gall bladder questions

[~CrazyMumOf3~]

just wondering how long roughly did it take to get your appointment with a surgeon, what category were you and how long did it take to have the surgery.

Its been confirmed that i have gallstones. Ive received a letter from the hospital outpatients stating im a category 2 patient who requires a semi-urgent appointment. Im having an attack once every week to week and a half. Was in ED the beginning of the month and the Dr said he was going to email outpatients to get them to change me to a category 1. Then another dr at ed i saw on sunday night told me there is no such thing as cat 1.

Also what did you use to manage your pain yourself at home. At first i was told to take Ibuprofen and buscopan but that isnt really working anymore and have been told to take panadine forte (which i cant take having to take care of the kids as it just makes me sleep)

i know to cut out fats from my diet (which im doing) but im sick of the same boring things so can anyone suggest something different that wont trigger an attack. Each time i have an attack i get told something else i cant eat. Im at the stage where i think its going to be safer to live off water!!

TIA

[Marydean]

Initially I was assessed as semi urgent, but after 2 ER admissions within a week, they bumped me to the urgent list and I had my surgery about 10 days later (urgent elective being a slower list than urgent non-elective, if that makes sense). It helped that the surgical registrar that did the rounds that morning had seen me the previous time so moved it along a bit quicker.

There are some tips on how to strip the fat out of your diet in this thread.

I mostly had attacks at night, i would take panadeine forte, maxolon (to stop vomiting up the meds) and buscopan when I felt it come on, I found sitting up right and sipping a hot drink (like black tea) helped a little, but in the end they were so bad I just woke DH up and had him take me to the ER every time. Basically they would give me morphine and DH had to organise time off work the next morning to look after our youngest. It was inconvenient but it was just the way it was for a while. My GP told me that the more often you go to the ER it increases your chances of getting surgery sooner, and it worked (eventually) for me. Try to focus on the fact that it's not forever, it will pass and you'll eventually feel better.

[Mother Goose]

yup - the more you present to ED the quicker you get bumped up the list. There is such a thing as a Cat 1 and if the doctor doesn't know that then s/he is a twit.

Buscopam, voltaren and stemetil worked for me. At work we routinely give tramadol as well. Just keep going back to the hossy for better pain relief and to reassess you.

Oh, I also found that pressure on my epigastric region made things worse for me

[~CrazyMumOf3~]

thanks ladies. I ended up back in ED that night with my 3rd attack for this month and 2nd for the week. Dr there advised me to see GP and get him to write to outpatients to try and hurry things along. Of to see him on monday.

They gave me morphine on monday which agreed with me alot better then the panadine forte.

[Lisa]

It took them 6 months to take my gallbladder out. Like you, I was presenting to the ED at least on a weekly basis... I would have to wait out the 4hrs after they gave me a pethadine or morphine shot but somedays they would get bad results back in my bloods (from my liver) which meant I had to stay in the hospital for around 3 days at a time. I was physically & emotionally a wreck, and I also had a 3yr old and a newborn at home at the time... thankfully my ENTIRE family rallied around to support us which made things a little easier but even with all those visits, it was only after 6 months that I was bumped up the list. It was such a dreadful wait. I had lost loads and loads of weight and looked terribly unhealthy for it... I was in constant pain and it wasn't only fats that brought attacks on for me... toward the end, even stress brought on an attack that had me in hospital for 3 days.
I definitely hope & pray that you don't get stuck in a similar situation to mine. Ask to speak to the surgeon and plead with him/her to do it asap... in the end that was the only thing that worked for me.

All the best sweetie.

[SeaChange]

The only other thing I used to do when I was having an attach was go into the shower and leave the water running onto my back and stomach, just to try and calm the muscles around that area. Even now I remember that as one of the worst times in my life health wise - so you have my sympathies.

[heliana]

I don't know if this works but I remember reading about it in a sandra cabot book - we got the book because mum had a fatty liver, which she fixed by using cabot's diet, so I reckon its worth a try. Plus if it does work, its overnight. (the colonic wasnt in cabot's method).
I googled it and got this:


The ONLY ingredients you need are virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

There are some optional ingredients: Prior to the cleanse, apple, carrot, orange or grapefruit juice for a brief fast. During the cleanse, some V8 juice or pineapple juice.

Following the cleanse he strongly recommends vitamin c, methionince, choline, inositol and lecithin be added to your daily supplements.

A. SUGGESTED PRE-CLEANSE

A colonic irrigation to clean out the system for easier elimination of the stones is recommended prior to the cleanse. You may need to start this a week or so before the treatment, to be able to have several colonic irrigations.

If you can't have colonic irrigation, consider an enema.

