Alleviating Pain During Gallbladder Attack

I was just in Spain and had an attack that put me in hospital! Not good when you can't speak Spanish and there are no English doctors on duty! Anyway finally diagnosed what I knew already and got sent home at 06:00 as I was flying out at 12:00 with the wife and kids! Close call! I am now sitting at home 4 days later getting another attack! Thank you all for the advice and self help suggestions, it's helping already! I was in hospital in November 2011 for two weeks with severe Colestitus (not sure on spelling) and the pain lasted for about 30hrs even with morphine, I'v paracetamol and others! It was miss diagnosed for over a year and I kept getting severe attacks once I had three attacks in six days, they kept telling me it was reflux and then in November after being rushed in by ambulance the doctor did a CT scan and finally found the problem! They want to operate but I'm trying to avoid it! I'm 33, go to gym 3 times a week, in good shape and eat relatively healthy! I'm going to try apple juice, vitamin c etc! Thanks again all!

They can last from 5min to 15hrs. I had one the other night, my first attack and I was up for 8 hrs

Right, how rude. I eat right and I am super healthy and I exercise everyday. I just found out I have gall stones.

Hi im on my 6th day of agonizing pain being sick gone hospital every nightim ready to shot myself the pains that bad i just get given an injection an sent home

are you jokeing? my mum nearly died a few years ago! that's not funny in my opinion. she does eat right. you can't tell her that she doesn't. she eats at least 2 Washed fruits a day eats 2 main meals and goes to work like a normal peorson. so this is the most stupid advice i EVER heard.

I am 29 years old and have been having attacks for a few weeks now, probablly 6 or so attacks. Most wake me up around 1pm and last for a few hours. It is impossible to lye down and yet sitting up is hard too. I am currently breastfeeling my 10 month old so pain meds are not an option. During an ER visit, because of an attack, I was diagnosed with gallstones. The Dr said it is very common in people but not everyone suffers symptoms. My mother had her gallbladder out at my age as well as a few aunts and he seemed to think that is a contributing factor. My cousin was only late teens or early twenties when hers was removed. I have been eating healthier and exercising but the days I think I did good an attack still came on. So here I am after counting my fat content all day and drinking lots of water I am having an attack. I guess even myDr perscribed less than 10g of fat per serving didn't help...my relief is two extra strength tylonol and sitting in my tub with hot water and the jets turned on....works like a charm for me...thanks for all your help and God bless those of you who endure marathons of this pain :(

Casn some one correct me? is it not,the gall bladder, un left side,right under the rib cage, and more to the center? Do not confuse, Kidney stones and Gall bladder stones, two completely different things

Im 14 and i have these. Im getting mine removed soon, im having one atm. Sucks.:(

I actually get these attacks about 4-5 times week, sometimes last 2-3 hours, other times it last an entire day. I have a referal for the surgery, but I've missed a lot of work due to another recent medical condition. I suffer from a blood disorder in which my blood likes to clot without help of thinners. So When I do get the operation I have to stay in a hospital for a few extra days, for a procedure that usually is done in one day. Due to the medication that I am on for this disorder. I am very limited to what I can eat and also what things I can take to alleviate paint. I hate having to keep going to the ER to get certain painkillers that don't re-act with my other medication. I've done sooo many things to try and alleviate the pain. The hot shower method worked up until recently. About a year and halfo ago I went to the ER and they discovered a rather large gallstone. But said it shouldn't be a problem. After that I went to the ER about 5 more times, and they always said it was just gastritis. 3 months ago I went to the ER and confirmed that it was a Gall attack. Then 3 weeks ago I went to the ER for the samething. I now have 5 gallstones total. The pain get's so severe that nothing works.

The reason Im tryig to put this off is my work is depending on me for 3 major events and I would hate to let them down. I know my life is more important. But work pays the bills, without one the other is hard to come by.

 

The liver manufactures cholesterol and then from this substance it makes bile acids which are used to dissolve fats. But the liver only produces these slowly so they are stored in the gallbladder. However the process of making bile acides isn't perfect so there is some cholesterol left over and cholesterol won't dissolve in water. But cholesterol will dissolve in a weak acid (like bile acids) so it doesn't normally cause any problem. However, in some individuals this balance tips just slightly and the cholesterol becomes too much to stay dissolved. You then begin to form crystals of cholesterol in the gallbladder and these get larger over time. Eventually, one of two things happens: either they get large enough to block the bile ducts or they begin to irritate the lining of the gallbladder. The former kind where it blocks the bile ducts can cause jaundice but the pain is of shorter duration and not associated with eating fat. Essentially, the gallbladder is a muscular bladder that can squeeze the bile acids out when needed. As long as the gallbladder is full it doesn't rub against the cholesterol crystals. However, when you eat fat it begins to release bile acids and shrinks like letting the air out of a balloon. The lining then comes into contact with the crystals and it works like having a stone in your shoe. The lining becomes irritated and this then causes the gallbladder to contract which increases the irritation which increases the pain and leads to nausea. In other words, the pain is self supporting and this is why it lasts so long. Eventually, the muscles in the gallbladder become exhausted and stop contracting and the gallbladder refills with bile acids. So what you need to do is quickly refill your gallbladder with bile when you feel an attack coming on. So what can do this? Vinegar! But unfortunately, drug companies can't make money off of something as common as vinegar and your Dr will not tell you this either. Ordinary distilled vinegar is fine as its the acetic acid that does the trick. One tablespoon in a glass of water seems to work for me. I generally make it as strong as I can (too much burns a bit) and generally find it works within minutes to eliminate the pain. Sometimes more than one glass. Also magnesium sulfate will expand all the bile ducts and ease the passing of any stones so you can try that as well if the vinegar alone does not work. Also, sometimes I will keep drinking glasses of vinegar water - one may not be enough. Start as soon as you feel an attack coming is best - do not wait until the pain is severe. For slowly dissolving gallstones, take vinegar with water or juice two or three times a day. The acetic acid dissolves the gallstones but you have to stay on a no fat diet and use something to stimulate bile flow to move the cholesterol out. Bitters will do it - black coffee or a mint works quite well. Coffee stimulates the gallbladder so a bit of coffee would speed the process along by keeping new bile acids moving through the gall bladder.

