May have gall stones....HELP

[lifetastesbetter]

Hi everyone,

Well, last night I went to the ER after a good few ours of intense pain and agony in my stomach (under my boobs but above my belly button) It also happened the night before last. Both nights this was accompanied by nausea and vomitting. Anyway, I couldn't stand the pain anymore last night so I went to get checked. They first gave me a shot of morphine in my butt and came back a little later to check on me and I was still in agony. Then they tried this pepto bismal type drink that numbs your mouth/asophogus/stomach etc. That didn't help. So finally they gave me a shot of Buscopan in a short time I felt relief.
Anyway they recommended I see my family doctor today, which I did and get a referral for an ultrasound. So Im just waiting on that call. But it sounds as if the doctor thinks its gall stones. The first thing he said was to stay away from fatty and greasy foods and eat lightly. Well... Im not willing to pack on the 39 lbs I've worked DAMN hard to lose for these stupid stones.
I'm feeling really discouraged here. I'd rather honestly have the operation to have my gall bladder removed (IF it is gall stones) and stay on plan...rather than eat low calorie. What should I do? Does anyone else have stones and stick to this WOE?
Any support/advice/information on this subject would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[tmn]

Re: May have gall stones....HELP

If you have gall stones, you'll want to follow the doctor's advice on this and cut down on fat.

The gall bladder's function is to take care of fat. When you ingest fat, the gall bladder moves and shoots out a mucus that wraps around the fat to take care of it.

When you eat fat and the gall bladder attempts to do its thing, those stones could possibly get pushed out the gall bladder but then get stuck in the duct, causing life-threatening situations. The pain is from the stones blocking the way out of the gall bladder, causing some wild pressure in there.

Admittedly, I've wondered if the gall bladder would act differently between saturated fats and unsaturated fats. Would olive oil cause an attack or not? I'm not sure. I was having milder problems for months until the more severe one and can't tell you just what I was eating each time. However, the day of the attack, I was eating our family's version of chili that is loaded with hamburger.

My gall bladder was removed - it was nothing but scar tissue full of stones. Been good to go ever since where that is concerned.

I hear your frustration. Will be praying for you...

[clogger]

Re: May have gall stones....HELP

lifetastesbetter,

I just wanted to say I'll be thinking and praying for you . I wish I had some advice for you, but this is unfamiliar territory to me. tmn had some great advice - to follow the doctor's orders. It seems you may only have to change your WOE until you have the gallbladder removed. It's not worth risking your life to not follow what the doctor suggests. Please let us know what you find out.

[theredhead]

Re: May have gall stones....HELP

If it turns out to be gall stones, get to the surgeon ASAP. It's one of those things you want to just get it over with and the surgery is a piece of cake for most folks. I had mine out many years ago and haven't had ANY trouble since. I can eat whatever I want with no problem. It's a lot better than dealing with continuing pain and confusion about dietary restrictions.

[SwissMiss]

Re: May have gall stones....HELP

Hi Kristen, I'm sorry to read that you are unwell and in massive pain. I think best is to await the diagnosis. Perhaps it's gall stones, or maybe a gastritis (which I had in the past a few times, similar pain though - also I had kidney stones in 2001 and pain lastet for days until the suckers passed!).

Right now you have to focus on getting better - becoming healthy again and then you can concentrate on loosing further weight. Just don't stress yourself about it right now - that's the worst thing for your body right now.

Warm wishes and hope you get well soon.

[lifetastesbetter]

Re: May have gall stones....HELP

Me again,

Well I was back in the ER last night for pain medication. What I don't understand is why I can eat fatty meals for breakfast and lunch and have NO problems after eating. It is only in the evening about an hour after I eat dinner. I've ate different things each of the 3 nights and nothing new or out of the ordinary. I had blood work done for my liver/gall bladder that came back normal and I had an ultrasound done this morning and the tech said he didn't see signs of anything abnormal but couldn't really say. I have to wait til my family doctor gets the results and talks it over with me.

I am really frustrated here. The doctor last night told me that by doing atkins I was putting my body into "starvation mode" which we all know is a bunch of bull !! I wanted to tell him to read the book before he starts in on telling me how I should or shouldn't be eating. He also said that this diet is meant to be done for 3-4 weeks tops and it isn't a 'lifestyle'....when infact its quite the opposite. I just don't know what to do I have worked really hard to get these 39 lbs off and Im terrified of gaining any of it back. But for now he said that 10% of what I eat can be fat. He basically said thats like having a handful of nuts per day. Other than that he basically said to eat greens/salad etc. No cheese, no dairy, no nothing! ARGGHHH!! I just got back on track on this freaking diet and I'm so mad. Now I have this one doctor telling me this is because I've been consuming too much fats and that I'm basically starving myself. (The other one said it wasn't diet related so I don't know what to think!)

I just can't wait for some answers because I want to stay on this diet plan and if it means I have to have surgery then so be it. I've had two ceserean sections so a gall bladder surgery won't be anything in comparison.

Another thing, last night one of the nurses said after her mother had her gall bladder removed that she still couldn't consume anything fatty in her diet. I have been reading alot of the posts on this board regarding gall bladder issues and from what I understood is once the gall bladder was out, you could resume eating fats again. I'm so confused!

