Discussion
So haven’t been great for last 7 weeks, went to Drs had bloods done and my Pancreas is a bit on the high side, been back to the Drs again today as feeling worse but not in agony and booked in for an Ultrasound, but who knows when I’ll get it due to Xmas it’s been put in as urgent.
The problem I have is I’m due to fly to South Africa 3rd January, I’ve spoken to my Travel Insurance company and I’m covered but not knowing anyone who has had this no idea whether I should stay in the U.K. and stick it out or just get on with it. I have moved on to a fat free diet since yesterday which I understand can help mange the symptoms.
People’s thoughts on travelling?
TIA
The problem I have is I’m due to fly to South Africa 3rd January, I’ve spoken to my Travel Insurance company and I’m covered but not knowing anyone who has had this no idea whether I should stay in the U.K. and stick it out or just get on with it. I have moved on to a fat free diet since yesterday which I understand can help mange the symptoms.
People’s thoughts on travelling?
TIA
I feel for you but not sure I can advise. I don't want to scare you but the only thing I can say is that out of the blue last year, within around 2 hours from feeling fine I became extremely ill, in absolute agony, vomiting violently and rushed to A&E where I was diagnosed with pancreatitis caused by gallstones. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy and the thought of that happening on a long flight would be beyond an absolute nightmare.
I think the best you can do is take advice from the medical profession as to the likelihood of that happening to you. I've known people who have gallstones that have just grumbled for years and can be managed in which case you'd probably be fine.
I think the best you can do is take advice from the medical profession as to the likelihood of that happening to you. I've known people who have gallstones that have just grumbled for years and can be managed in which case you'd probably be fine.
The most agonising pain I have every endured!
I've had my gall bladder removed now but as has been said, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Not sure about the travelling but the best advise I can offer to limit recurrence is to cut all fats out of your diet.
Fully skimmed milk, nothing with dairy in it, fat is your enemy.
I've had my gall bladder removed now but as has been said, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Not sure about the travelling but the best advise I can offer to limit recurrence is to cut all fats out of your diet.
Fully skimmed milk, nothing with dairy in it, fat is your enemy.
Don't travel is my advise tbh. I suffered severly from April 19 til Nov 19 when they operated. I was on Tramadol, rushed to hospital twice, docs numerous times. Honestly, the pain is like having a balloon inside and inflating with no stopping. You really don't know when the pain is going to seriously affect you. My last one before the op was my worst one. Eyes went bloodshot, shaking, couldn't move, breathing was very shallow. Luckily the paramedics came within ten mins, looked at me, asked if I was allergic to morphine then banged a drip in. Had 9 shots over 3 hours plus oramorph.
Trying to be on a non fat diet is a very good thing to do. I lost 6.5 stone in 6 months as needed it for the liver to shrink down which is achived by two weeks milk only diet. Adding sugar free crusha made it better!
Trying to be on a non fat diet is a very good thing to do. I lost 6.5 stone in 6 months as needed it for the liver to shrink down which is achived by two weeks milk only diet. Adding sugar free crusha made it better!
Thanks something to look forward to then 
Hoping to get the scan done before I go which would give an indication of the issue I hope, presume they will only do anything if I’m bent over in agony, seems strange if a known issue and solutions available or am I looking at it too black & white? Have another appointment next week on Wednesday to check my bloods again.
So I assume doing 12+ miles hiking up some mountains which is my hobby behind cars is out too then
I can’t drink milk, makes me violently ill, but love cheese going to miss that for sure, I am a bit worried about calcium levels, going to have to look at supplements I think.
The thought of being fat free for years is rather depressing, but already wrote out a weekly diet plan. Fortunately/unfortunately I don’t need to lose weight, tbh I’m a little worried with a full on healthy diet will reduce my weight down further, I generally eat quite healthily and drink water mostly with the odd glass of wine and partial to a beer!
