Hi all,
I’ve been suffering with gallbladder pain for years now, this is really severe pain not just the mild type. I have had to adjust my diet so much that I now weigh about 6 stone (roughly 41kg, for context I am female in late 20s). For years doctors have told me the pain I am experiencing isn’t actually caused by anything and that essentially they were okay to leave me be because they didn’t believe my pain or its severity. I fought and fought to get seen by a gastro specialist who did another ultrasound (one of very many) who finally confirmed I had cholesterol stones!! For so long I have been belittled and disbelieved and they’ve been there the whole time. Even he says this shouldn’t be causing the pain as they are small but I’m in pain nonetheless! He has agreed to send me to a GI surgeon to discuss it but doesn’t think surgery is the right thing because of the complications for example; it may not resolve the pain or may leave me with adhesions etc. I am worried about surgery too because even without the usual risks and anxiety around surgery, I am incredibly weak and frail now because of how long they’ve left me like this, I have bouts of low blood pressure/fluctuations and tachycardia. I do not think I am fit for surgery at all.
But I guess my question is: what are my other options? The pain sometimes leaves for a few weeks but it always comes back with a vengeance and when its there its not just a few hours or days, its months. Its severe to the point that it is hard to focus on anything else and it makes me not want to eat/scared to eat to make the pain worse. Sometimes I just have to eat through the pain and suffer all the more for it but even when I am eating I don’t seem to be putting on any weight. I feel as though I’m going to waste away at this point with how low my weight is and how poor my health is as a result of all this.
Any advice or stories that may help is much welcome and appreciated. Thank you.