I'm having an attack right now, just tried the vinegar (you were right it does burn a bit) and I'm filling the tub with hot water. Are you saying to drink some coffee now as well or a daily thing (I've read elsewhere to avoid caffeine but maybe that is to avoid it daily but like you mentioned try it now to get new bile acids moving?)

Very curious if the vinegar worked for you??

I don't know if it was the vinegar or the hot bath or the Aleve - but YES within about 30 minutes the pain was much less severe (enough so that I could go back to bed and actually lay down and get some sleep) The first glass I made was a bit too strong so I only drank about half and then watered it down a bit and drank a bit more - but if that is what worked I am truly amazed (and I think it probably was the vinegar as I had taken then Aleve an hour earlier with no relief, and I wasn't in the tub very long so makes sense it would be the vinegar - that will definitely be the first thing I try if it happens again ... trying to hold off on having the surgery.

WHITE VINEGAR OR APPLE CIDER OR DOES IT MATTER

LYN wrote:

guest wrote:

The liver manufactures cholesterol and then from this substance it makes bile acids which are used to dissolve fats. But the liver only produces these slowly so they are stored in the gallbladder. However the process of making bile acides isn't perfect so there is some cholesterol left over and cholesterol won't dissolve in water. But cholesterol will dissolve in a weak acid (like bile acids) so it doesn't normally cause any problem. However, in some individuals this balance tips just slightly and the cholesterol becomes too much to stay dissolved. You then begin to form crystals of cholesterol in the gallbladder and these get larger over time. Eventually, one of two things happens: either they get large enough to block the bile ducts or they begin to irritate the lining of the gallbladder. The former kind where it blocks the bile ducts can cause jaundice but the pain is of shorter duration and not associated with eating fat. Essentially, the gallbladder is a muscular bladder that can squeeze the bile acids out when needed. As long as the gallbladder is full it doesn't rub against the cholesterol crystals. However, when you eat fat it begins to release bile acids and shrinks like letting the air out of a balloon. The lining then comes into contact with the crystals and it works like having a stone in your shoe. The lining becomes irritated and this then causes the gallbladder to contract which increases the irritation which increases the pain and leads to nausea. In other words, the pain is self supporting and this is why it lasts so long. Eventually, the muscles in the gallbladder become exhausted and stop contracting and the gallbladder refills with bile acids. So what you need to do is quickly refill your gallbladder with bile when you feel an attack coming on. So what can do this? Vinegar! But unfortunately, drug companies can't make money off of something as common as vinegar and your Dr will not tell you this either. Ordinary distilled vinegar is fine as its the acetic acid that does the trick. One tablespoon in a glass of water seems to work for me. I generally make it as strong as I can (too much burns a bit) and generally find it works within minutes to eliminate the pain. Sometimes more than one glass. Also magnesium sulfate will expand all the bile ducts and ease the passing of any stones so you can try that as well if the vinegar alone does not work. Also, sometimes I will keep drinking glasses of vinegar water - one may not be enough. Start as soon as you feel an attack coming is best - do not wait until the pain is severe. For slowly dissolving gallstones, take vinegar with water or juice two or three times a day. The acetic acid dissolves the gallstones but you have to stay on a no fat diet and use something to stimulate bile flow to move the cholesterol out. Bitters will do it - black coffee or a mint works quite well. Coffee stimulates the gallbladder so a bit of coffee would speed the process along by keeping new bile acids moving through the gall bladder.

WHITE VINEGAR OR APPLE CIDER OR DOES IT MATTER

I believe he is talking about White vinegar, but I have also heard {after reading this} Apple Cider vinegar and 100% Apple juice together. I have tried the White w/two attacks, drinking 4 glasses each time and it didn't work for me and I have tried the Apple w/2 glasses each time and it seemed to work...however both times I drank the first glass {plug my nose and down it} I threw up within an hour and so I drank another glass and shortly after started feeling better. Not sure if it was the getting sick or the Apple Cider Vinegar bc usually if I can get everything out of my system when I'm having an attack, I start to feel better....