Gallstones diagnosis!

[claire30]

Hi everyone i have just been diagnosed with gallstones and my GP who has been very good with my pcos has said it COULD be linked with pcos and the fact that my body keeps excess fat as i am over weight and 31 and i was just wondering if anyone else has had gallstones diagnosed and has pcos.
If so how do you cope with this.
thank you
Claire xx

[mizuza]

my sis in law had gallstones and has pcos, i told her i get really bad heartburn indigestion sometimes that does not go away when taking rennie or gaviscon, one time it lasted for 3 hours it was agony...she said to keep an eye on it, i have not mentioned it to gp.

but i think alot of people with pcos get galstones. SIL had gallblader and very very large stone removed.

[Splatts]

My mum had them and in the end they removed her gallbladder

[claire30]

hi Amelia thanks for replying, i to thought mine was heartburn/indigestion for months but i was wrong this last time put me in hospital so i would say have it checked out by the doctor it can be serious if not treated.
also when you get attacks right down what you have eaten the past 24 hours that is a big trigger dairy products and fatty food (even small amounts), eggs red meats to name but a few
thanks again for replying
Claire xx

[mizuza]

claire thanks so much for the info....i will mention it at my next appointment and start keeping a diary, i never thought about it until sil mentioned it after her stay in hosp.

[claire30]

your welcome Amelia.
I'm just learning about it myself as its only been a week since my bad attack.
but please let me know how you get on and if i can help with anything else.
claire xx

[Misunderstood]

Hello Claire. Just read your post. I had my gall bladder removed 31 years ago. I've had PCOS for that length of time too. Undiagnosed I might add. Only had a diagnosis in April this year when my 17 year old daughter was diagnosed!!!! I think that there could be a link between gall bladder trouble and PCOS. In fact there was a poll on her a few months back on this very question,but although there are some on Verity that do have trouble, it wasn't conclusive. It is an interesting theory,especially with what your doctor said,it seems to make sense. Hope this has been some help.

[cherry219]

Hi guys,

I'm 28 and was diagnosed at 19. About 3 years ago I started having what I thought at the time was heartburn/indigestion, the 'attacks' got to the stage where I was having what you describe, Amelia, about once a week, absolute agony for several hours. It ended up with me thinking I was dying, my husband calling an ambulance because I was rolling on the floor screaming that I couldn't breathe because the pain was so bad. Even then they didn't diagnose gallstones, it wasn't until nearly a year later, after continued attacks (which I thought were linked to some mystery illness and was too scared to go to the docs about), that I became jaundiced and was taken in to hospital again, and finally they decided I had gallstones and whipped my gallbladder out.

All the docs/specialist/surgeon etc could not put a reason on why I had gallstones, as I have only ever been a few stone overweight and was not overweight during the time period it happened. I kept mentioning PCOS but they didn't want to know! They just said it was a mystery because I was so young with no risk factors. Bizarrely - 6 months later my husband had the same thing happen, and they couldn't figure out what caused it in him either! We have a low fat, relatively healthy diet although I do think the attacks were definitely linked to gluten - I noticed the attacks occurred whenever I had had something fatty (i.e. chinese) or a lot of bread in one day.

Anyway Amelia - I would so recommend you push for an ultrasound with your docs, because it's a horrible thing that for some reason doctors do not take seriously, and the pain is just indescribable and I wouldn't want anyone to go through that!

And Claire - when they did decide I had gallstones they gave me the option of destroying them with lasers or taking my gallbladder out, but then my body made the decision for me as my gallbladder became diseased and they had to take it out. But the care they gave me was shocking, I was home in bed, throwing up bile, jaundiced, in agony, unable to get out of bed for a week before anything was done. My husband was on the phone to NHSdirect every day, and they kept saying I'd just pulled a muscle from throwing up! The doctor wouldn't do a house visit because NHSdirect said that's what it was, it was absolutely ridiculous. So I would push to get it sorted before you get to that stage!

Good luck!

x

[Soooze]

Hiya
Just thought I'd join this thread as I've been told today that i probably have got problems with my gall bladder. I'm also pregnant which complicates things!!! I'd put my nausea and indigestion down to being pregnant, but then I started getting pains on my r/h side & shoulders & feeling generally under the weather. I saw the midwife this morning for a routine check-up and she told me to see the docs who has referred me for blood tests & told me to cut out sat fats in the mean time. Am gutted coz I've still got lots of chocolates left over from my birthday last week!

So will have to see what the results of my bloodtests are. She said she would refer me for an ultrasound if my results are bad or if I get any really bad pain.

What are the triggers for a bad attack? Does it vary from person to person? Are there any other tips for how to make yourself feel better?

Suzy
xxxx

[claire30]

hi everyone thankyou so much for replying to this message. since i posted i have cut out most dairy!! as fat free as i can get with out food being bland and cut out coffee as all i have read have said that caffeine will irratate the gallbladder. i've found that drinking fizzy drinks of any kind is not good and have had heart burn for the last two days!!

I have been given pethadine tabs for the pain if really bad and anti-sickness tabs and i have my first abdominal ultra sound on november 12th, so wish me luck.

i do feel kind of depressed that as well as everything to do with pcos we also "Unofficially" have to cope with this problem. But....
WE WILL COPE BECAUSE WE ARE WOMAN!! HA HA

[Blainey]

Can anyone tell me what the full symptoms are and where you would feel pain ?

I suffer from quite a bit of nausea, heartburn, indigestion, pain in my right side and diahorrea (SP ?).

My mum has a problem with her gallbladder and also many of the symptoms of PCOS but has never been diagnosed.

The more I tell her about it the more convinced she is that she also has it !!

Blainey.

[claire30]

hi Blainey,
Everything you have said for symptoms is what i have. indigestion meds don't help i have found.

my Dr said leaning forward when its bad re leaves preasure, which i find does work. read above to see suggestions on what to avoid and see if it gets better.
also go to your doctor, your mum as well and tell them everything. if they brush you off ask for a second opinion. you know your body better than a Dr will.

good luck
Claire

[claire30]

PS THE DOCTORS WILL NOT ADMIT THERE IS A CONNECTION BETWEEN PCOS AND GALLSTONES. XX WHY?

[Soooze]

Hiya
Am starting to feel better now. Cutting out fatty foods has definately helped. I don't have any caffeine anyhow so I think that's pretty much all I can do (how boring!). My doc said it had nothing to do with PCOS or pregnancy, but I'm sure I read somewhere that it has been linked to higher levels or estrogen.....so whatever! Gaviscon doesn't seem to make much difference with the indegestion - so I'll try the leaninf forward trick next time I get it!

Cheers!

Suzy
xxxx

[claire30]

hi suzy
glad your feeling better. i have also cut down on fatty foods and i am finding fizzy drink is also a no no and some dairy products but that could be just me!!

Good luck with everything.
Claire xx