I just want to eat!! I havent ate since dinner yesterday and even then I threw that up at the hospital.

[tmn]

Re: May have gall stones....HELP

Needless to say, some doctors haven't a clue what Atkins is about. So just blow off what that clown was saying. I've had doctors give me the thumbs up on it so there is no consensus out there...

You shoud still be good with vegetables, fowl and fish. Don't know why but chicken soup tends to be one of the foods I can eat, regardless of the situation. It's the fat part that's the huge problem. I'm currently going without dairy, too, (for other reasons) and can get my fat in with olive oil. I would try using olive oil in place of butter, etc., and see if you can handle that. (Besides, olive oil brings out a flavor in food that I simply love!)

The mucus that the gall bladder puts out originates from the pancreas. For some people (I suspect very few), the body can still make stones from the pancreas after the gall bladder is gone. Frankly, I wouldn't sweat it. Some people just have major hereditary issues with stones but for most of us, once the gall bladder is gone, that's it, problem solved.

I had to laugh, though. TWO Caesarians?! ouch!! Yep, if you have this done, it should be a piece of cake for you.

Hang in there. It's all a nuisance but sooner or later, you'll be putting it all behind you.

[OzLover]

Re: May have gall stones....HELP

I had my gallbladder out & eat this WOL with no problems. I can guarentee you that the gallbladder attacks are only going to get worse.

[SwissMiss]

Re: May have gall stones....HELP

Well let's look at the positive points here:

1. your blood work came back normal
2. nothing abnormal on the ultrasound. If there were stones - the tech would have told you.

I can't see why a gall bladder needs to be removed if there aren't any stones. If the gall doesn't work correctly, I'm sure there are meds to normalise it.

I know how frustrating it is, when you don't know what is causing you pain and when doctors can't help you immediately.

Hope you can see your family doctor soon and you'll get the diagnosis and can treated at once.

[tmn]

Re: May have gall stones....HELP

2. nothing abnormal on the ultrasound. If there were stones - the tech would have told you.

I really hate to say this, but the ultra sound doesn't always pick them up. It happen to see one stone in me when I had my attack and the gall bladder was full of them. My sister was having one attack after another and the ultra sound never found anything conclusive. Because of it, the doctors kept delaying any action until one evening, she totally collapsed at work in pain. They threw her into a room (she worked at the hospital at the time) and removed her gall bladder that morning. Her's, too, was loaded with stones yet the ultra sound never picked them up.

[OzLover]

Re: May have gall stones....HELP

2. nothing abnormal on the ultrasound. If there were stones - the tech would have told you.

Tech's are not allowed to diagnose~~~that is beyond their scope of practice. After the ultrasound is done a radiologist reads it & gives a diagnosis.

I am a nurse in an OR & I cannot even begin to tell you how many times an ultrasound says no stones & surprise the gallbladder that we have removed is full of stones!!!

If the gall doesn't work correctly, I'm sure there are meds to normalise it.

I know of no meds that normalize the gallbladder.

[SwissMiss]

Re: May have gall stones....HELP

2. nothing abnormal on the ultrasound. If there were stones - the tech would have told you.

Tech's are not allowed to diagnose~~~that is beyond their scope of practice. After the ultrasound is done a radiologist reads it & gives a diagnosis.

I am a nurse in an OR & I cannot even begin to tell you how many times an ultrasound says no stones & surprise the gallbladder that we have removed is full of stones!!!

If the gall doesn't work correctly, I'm sure there are meds to normalise it.

I know of no meds that normalize the gallbladder.

Well - here in Switzerland - they tell you right away. Reason being because it's only done by radiologists.

And apart from "regular" medicine - there is always TMC (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and homeopathy which actually do normalize the liver and gall activity - again here in Switzerland we have this.

Anyways - my point is to await the diagnosis and until then keep as hopeful and positive as one can be.

[Porcelain]

Re: May have gall stones....HELP

Well, the only thing I have to ask/say is: How long have you been on the diet? Because it takes a long time for a gallstone to form. As soon as a doctor hears "Atkin's" they say that is the cause even if the person has only been on it a few months and there is no way, if there were no stones before, that this would cause a problem.

Some ways to know if you may be predisposed to getting gallstone is the "F's"

Fair, Fat, Forty, and Firtile. Which I soooo fall into every category.

[lifetastesbetter]

Re: May have gall stones....HELP

The ultrasound tech said he is not allowed to say whether there is stones or not so really that wouldn't help me any. I have to wait til I see my doctor next week to know for sure whats up.

[lifetastesbetter]

Re: May have gall stones....HELP

Well yeah, the ultrasound tech said he can't say anything. He said they aren't allowed, I have to wait til my family doctor gets the results.

I ate only salad for dinner last night. I made a salad with mixed spring greens/spinach, radishes (good for thinning bile doc said), cauliflower, strawberries, a few craisins, mushrooms, and a few slivered almonds. Sounds odd...but it was good. However I missed my meat =o( I am really feeling discouraged about not being able to follow my WOE right now.
I had no pains after eating this meal.