptoms.
It surprised me that she put forth her ignorance by stating she had never heard of dissolution of gall stones. There must have been innumerable similar occurrences to mine.
It is best to research all you can in what I have said and then make an informed decision and contemplate that once a gall bladder is gone it will never come back. If you like me do not have adverse effects in dissolving ‘your’ stones you can of course get it out at a later ( perhaps much later) date if required. As seen on this forum, not all patients are trouble free without a gall bladder.
The first massive objective is to find a surgeon who knows all there is to know about gall bladders such as for instance Mr SParsonsof Nottingham… One of the finest NHS gastric surgeons in the land that any one could possibly consult. Another who is a professor knows a fraction that Mr P knows about the subject and if I had been irresponsible enough and taken the Professor’s advice I would not now have a gall bladder The difference in experience in these important subjects is an eye opener to say the least.
You are very young to have gall bladder problems as you say. Not many doctors or patients are aware that gall stones of type can be dissolved with Ursodeoxcholic acid tablets. You may well find you’ll be told your gall bladder must be removed to sort you out but that may be the wrong information…
I was well past 70 when my gall bladder started playing up in a terrible way. I like you had a functioning gall bladder but mine had 5 cholesterol based stones in it.
I was told by an inexperienced registrar that I must have it out. She said that removing the gall bladder was the only way to get any ones problem resolved. That was a blatant lie.
Her superior confirmed she was wrong in writing. He gave me my first ‘script’ and within 6 months 3 stones had gone and two remained but I was symptom free. The biggest stone was 17mm was reduced to 10mm and the other stone was insignificant. at 79 my gall bladder is operational with no symptoms.
It surprised me that she put forth her ignorance by stating she had never heard of dissolution of gall stones. There must have been innumerable similar occurrences to mine.
It is best to research all you can in what I have said and then make an informed decision and contemplate that once a gall bladder is gone it will never come back. If you like me do not have adverse effects in dissolving ‘your’ stones you can of course get it out at a later ( perhaps much later) date if required. As seen on this forum, not all patients are trouble free without a gall bladder.
The first massive objective is to find a surgeon who knows all there is to know about gall bladders such as for instance Mr SParsonsof Nottingham… One of the finest NHS gastric surgeons in the land that any one could possibly consult. Another who is a professor knows a fraction that Mr P knows about the subject and if I had been irresponsible enough and taken the Professor’s advice I would not now have a gall bladder The difference in experience in these important subjects is an eye opener to say the least.