I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, if not I apologize.
Yesterday I suddenly had this awful pain that started in my lower stomach, moved to my back, and then went to my upper abdomen. I compared the pain to that of pitocin induced contractions without the epidural. It really hurt. It wasn't constant but the pain came and went. I went to the ER because it wasn't the first time I felt this but it hurt much more.
At the ER they said I have hypertension and gallstones. The paper they gave me said I had trace amounts of blood, ketones, and also 30 mg/dl of protein in my urine.
Anyone have experience with any of these things? Does weight play a factor in any/all of these? I am 25 and weigh 309.
Last edited by livelaughlovesunshin; 06-25-2012 at 06:04 AM.
i dont know anything about those although i've heard that people who lose weight quickly run the risk of gallstones...i've never dealt with gallstones or known anyone who has although a friend up north had to have her gallbladder out because of it
but i'm glad you went to the ER and are taking steps to manage it...hope you get to feeling better soon
I had gallstones, my daughter had gallstones at the age of 15, oldest son at 20 something and then last but not least my youngest son had them. None of them were weight loss related. Daughter and sons were not losing weight because they didn't need to. When I had them I had lost weight but it wasn't attributed to that. I had them years before and apparently they were silent for many years only to come back with a vengence. We have all had our gallbladders removed. The surgeon(s) told us or me (many years ago) it was stress/weight related, not weight loss but how much I weighed, I was about 160'ish at that time. Fast forward to when daughter and sons had them the surgerons told us it was a virus so who the heck knows. I just know it is/was the most horrible pain every. I would rather give birth than ever go thru that again!
Hey! I had gallstones when I was 13 (well that was when they discovered them) and had really bad pain episodes for years before that. I was overweight but not very overweight and I had no family history. I would have been in the 'overweight' bmi range but not at the upper end of it. They kept saying to me "Gallstones - Fat, female and forty". It's definitely weight related.
Are you getting your gallbladder removed? Be careful if the pain's getting worse, by the time I was in surgery my gallbladder had been inflamed so much over the years that it had gotten glued to my liver and I was in surgery for 6/7 hours more than I was supposed to be.
Anything greasy set me off with an episode, and sometimes spicy food too. It's good that you're losing weight right now already, this could actually be really great encouragement for you as weird as it sounds. Eat as many whole foods as possible and nothing processed.
It sure sounds gallstonish, I have had them for nigh on three years only and I can safely say they were diet induced (I dropped weight using Alli).
I have attacks now and then if I stray off the low fat, spicy free diet. Ideally the fat content of any meal you have should not exceed 5grams. This really does test your cooking at first ... and palette (whatever else, fat adds taste unfortunately). Rule of thumb is *bland* food but then all dieters have adjusted palettes to poached chicken breasts and undressed salads so no biggie.
No cheese, low fat milk, cut out nuts except for perhaps 8 almonds a day (good oil). Only use extra virgin olive oil if you need to dress anything. Eggs can be bad news but they get a bad press, a poached one now and then should be fine.
Gallstones are very common and people can have them and never ever suffer from attacks. If you watch your diet then you need not ever have your gallbladder out .. this is what I am aiming for. Indeed, you can have it out and still suffer because stones dont pass like kidney stones, they lodge, like in your liver, very ouchy and they can be there after the gallbladder is removed.
However, take them seriously. The risk of pancreatitis is very real if a stone creeps into the pancreatic duct. Please don't feel that you could just stand the pain ... that is bad but pancreatitis is worse.
The only positive thing is that it is a way to enforce your diet anyway and those little temptations that may have beckoned before and taken all your will to resist now become rather more serious no-noes.
If you do have an attack, watch your eyes for discoloration. Any yellowish tinge means you need to go to hospital. There is a danger of jaundice. If you get very feverish, or vomit profusely, then go to the hospital. That is about it. I actually did get the latter and did not go because there was no yellow threat and I was in the middle of Nanowrimo and did not want to interrupt that. It was stupid of me.
If you do get pain and mild fever and know you can get through it (possibly three or four hours of misery is all) try not to take things like ibuprofen. An aspirin if essential, but nothing that could affect your liver.
And things that can help. Applejuice with meals, unsweetened and natural, assists with bile.(not excessive amounts because that can upset your tummy badly in the long term). Milkthistle capsules and artichoke capsules with meals (they assist with bile and assist your liver.
Your gallbladder is for storing bile which is needed to break down the fats you eat. When you eat too much fat, the bladder *squeezes* out the bile that is needed. If you have gallstones that is not something you want to happen ... big ones just lodge in the bladder and cause pain, small ones can pass into your liver and damage the liver ducts, get up to mischief in the pancreatic duct and cause pain all over.
Pain can be in the oddest places. You already know that *heart attack* feeling, the metal bands tightening around your midriff and the pain in your back and shoulders. You can also get it up your arms and even in your jaw and face.
I also have gallstones. I was told that overweight hormonal women are prime candidates for gallstone issues as we tend to eat a lot of fat and it exasperates the issue. I went through all the tests, ultrasounds, MRI's and all that jazz and my Dr. gave me the option of having it out, or restricting myself to a bland diet. I went with the diet and I am glad for my decision. If I eat off plan I will have an attack, usually that pain alone with GI distress (not as bad as when they first happens) but most days it is totally fine. Hope this helps!
Gallstones and other issues
