Gallbladder attack while whole family has flu

[Anonymous]

DH, DS and DD have flu - I'm sure I'm next but in the meantime I am the family caretaker, administering meds, fliuids, vapor rubs, answering my kids' calls in the night. I have had low-level aches and queasiness since yesterday mirning and assumed I was coming down with the flu too but woke with horrible pain in gall bladder area and my symotoms match those of a gallbladder attack perfectly. I took some pain meds and am lying here trying to figure out what to do. Don't feel like I can leave my ill family, and I may come down with flu myself so I am hoping this attack passes and I don't have to go to the hospital for a medical procedure/surgery. This is just awful.

[Anonymous]

You have a caretaker to look after your family. Why not look after yourself? A trip to the doc or urgent care will give you peace of mind about gall bladder. Why are you putting it off?

[Anonymous]

Do I have to go to ER? Will a place like patient first suffice? There is no other caretaker because I'm the only one without flu, for however long that lasts.

[Anonymous]

Gallbladder attacks tend to resolve after an hour or two. Gallbladder surgery isn't usually an emergency surgery. Usually you have to have a few attacks before surgery makes sense. So it's likely everyone will have recovered from the flu well before then.

Appendicitis is another matter. That tends to be pinpointed to a particular area. At least with my gallbladder attacks the pain wasn't in the "gallbladder area" as you describe it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do I have to go to ER? Will a place like patient first suffice? There is no other caretaker because I'm the only one without flu, for however long that lasts.

If you are able to type it's probably not gallbladder pain.

[Anonymous]

OP here...it was right upper abdomen under my boob, radiating back to my shoulder blade. Tylenol helped and I was able to fall asleep. It did hurt enough that I dudnt think I cookd drive myself to ER, plus I do have chills and aches and nausea/queasiness which makes me wonder if I have an infection or something. I literally barely slept last night because I was up with terribly ill DS so I'm teying to get s good night's sleep, then I'll probably have to deal with it.

[Anonymous]

OP again...with gallbladder attack, will pain likely return tomorrow? I had an episode earlier in the day and tylenol helped, then another just befire when I posted...is it a bad sign that it didn't just resolve but keeps returning? And did PPs have queasiness and chills during your experience with gallbladder attack?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do I have to go to ER? Will a place like patient first suffice? There is no other caretaker because I'm the only one without flu, for however long that lasts.

If you are able to type it's probably not gallbladder pain.

False. Gall bladder disease manifests differently in different people. I never did have pain with my gall bladder disease and my dr said I had none of the textbook symptoms, yet my gall bladder was severely inflamed and both the surgeon and pathologist said they could tell by looking at it that I had a long history of being sick. For me I just didn't "feel good." I felt a tightness like someone was squeezing my right side, was nauseous, couldn't get a good deep breath and felt depressed. Both my doctor and later the surgeon asked if I wanted pain meds and I said no, just nausea meds. So lack of pain doesn't not equal lack of gall bladder disease or attack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gallbladder attacks tend to resolve after an hour or two. Gallbladder surgery isn't usually an emergency surgery. Usually you have to have a few attacks before surgery makes sense. So it's likely everyone will have recovered from the flu well before then.

Appendicitis is another matter. That tends to be pinpointed to a particular area. At least with my gallbladder attacks the pain wasn't in the "gallbladder area" as you describe it.

This happened to me two years ago too but I didn't realize what it was.

[Anonymous]

A gallbladder attack can last for hours. The pain is pretty prohibitive in doing any other thing...and really nothing can help it. Going to the er won't ameliorate it. This will pass and then there will be tests looking for "gravel" or the stone which will likely have passed. Typically a person will have several attacks before it's diagnosed.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thank you for the feedback.

[Anonymous]

I had my gall bladder out a few years ago. The pain was unbearable. I finally went to urgent care and they did an ultra sound. They gave me meds and said schedule a operation. Well the next day the pain was horrific. I was throwing up constantly after not eating all week. I went to the ER. I told the dr I wanted my gall bladder out. He laughed at me and said its Christmas there is no way a dr will come in on Christmas to do this. He then sent me for another ultra sound and said wow I might get a surgeon to do this surgery today. I had stones in my bile duct and was going septic. My urine was completely brown. I was admitted, the next day I had a spincto something down my throat to zap the stones in my duct then the day after that the surgery.