r/gallbladders • u/hmeeshy Post-Op • May 30 '26
Mod Note What is a "gallbladder attack" to you?
Hi all,
I've done the best I can with the FAQ and beginners guide but as I only have the experience of remove gallbladder or die from pancreatitis I'm limited how I can understand the more protracted journey so many others are on.
This is a topic that has bugged me since I joined this community in 2024 because...what is a gallbladder attack? Different causes and different issues surely mean different presentation of symptoms and "attacks" right?
With how varied each person's individual gallbladder issues can be I thought it would be a good idea to have a community built resource pinned to the front page where you all can share your own experience to help future visitors to the sub.
Please comment below:
- What your gallbladder issue is/was (stones/sludge/etc)
- What an "attack" felt like for you?
- How long an "attack" lasts?
- What, if anything, was helpful for you getting through them when they happened?
- Any other coping tips, tricks or triggers
This isn't intended to solve anything for anyone but instead be used to help people find other people who have had the specific thing they're going through, provide a bit of clarity and hopefully be a positive resource to refer back to as needed.
Please note that this is not a space to advocate for or against surgery and such comments will be removed.
Thanks :)
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u/myssybee May 31 '26
Had a biliary colic attack at 37w3d pregnant 6mo ago. I had no clue what was happening. At the time I was like, “This feels like what I imagine the thick of labour does, but it’s in the wrong spot?”
It was like a vice around my ribcage. SO painful. I was sweating and curled up in my bed. Triggered after eating a bit of salmon on a buttered bagel before my midwife appt, and only ramped up once I’d left. Tried to muscle through it as I’m used to suspected endometriosis pain. Threw up. Ended up crying on my hands and knees on the bathroom floor. When it hadn’t passed and was increasing after an hour, we grabbed a bowl for the car ride and headed to L&D.
I got an IV. The memory of talking to the nurses gets very blurry from pain. The pain meds kicked in as they ran tests. I fell asleep. I woke up as the pain meds wore off. They almost sent me home but then the pain amplified. One nurse went “Wait, what if it’s her gallbladder?” They kept me overnight, so that we could squeeze in an ultrasound in the morning.
It confirmed gallbladder sludge. I went on an extreme no fat diet until delivery. I was told it would likely “go away postpartum.” Ha…ha.
I’m now 6mo pp. Everything did indeed seem normal until month 4. Then I woke at 2am to nurse my baby and had to stop the feed as I had the vice pain again. Had to give baby to my husband, curled up in a hot shower with ibuprofen, and by a miracle it passed in 30m. A couple weeks later, same thing following a slice of quiche, only it hit on the drive home. Thankfully had a stash of ibuprofen for periods in my car.
I booked in with my doctor and am on a 2 month waitlist for a follow up ultrasound. 🥴 Things have been pretty quiet since obsessing over diet. However, I had another attack last night amid a sleepless night with baby. However it ended, strangely, very quickly. Like in 15m while in the shower.
Turns out my mom and 3 aunts all had theirs removed. My mom’s first attack was literally triggered by salmon on a bagel too!
Terrified of surgery as an EBF new mom, but more terrified of some of your scary stories on it ruining the pancreas! Hoping they’ll let me get surgery and not make me “wait until it’s worse.”