Do one or two days of modified fasting using fresh juices. Apple and carrot juice are probably the best. Unsweetened orange and grapefruit are next. Fresh is the first choice, fresh frozen second.

Drink as much as you like!


B. THE CLEANSE

Pick a day when you have nothing much to do the next day, and preferably even the day after. Friday is best for most people who have the weekend off. Don't make any plans to go out!

DO NOT EAT ANY SOLID FOOD after noon on the cleanse day. You may drink water or fresh juices, as much as you like.

DO NOT HAVE ANY FLUIDS after 6.30 pm (or 30 minutes before the start of your treatment) on the day of cleanse. Give your stomach time to evacuate all the fluids. Then the olive oil won't float up on top of the fluid and your chances of nausea will be greatly reduced.

YOU WILL NEED:
One pint of virgin olive oil.
One half-pint of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Peppermint oil (from your health food store)
Pineapple or V8 juice (note: Biotta vegetable juice from Health food store is likely better than V8)
Measuring cup or tablespoon size measuring spoon
Pitcher of water
Paint stirring stick
Jar with screw-on lid
Index cards
Net to drape under the toilet seat, to catch your stones

Place the net under you toilet seat so it will be ready when you need it. Lift the seat and place the net across the porcelain stool, then replace the seat so it will hold the net in place. Place the pitcher of water and the paint stirring stick next to the toilet ready for when you need them. Also have handy the screw-on lid for storing your gall stones and the index card.

If you should experience extreme nausea or vomiting, try chasing it with a small amount of V8 juice or pineapple juice. Or you might try adding a few drops of peppermint oil to the olive oil. Use one of these mixtures for a couple of doses and then go back to the olive oil and lemon juice without adding anything.

THE PROCEDURE

12 Noon
Stop eating all solid food

6.30 pm
Stop drinking all fluids

7.00 pm
Using a measuring device, pour ? cup (four tablespoonfuls) of olive oil and drink it.

Follow immediately with one or two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice.

Lie down and relax.

Repeat this every 15 minutes. Sit up, swallow it and lie down again. If possible, have someone else bring them to you.

Relax, read or watch television. Keep as still as possible. It is best to lie on your right side.

Repeat the exact dosage every 15 minutes until you have swallowed all of the pint of olive oil. If there is any lemon juice left, drink it all.

It is now probably 10.00 or 10.30 pm

Remember, if you have terrible nausea or vomiting sensations, use the peppermint oil in the olive oil, or chase the olive oil with a small amount of V8 or pineapple juice, until you can resume taking the plain olive oil and lemon juice.

While you are taking the olive oil and lemon juice, if it gets hard to swallow, take a little more time between doses. Try 20 minutes between doses, or 25 minutes. Try to swallow all of the oil and lemon juice. If you are too nauseated to get it all down, take as much as you possibly can.

You have finished the olive oil and lemon juice. Now go to bed and do your best to go to sleep. Lie on your right side. This position speeds up the process of the olive oil entering the gall bladder to act as a lubricant. This, along with the softening action of the lemon juice, will help to free the stones more easily and readily from the gall bladder. Stay in bed and forget everything until the urge to go the toilet comes.

That was really quite simple, wasn't it?

About 2.00 or 3.00 am you'll probably wake up with the unmistakeable urge to go to the toilet. It may not happen. For some, it doesn't happen until 11am the next day. If your first bowel movement is at 2.00 or 3.00 am you will probably have no stones in it, but you'll want to check to be sure.

When you have the first bowel movement after the cleanse, you'll use the pitcher of water and the paint stirring stick to wash the fecal material through the net. Pour water gently and use the stick to separate the stones from the fecal material. The fecal material will be runny and wash through the net.

You can use the index card, folded in half, as a makeshift shovel. Place the stones in the jar and screw the lid on. You may want to show your stones to some people. Many will be amazed, but some will still be unbelievers. You certainly want to keep your stones for a while to remind yourself that it was all worth while. After a few days they will dissolve (because of the lemon juice and oil). If you want to keep them for an indefinite period, store them in your freezer with a label - GALL STONES. DON'T' EAT!!!!

You may notice green objects and maybe greenish liquid excrement in the toilet bowel. Those are small gall stones. Some gall stones may be dissolved by the treatment.

Dr Lewis found that 1% of people failed to pass gall stones. If you are one of these 1%, don't be disappointed. In some individuals, the powerful action of the lemon juice causes the stones to dissolve before they are passed out of the body. IF you have only greenish liquid bowel movements, the cleanse has been effective.

