The pain - gall stone revolt

[Arabesque 6,644]

Well my Sunday night was a lot of fun. 🙄 How can one small gallstone cause so much pain?? Far out!! I thought I was dying. My tolerance for pain is pretty high but I was groaning, moaning, almost crying with the pain, rolling about on my bed, doubling over, stretching out, sweating, ... all from my single gall stone which decided to revolt & stage an escape.

Thankfully it only lasted about 75 mins & not hours like some experience. I swear I was a minute from calling an ambulance when the pain quite rapidly reduced. After about 5 minutes I was pain free except from a vague discomfort that seemed to trace across & around my intestines. I wondered if I had actually passed it & the excruciating pain was the stone actually it forcing itself out of the bile duct & into my intestines.

I’m glad I was pretty sure the pain was from the gall stone. Not knowing what was causing it would have been way worse & extremely frightening.

I saw my GP this morning & she is sending me for an scan to confirm if the gall stone is still there or if I did pass it. (I forgot about the need not to eat before the scan otherwise I would have had it right after I saw her - blast.) If it’s still there, she’ll send me back to my surgeon to remove the stone hopefully endoscopically or smash it by ultrasound.

The stone could have formed because of my weight loss, high bilirubin levels, being on HRT or I could have had it for years without knowing. If I hadn’t had a scan at 7 months post sleeve because my liver function was off & had high bilirubin levels, I’d never had known I had a gall stone.

[WishMeSmaller 1,270]

9 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Well my Sunday night was a lot of fun. 🙄 How can one small gallstone cause so much pain?? Far out!! I thought I was dying. My tolerance for pain is pretty high but I was groaning, moaning, almost crying with the pain, rolling about on my bed, doubling over, stretching out, sweating, ... all from my single gall stone which decided to revolt & stage an escape.

Thankfully it only lasted about 75 mins & not hours like some experience. I swear I was a minute from calling an ambulance when the pain quite rapidly reduced. After about 5 minutes I was pain free except from a vague discomfort that seemed to trace across & around my intestines. I wondered if I had actually passed it & the excruciating pain was the stone actually it forcing itself out of the bile duct & into my intestines.

I’m glad I was pretty sure the pain was from the gall stone. Not knowing what was causing it would have been way worse & extremely frightening.

I saw my GP this morning & she is sending me for an scan to confirm if the gall stone is still there or if I did pass it. (I forgot about the need not to eat before the scan otherwise I would have had it right after I saw her - blast.) If it’s still there, she’ll send me back to my surgeon to remove the stone hopefully endoscopically or smash it by ultrasound.

The stone could have formed because of my weight loss, high bilirubin levels, being on HRT or I could have had it for years without knowing. If I hadn’t had a scan at 7 months post sleeve because my liver function was off & had high bilirubin levels, I’d never had known I had a gall stone.

So sorry this happened to you! It sounds awful. Hopefully the stone has passed and you will not require any intervention. I am surprised they did not remove your gall bladder with higher liver function tests and bilirubin.

I hope all goes well for you! 💕💕

[GreenTealael 24,941]

Speedy Recovery!

Edited May 19, 2021 by GreenTealael

[ms.sss 14,907]

Ugh. Glad you are feeling better today!

[Darkerthanblack1964 8]

Wait you can develop gallstones? Because of weight loss surgery?

[Arabesque 6,644]

14 hours ago, WishMeSmaller said:

So sorry this happened to you! It sounds awful. Hopefully the stone has passed and you will not require any intervention. I am surprised they did not remove your gall bladder with higher liver function tests and bilirubin.

I hope all goes well for you! 💕💕

My liver function was never an issue until after surgery & it went back to normal after I lost most of my weight. I’ve never had gall issues either until Sunday. My cholesterol had maintained the same okay level for about 30yrs until I was in the weight loss phase & up it went - back to my old levels now. So I guess that’s why they didn’t even consider removing the gall.

The high bilirubin levels were picked up in the post surgery blood works & is still high. It also was when I found out Gilbert’s Syndrome was in the family & I fitted the symptoms of that.

Had the scan this morning & I’ll ring my GP tomorrow for the results. Fingers crossed.

[Arabesque 6,644]

12 hours ago, Darkerthanblack1964 said:

Wait you can develop gallstones? Because of weight loss surgery?