Hoping to get the scan done before I go which would give an indication of the issue I hope, presume they will only do anything if I’m bent over in agony, seems strange if a known issue and solutions available or am I looking at it too black & white? Have another appointment next week on Wednesday to check my bloods again.So I assume doing 12+ miles hiking up some mountains which is my hobby behind cars is out too then
I can’t drink milk, makes me violently ill, but love cheese going to miss that for sure, I am a bit worried about calcium levels, going to have to look at supplements I think.
The thought of being fat free for years is rather depressing, but already wrote out a weekly diet plan. Fortunately/unfortunately I don’t need to lose weight, tbh I’m a little worried with a full on healthy diet will reduce my weight down further, I generally eat quite healthily and drink water mostly with the odd glass of wine and partial to a beer!
Edited by VTECMatt on Friday 23 December 22:45
VTECMatt said:
Thanks something to look forward to then Hoping to get the scan done before I go which would give an indication of the issue I hope, presume they will only do anything if I’m bent over in agony, seems strange if a known issue and solutions available or am I looking at it too black & white? Have another appointment next week on Wednesday to check my bloods again.
So I assume doing 12+ miles hiking up some mountains which is my hobby behind cars is out too then
I can’t drink milk, makes me violently ill, but love cheese going to miss that for sure, I am a bit worried about calcium levels, going to have to look at supplements I think.
The thought of being fat free for years is rather depressing, but already wrote out a weekly diet plan. Fortunately/unfortunately I don’t need to lose weight, tbh I’m a little worried with a full on healthy diet will reduce my weight down further, I generally eat quite healthily and drink water mostly with the odd glass of wine and partial to a beer!
Unfortunately they won't operate unless your pancreas or any other organ is very unhappy. Once you have it removed, you can go back to eating normally. The non fat diet is to ease the pressure off your gall baldder. I don't mean to scare you but this helps with preparation just in case the worst happens. Grab some buscopan as well. When you see the doc next, ask for some Tramadol (they might put you on cocodamol first) and if you get a really bad attack, take two with two paracetamol (but none if you're on cocodamol), two ibuprofen (maybe ask the doc for Naproxen instead) and a Buscopan. I'm in no way a GP but this was my routine to help me. Hoping to get the scan done before I go which would give an indication of the issue I hope, presume they will only do anything if I’m bent over in agony, seems strange if a known issue and solutions available or am I looking at it too black & white? Have another appointment next week on Wednesday to check my bloods again.So I assume doing 12+ miles hiking up some mountains which is my hobby behind cars is out too then
I can’t drink milk, makes me violently ill, but love cheese going to miss that for sure, I am a bit worried about calcium levels, going to have to look at supplements I think.
The thought of being fat free for years is rather depressing, but already wrote out a weekly diet plan. Fortunately/unfortunately I don’t need to lose weight, tbh I’m a little worried with a full on healthy diet will reduce my weight down further, I generally eat quite healthily and drink water mostly with the odd glass of wine and partial to a beer!
Edited by VTECMatt on Friday 23 December 22:45
pocketspring said:
Trying to be on a non fat diet is a very good thing to do. I lost 6.5 stone in 6 months as needed it for the liver to shrink down which is achived by two weeks milk only diet. Adding sugar free crusha made it better!
I’m being a bit lazy here but do you have any links you’d recommend re diet?Cheers
Jazzy Jag said:
The most agonising pain I have every endured!
I've had my gall bladder removed now but as has been said, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Not sure about the travelling but the best advise I can offer to limit recurrence is to cut all fats out of your diet.
Fully skimmed milk, nothing with dairy in it, fat is your enemy.
It's probably different for everyone. My kidney stone a couple of months ago was much more painful, but then again my I've had my gall bladder removed now but as has been said, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Not sure about the travelling but the best advise I can offer to limit recurrence is to cut all fats out of your diet.
Fully skimmed milk, nothing with dairy in it, fat is your enemy.
But yeah, to buy some time keep clear from stuff which is going to call upon your gall bladder to release bile! I had keyhole surgery to remove my gall bladder and I think spent two days in hospital.