[Marydean]

Heliana, I've read this remedy in a number of places, but I doubt anyone who is having acute gallstone attacks should use it. A gallstone attack is excruciating - often requiring a trip to hospital for painkillers like morphine - and are often set off by fat & oil in the diet - because the gallbladder constricts to release bile to digest them. I can't think of anything that is more likely to land you in the ER vomitting, writhing, screaming and passing out in pain than drinking the quantity of olive oil in this "cure".

[heliana]

fair enough Marydean, I did not mean to trivialise an obviously excrutiating condition.
I certainly didn't mean to try this whilst having an acute attack.
The only reason I put it there was because we had had such success with her other ''remedys'' in our family, that I thought it was worth mentioning.
I have no interest in promoting this at all, but I had never before heard of other alternatives, and I had found her other natural methods successful so I thought it worth mentioning.
However, I have never tried this myself so possibly should not have mentioned it.

[Marydean]

I agree Heliana, Dr Cabot's stuff is normally pretty sound, she' been around a long time and I reckon she's on the ball with the whole liver cleansing thing generally.

[Lisa]

I wish I had at least tried this when I had gallstones. A friend of mine tried it when she was put on the waiting list for her Op. She figured there was no harm in trying. She went to the Dr a week after finishing the flush thing and she had no stones in her gallbladder and has had no issues since.

I remember being told to try it and the thought of a pint of olive oil was what put me off... I was so worried it would set of an attack but my friend said it wasn't the case for her and she had many attacks before she tried it.

[~breeze~]

Oh I remember those attacks so well.... they are absolutely terrible!! (as you all know!)

Mine went untreated for 2 years with regular middle of the night visits to the local medical centre to be told it was heartburn & to take some buscapan. It did nothing, so I ended up being put on panadeine forte (which I now cant take due to becoming allergic to codeine somehow after those troubles with my gall bladder) Anyway after 2 years I had moved out of the city & saw a "country" Dr, straight away he said it sounded like gall stones & sent me for an ultrasound. My gall bladder was chock a block full of stones. I was booked in for surgery to remove my gall bladder & I think I waited 2-4 weeks for the surgery (sorry I cant remember, it was back in 2003). They put a few of the stones in a jar for me to see, I kept them for a few months lmao.
I cut out all fat which helped alot!!! The attacks were alot less frequent without fat in my diet (it was also great for my waist-line!) I cant think of what else I did, but the cutting out of fat really helped.

I hope you get the surgery soon, the pain is terrible!!!!

[Marydean]

It did nothing, so I ended up being put on panadeine forte (which I now cant take due to becoming allergic to codeine somehow after those troubles with my gall bladder)

ME TOO!!! Now, when I take it, it sets off an attack just like gallstones (but without a gallbladder).

[~breeze~]

Originally Posted by Marydean

ME TOO!!! Now, when I take it, it sets off an attack just like gallstones (but without a gallbladder).

Mine causes continuous vomitting for about 12 hours... funny how that can happen hey!

[littlelara]

Hi, I have them too, have had for years, but neverput my hand up to have them operated on. I started taking artichoke oil capsules with every meal(I think they help you metabolize rich or heavy/fatty food). Eventually I onLy needed to take them with dinner, then only with curries or fish and chips or particularly big meals.
May be worth looking into at least while you're waiting

[melissamiller707]

Originally Posted by ~breeze~

Mine causes continuous vomitting for about 12 hours... funny how that can happen hey!

Do you experience DIARRHEA too? I have a friend who experience this after the removing of her gall bladder. She always feel like going to bathroom. Is that a side effect?

[~breeze~]

Originally Posted by melissamiller707

Do you experience DIARRHEA too? I have a friend who experience this after the removing of her gall bladder. She always feel like going to bathroom. Is that a side effect?

No, I dont get diarrea, just the constant vomitting... but thats only my allergic reaction to codeine, nothing to do with gall stones or gall bladder. But since having my gall bladder out I'm pretty sure I visit the bathroom more frequently, its like most foods go straight through me so to speak. Which isn't bad, it makes me feel clean inside like theres nothingbad hanging around inside, all the bad stuff comes straight out!

[veebee2]

Hi Crazymum, hope you get yours out quicker than mine. I went to emergency every week for about 8 weeks and was told every time I went that it was a 6 month wait.
First I got Gastritis from taking to many ibruprofen (trying to stop the pain) and then I ended up with Pancreatits as a Gall stone blocked my Pancreas duct. I was an inpatient for about a week in a half and on liquid diet for most of that.
For the pain I used Tramadol (couldn't use Panadeine Forte either!).

I was told Pancreatitis is not uncommon with Gall Stones, so if I were you, keep going to Emergency Department when your in pain. At least then they can check bloods aswell.