Anyone can grow gallstones but rapid weight loss can be a contributing factor to their growth. I presume it’s because of all the cholesterol that’s released from our fat as we’re losing. Our body struggles to process this excess & it forms the gall stones. Many people with weight issues already have gall stones (more likely if they have high cholesterol) & it’s not uncommon for their gall to be removed when they have their weight loss surgery. Others have it removed a year or so after because they develop stones or grow more & have gall problems.

It may not happen to you at all but it’s good to be aware of it.

[Arabesque 6,644]

Well the stone’s still there so I’m seeing my surgeon Wednesday. Waaahh!! ☹️

The scan took for ever cause they ‘had difficulty visualising the gallbladder’. What the??? I mean what was blocking their view? A giant tummy? A fatty liver? Lots of fat? Don’t think so. They saw the pancreas easily & the gall is right above it. 🤷🏻‍♀️ They also kept asking me when I last ate. They require 6 hours & I hadn’t eaten for 12. Fun & games ahead.

[STLoser 1,087]

Well the stone’s still there so I’m seeing my surgeon Wednesday. Waaahh!! [emoji3525]
The scan took for ever cause they ‘had difficulty visualising the gallbladder’. What the??? I mean what was blocking their view? A giant tummy? A fatty liver? Lots of fat? Don’t think so. They saw the pancreas easily & the gall is right above it. [emoji2370] They also kept asking me when I last ate. They require 6 hours & I hadn’t eaten for 12. Fun & games ahead.

That is weird they had trouble visualizing the gallbladder. As small as you are now you wouldn't think that would be the case. Good luck with the surgeon. I had my gallbladder removed in January 2020 and it is amazing the pain those little stones can cause.. You'll feel better with it out!

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[Arabesque 6,644]

Surgery is on Tuesday next week. He said if I’d grown one stone I’d likely grow another one so the whole gall is going. Also had a second attack last Friday so five days after the first. Thankfully it wasn’t as bad as that first one but another reason to get it out quickly.

I asked him about them having difficulty visualising the gall bladder in the scan & he said it sometimes shrinks around the stone. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I hadn’t seen my surgeon for about 16 months - just checking with his support doctor every three months. He reviewed all my records & said he was very happy with my progress & I was doing very well. Gold star for me ⭐️ ... except for the stone I guess ☹️.

[GreenTealael 24,941]

1 minute ago, Arabesque said:

Surgery is on Tuesday next week. He said if I’d grown one stone I’d likely grow another one so the whole gall is going. Also had a second attack last Friday so five days after the first. Thankfully it wasn’t as bad as that first one but another reason to get it out quickly.

I asked him about them having difficulty visualising the gall bladder in the scan & he said it sometimes shrinks around the stone. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I hadn’t seen my surgeon for about 16 months - just checking with his support doctor every three months. He reviewed all my records & said he was very happy with my progress & I was doing very well. Gold star for me ⭐️ ... except for the stone I guess ☹️.

Good Luck!

[STLoser 1,087]

Sorry you have to get it removed, but you will feel better having it out. Good luck!

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[Arabesque 6,644]

Thank you @STLoser.

[Arabesque 6,644]

Surgery all over & home less one gall bladder. My surgeon used 3 of my sleeve incision sites & only added one new one. My blood pressure was very low after surgery. I spent 4 hours in recovery but it only got up to the 80s over 50s.

Have to say the pain is worse than when I had the sleeve but not that bad. It feels more like I’ve pulled all my stomach muscles & some I didn’t know I had. I also had some gas shoulder pain which I didn’t have at all with the sleeve. Took an oxy last night (night 2) but nothing today for day 3. No issue sleeping on my sides but have to say sneezing or coughing is a b*tch. Just got to get the bowels moving again. 😁

[STLoser 1,087]

I have to say, out of the surgeries I've had (c section, breast reduction, knee arthroscopy, and Loop DS), my gallbladder was the worst. The gas pain really hurt in my shoulder, and just like you said, sneezing and coughing were painful! I sure was glad to have it out and stop having the attacks, but it did hurt more than other surgeries for sure. I didn't have much pain at all from my wls, just nausea.
I'm glad you are home and recovering! Sending healing vibes your way. I hope you feel better fast!

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