Edited by rodericb on Sunday 25th December 10:44
Captain Raymond Holt said:
pocketspring said:
Trying to be on a non fat diet is a very good thing to do. I lost 6.5 stone in 6 months as needed it for the liver to shrink down which is achived by two weeks milk only diet. Adding sugar free crusha made it better!
I’m being a bit lazy here but do you have any links you’d recommend re diet?Cheers
pocketspring said:
Unfortunately they won't operate unless your pancreas or any other organ is very unhappy. Once you have it removed, you can go back to eating normally. The non fat diet is to ease the pressure off your gall baldder. I don't mean to scare you but this helps with preparation just in case the worst happens. Grab some buscopan as well. When you see the doc next, ask for some Tramadol (they might put you on cocodamol first) and if you get a really bad attack, take two with two paracetamol (but none if you're on cocodamol), two ibuprofen (maybe ask the doc for Naproxen instead) and a Buscopan. I'm in no way a GP but this was my routine to help me.
Thanks, I’ve certainly not had anything yet that I would describe as painful, I’m just uncomfortable most of the time.I think I’ll avoid Naproxen not great for the stomach, I had this after I fell down a mountain and broke half my body, it was good for that. Tramadol sounds like a plan.
I ended up in hospital with Pancreatitis 4 years ago. As others have said, the most excruciating pain ever.
Cause was multiple small Gallstones.
Went away and awaited a date for Gallbladder removal.
In the mean time I did some research and self medicated. Dandelion root extract was one remedy I found mentioned a lot. The other was Keto diet.
From what I remember Carbs prevent your Liver from producing Bile, which breaks down the fat in your Gallbladder. By cutting out Carbs with Keto for a few months and taking Dandelion extract, along with other Liver cleansing multi tablets I seem to have avoided recurrences over the last 4 years.
That is with a couple of exceptions. For some reason Cider sets the Pancreatitis off if I drink a full/just over a pint, so I no longer touch it. I have had it 1 other time after drinking a vast amount of alcohol (beer and Rum) over many hours about 6 months ago. Otherwise I wouldn't even know it had happened.
The hospital only got back to me with a surgery date after they were about to miss the cut off point where they would get a fine if they hadn't operated. Think that was around 9 months, maybe more, I can't remember. By this point I had been totally fine, so turned it down.
My mother had hers removed also and can no longer eat cheese/dairy, which I was not prepared to risk.
I no longer do anything to manage it, so presume the few months of self managing was enough to break the stones down sufficiently to avoid any further pain.
There is a lot of conflicting info about Keto. So if you do decided to give it a go, do your research. All I know is it seemed to work for me. And as a bonus I also lost some weight.
Cause was multiple small Gallstones.
Went away and awaited a date for Gallbladder removal.
In the mean time I did some research and self medicated. Dandelion root extract was one remedy I found mentioned a lot. The other was Keto diet.
From what I remember Carbs prevent your Liver from producing Bile, which breaks down the fat in your Gallbladder. By cutting out Carbs with Keto for a few months and taking Dandelion extract, along with other Liver cleansing multi tablets I seem to have avoided recurrences over the last 4 years.
That is with a couple of exceptions. For some reason Cider sets the Pancreatitis off if I drink a full/just over a pint, so I no longer touch it. I have had it 1 other time after drinking a vast amount of alcohol (beer and Rum) over many hours about 6 months ago. Otherwise I wouldn't even know it had happened.
The hospital only got back to me with a surgery date after they were about to miss the cut off point where they would get a fine if they hadn't operated. Think that was around 9 months, maybe more, I can't remember. By this point I had been totally fine, so turned it down.
My mother had hers removed also and can no longer eat cheese/dairy, which I was not prepared to risk.
I no longer do anything to manage it, so presume the few months of self managing was enough to break the stones down sufficiently to avoid any further pain.
There is a lot of conflicting info about Keto. So if you do decided to give it a go, do your research. All I know is it seemed to work for me. And as a bonus I also lost some weight.
Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff