Hi
I had an ultrasound on June 1st for suspected gallstones and was diagnosed with gallsludge.
I experienced my first episode with my gallbladder in August last year with pain I've never felt the like of before or since. The next episode came in March this year, and they have been coming ever since, increasing in frequency and intensity. Now I can't go 7 days without having an episode on at least 5 of those days. They used to only come in the early hours of the morning - from 1am to 7am, but now they are starting earlier - the earliest I've had was today, starting at 4pm and lasting 2 hours. The worst most recent was last Monday, starting at 6pm and lasting 4 hours.
This starts probably in a very common way, as colic in my stomach, localising to the gallbladder then radiating into my back and mirroring on the left side of my abdomen.
I've been prescribed co-codamol 30/100 for the pain however the effect this has is decreasing as I use it more for the more frequent and more painful episodes. Recently the pain in my back has been more uncomfortable than the pain in the gallbladder itself.
I'm being referred to a surgeon in outpatients for a chat about what can be done, and back to ultrasound for another
scan within the month.
This is beginning to have an emotional effect on me now, I feel so helpless to it - I really don't know what is causing the attacks I'm having recently. I keep a food diary with times marked by what I eat and drink so I can try to pinpoint what causes the attacks, but at the moment I'm at a loss. I've eliminated junk foods and fatty oily foods from my diet, as well as all dairy products bar a little semi-skimmed milk once a day in tea. Even EFA capsules cause me pain so they have been eliminated aswell. I do take a vitamin supplement every day, however this has been one of three different kinds (Centrum, Berocca and Multibionta) since last August so I feel that the vitamins are not responsible. I don't really want to give them up either, as my diet has become more restricted recently.
Today I had coffee, scrambled eggs and baked beans on toast with a diet coke and a fat free yogurt. Four hours later I had an attack, however I fail to see what could have caused this.
Also the co-codamol is having side-effects - constipation, exhaustion, nausea, diarrhea. I slept 16 hours yesterday
Is there anything you can recommend to me or any advice you can give me at all?
I'm not keen on the idea of a flush as I fear this may do more harm than good at the moment.
Many thanks
Rebecca.
RE: Gall 'sludge'
I would suggest cutting out eggs. I have been on lots of gallstone websites since I discovered that I could be suffering with this (after being taken into hospital with severe chest pain). All of the sites say to cut eggs out of your diet.
I have cut out most dairy, I still have semi-skimmed milk. I dont have any fat at all. Use Olive Oil and even that is very little amounts.
Chicken and fish are good, and I have been fine with them.
BUT definitely no red meat, pork related meat, or eggs.
Hope this helps. I know the pain and its awful.
RE: Gall 'sludge'
Oh forgot to say, Coffee is known to be good for gallstones, but only the caffinated coffee.
RE: Gall 'sludge'
Hi Rebecca,
So sorry to hear of the problems - as Mandanafan's partner I know how hard it is to try and pinpoint the trigger foods and how the diet has changed for us both dramatically!
I noticed you say you had a fat free yogurt - fine but it is also diary related and that with Eggs could have been the trigger, in some people it is so hairline even skimmed milk isn't an option.
I would also be VERY careful about products that claim to be low fat - they can often still contain too much fat even for someone with Gallstone trouble. Fortunately I enjoy cooking so its a little easier for us!
We now use a number of Soya products as a substitute but you have to watch the fat content on some, because they can be surprisingly high.
On the upside - most we do now use isn't that different to the diary alternative and does have added calcium. They do yogurts, cheese (not too great on its own, but good for sauces in moderation), milkshakes, custard and single cream substitutes. We also have found a nice vanilla ice cream that doesn't taste too different to normal.
Also oily fish is a great alternative, as well as Chicken and any other fish (except prawns).
If you haven't been checked as well, it might be worth having a Cholesteral test done - often the two are linked.
I would also suggest staying off the Coke for a little while as well - Use natural fruit juices or a high juice squash or, as mentioned the Soya Milk Shakes are a good alternative.
If I think of anything else I'll put it down for you. I hope it improves soon.
RE: Gall 'sludge'
Hi Rebecca
To help you understand why you keeping getting episodes of biliary colic - the gall bladder stores bile produced in the liver; when food enters the stomach, a message is sent to the gall bladder causing it to contract, so that bile goes down the bile duct, and mixes with the food leaving the stomach in the duodenum. The function of bile is like a detergent - it breaks down fat to assist digestion, and the fattier the meal, the greater the stimulus for gall bladder contraction. However, the situation can become so hair trigger that even a cup of tea will set off colic.
Colic occurs when small stones pass down the bile duct - it typically is upper abdominal, and also radiated into the back between the shoulder blades or Right shoulder area. Only smaller stones can pass down the duct - and you say that your scan showed sludge appearance - ie no larger stones. This would suggest that a flush could be appropriate and effective for you - certainly that is so in my clinical experience of similar cases, however you must decide what is best for yourself with your own medical advisers.
Your only real alternatives are to keep taking painkillers or accept the offer of lap. cholecystectomy from the surgeon (that's what surgeons do - use the knife). stone-dissolving medication is available for radiolucent cholesterol gallstones only - but causes diarrhoea, takes months, and the condition subsequently can return.
with best wishes for freedom from pain,
Doq xxx
RE: Gall 'sludge'
As a test (not recommended!) I have starved myself all day to have plain chicken and salad with water and I still had an attack at 1am that morning!
I just wanted to see if I could control the problem. I don't think our gall problems want to be controlled!
I didn't know coffee was good for gallstones, so you learn something new everyday.
I've been told to avoid alcohol, fatty meat, esp Pork - these have probably been mentioned already, I'm just not convinced that it's food related - could it be a gallstone that has got stuck in the duct or a combination of both?
I found co-dydramol wasn't as good as Solpadene, although by GP said they are the same strength.
Best wishes.
Lisa.
RE: Gall 'sludge'
Hi Lisa,
I had the same happen when I had gall bladder disease - ANYTHING I ate was a trigger for another attack, nausea or jaundice.
Nice thing was I lost a great deal of weight!!!!!!!!! Kept it off too.;)
I did take supplements by the handful a long as they were not oil based, to try to keep some semblance of balance inside and some strength to fight back and stay strong for the surgery. Not easy[:-]
Gillyxxx
PS As Doq rightly says, ;)please be guided by your medical advisors BEFORE trying anything like a gall bladder flush, which, if you have a diseased gall bladder, (and you won't know this until tests have been done) or larger stones (ditto) you could do yourself a great deal of harm. Always Always with something like this, self medication, check this out with your GP first. Find out the EXTENT of your sludge, and be guided by the results and also, keep strictly to the advised amounts of ingredients in the flush.
Gall Bladder disease/problems CAN run in families, it certainly does in mine[&:] All the female line in my family have gall bladder problems in varying degrees. It is the DEGREE or level of disease/condition which you must know before any self medication.
Gxxx
RE: Gall 'sludge'
Hi Lisa,
I'm in the peculiar position of having had gall stones twice. My first time round, 1978, I was told that the bladder had been removed. Turns out now that only the bottom part was removed, so here I am again. My full story is a lot more complicated than this, but that's my body, not yours, so I won't scare you with it all.
The good Doq has described how and why the liver/gall bladder work, for me, the only answer is to keep it all running on a basic trickle and never let it get fully fired up. This means smaller, more frequent meals, still with all the provisos already given on the type of foods which can be tolerated. Breakfast has to be taken gently, eating slowly and letting my stomach fill at a leisurely pace to stop the bile pouring out quickly after the fast of the night. Then it's a fairly constant graze until bedtime.
I can't promise it will work for you, but starving your self all day didn't work, so this just might.
Relaxation techniques work as well, I always find that tension and stress go to my 'weak points' - this is enough to set of an attack.
Good luck with it.
RE: Gall 'sludge'
I don't know how much sludge there is - my GP seems apathetic at the best of times (and likes to point out on every visit that he is the doctor so how can I possibly know whats wrong with me), and even he stated I'd been given a half-diagnosis, which is why I'm being sent back.
I'm not even going to try to self-medicate, I'm just going to eliminate what hurts me and take painkillers when I need to.
Thanks for the advice on the eggs. I'll cut them out too.
So far I've been eating smaller meals as big ones have hurt from the kick off.