Ugh--gall bladder attacks SUCK

Woke up with one this morning. Haven't had one in about a year. This SUCKS. Got the "knife in the back" feeling, the burps, and can't eat much for fear of making it worse.

All this just in time to coincide with DH going to Florida for a conference, leaving me sole toddler-wrangler for three days...and then said toddler and I get on a plane to meet him in Florida. (Yeah, stress exacerbates the gall bladder thing--how conveeeenient.)

Blech.

How can I get this attack over with sooner rather than later? :shrug:

But I hope you find something that works. :(

Is it stones? If so, can you have them removed?

I don't know if it's stones. Well, I do know that after I had a MASSIVE attack a couple of years ago that it was likely stones passing, and I should have gone to the hospital. Of course, I found that out after the attack was over, when I was doing the customary thing--surfing the Web for medical info! :P

These relatively minor attacks (minor compared to the "should have gone to the hospital" one) end in a few days. I'm just having a self-pity party! :party: :cry: :party:

:hug:

I'll come to your party, but only if you're taking care of yourself. :P

:party:

:hug:

After I was diagnosed with gallstones, my GP referred me to a surgeon. I had just started a new job and didn't want to be out because of surgery, and he agreed it wasn't critical to remove the gall bladder just yet. However, he cautioned me that if the attacks became frequent or they lasted more than 8-10 hours without a noticeable decrease in intensity, I was to call him and schedule an appointment so that he could reassess the situation. When the attacks became an almost daily occurrence, I did see him and he determined it was time to remove the offending item. Please consider seeing a doctor about this.

This one started sometime in the early morning hours while I was still asleep, I'd guess, and it doesn't hurt nearly as much now (about 12 hours). These really are minor, and very few and far between (the last one was sometime last year)--just a dull ache and burps. But my dad had his gall bladder out, and I suspect that's in the cards for me sometime down the road as well.

if its done laproscopically, as about 90% or so are these days. That's how I had mine out and to be honest, if I had had to go back to work I could have done so 3 days later. The worst part was the discomfort for a couple of days from the CO2 gas leaving my body. CO2 molecules are a bit larger than many capillaries and I was not comfortable so long as the CO2 was moving its way through to the lungs to be exhaled. But some pain medication took care of that. I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better. I had colic attacks start like that - I'd wake up and be in pain - lousy way to start a day. Take care.

and I am truly sorry. Mine got so bad just before I had it removed that I had attacks brought on, seemingly, just by drinking water. I finally had the gall bladder removed 11 years ago. I have a 5 year old and I can't begin to imagine having to parent while in the middle of an attach. Trying to work through one at the office was bad enough. One thing that I did find which seemed to help me terminate an attack a bit quicker was exercise. I have a NordicTrac ski machine and when I was having an attack I would go down and use it. It truly did seem to help. Do you at least have some good pain medication that you can take at least in the evenings when the kidlet goes to bed so that you can get some relief? I truly hope so. Sending good thoughts and healing wishes your way.

I took three Tylenol a while ago to take the edge off, and then because MG Jr. was acting like a TV zombie while yanking all kinds of toys out of his cupboard, I dragged him outside to rake leaves. And I feel a lot better!

Thanks for the good thoughts and healing wishes! I'm certain they helped as well! Blessed be! :hi:

They come and go, sometimes very painful but only lasts a few hours at a time and maybe happens once every month or two. I have been living with this so far without being checked out, since it's been happening for years now I figure if it were life threatening I would probably already be dead lol. However, another symptom that I have every so often is tightness in my upper abdomen, not that it hurts it's just uncomfortable have any of you also experienced this?

Nobody knew that my dad's funny feeling in his back and "indigestion" were gall bladder related till he passed out from the pain. Luckily he was in his doctor's waiting room at the time. Went to the hospital by ambulance, and that asshat of an m.d. said to my mom, plain as day, "I'll bet anything it's pancreatic cancer." Yeahhh just one of the deadliest types of cancer known to man. Thanks a LOT. We nearly fainted--with relief--when we found out it was just his gall bladder.

I don't know about tightness in the upper abdomen. My pain is mostly in my back. But then, when I had really bad attacks, yeah, I felt like something was just at the top of my diaphragm. Is that what you feel?

Yeah, it's in my upper stomach area, it sort of comes and goes but it's been that way for years now and when the pain hits it's always in my stomach area, never the back. One of these days I should probably get it checked out.

I'm not saying all doctors suck, but when they suck, they REALLY suck.

You want to have it out before it becomes an issue and while they can still do it laprascopically. Trust me on this. The recovery is no biggie, but you don't want to have to undergo the open procedure. THAT recovery is bad. Real bad.

Just what I need!
:rofl:

But I can see what you mean about getting it out early. I'll talk to my doctor about it again--see if I can convince her to check my gall bladder.

You have my sympathy. :(

Stop ALL roughage in your diet. Go to all liquids and applesauce.

Call your Dr. and take painkillers/ex-lax.

I had to go by ambulance every time I had an attack. It was that painful!

Some say that a gallbladder attack is the worst pain a human can know,

outside of child birth.

DH swears that kidney stones create the worst pain imaginable. Me, I popped out a kid (with an arm over his head, to boot) without any meds, so this ain't nuthin' on the pain scale. Pretty low on the fun, scale, though. :(

I did have the wherewithal to remember the "don't eat hard-to-digest food" so I ate very little today--banana, bread, water. That helped keep the pain to a minimum.

Sorry you were ambulance-worthy every time! Yikers. :scared:

I was literally, climbing over the back of the couch because I couldn't breath!
The EMT's had to pull me off the couch, I was so much in pain. I was rushed by
ambulance NINE TIMES before I finally had projectile vomiting on an intake nurse :P
and that got me into the ER asap! That also got me a surgeon, who said, "You have
a HOT gallbladder and it needs to come out!" They scheduled me for an Upper GI but
in the meantime I went to my own Dr. He gave me Lortabs 7.5 mg. and those helped
but after the upper GI? I didn't have anymore problems!! Weird!! But I was pretty
much reduced to an all liquid diet by that time because I didn't want to risk another
attack. I've had three kids and the gallbladder attacks were the most painful!!

On Edit: My Dr. said the GI may have dislodged a blockage caused by my pregnancy.

I was terrified enough, even though I was able to breathe (painful with each breath though) when I had my worst attack. I can't imagine being that bad!

So did they take the thing out after all that? Or not because the upper GI "solved" the problem?

And dang, what is it about pregnancy/kids that brings this thing on? What is the connection? (Just something else to blame on my darling kid! :rofl: )

:P

Except a lot of teeth. :( (Lost teeth while pregnant too.)

The way it was explained to me, if I remember correctly, is that a full blown gall bladder attack causes the
gall bladder to 'swell UP'; literally; and push up on the diaphragm (I think) and that causes the inability to breath.

She was in surgery for a whopping 15 minutes. Stayed in the hospital for three hours, and now, she's home.

I could deal with that. :hi:

Try drinking hot water and you need to have that thing out asap, i had mine taken out when i was 21 and they did the old way, now they do it mostly by laparoscopy, much batter recovery time.

google it if you want ot go to curezone.com