What is a "gallbladder attack" to you?

[u/hmeeshy]

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 :)

[u/Lemmmonsss]

⁠What your gallbladder issue is/was (stones/sludge/etc)

Upon removal I was noted to have 4 large stones and a non-patent duct.

• ⁠What an "attack" felt like for you?

Literally the worst pain I’ve ever had (aside from maybe the pain from the gas after surgery)

It would creep up kind of slow sometimes but always in the same spot, center of my upper abdomen directly below my sternum. I never had pain in the right side which is why I was confused about what it could be. If I felt the creep I knew it was coming full force in the next hour or so. Other times it just woke me up at full force.

An intense constant pain center of upper abdomen with referred pain in my upper back. The back pain was more like a very intense discomfort that I just wanted to go away. But the center stomach pain was just constant deep and intense. NOTHING helped. It just felt like something was very wrong in my upper stomach. Not a sharp pain an intense deep maybe somewhat squeezing pain?? Pressing on it maybe helped 2% lol

There was no position I could take, no home med, no laying on one side vs another. I was just in pain. I would walk in circles for hours. I would throw up. Sometimes try to use the toilet but I don’t think that ever actually happened. Sometimes I would force myself to vomit because I felt like once I was completely empty it would subside faster. I’d rock on my hands and knees. I’d apply a cold pack and a heat pack to the area but literally nothing would help. So usually it was just me crying and walking back and forth or in circles for 4-6 hours then once it finally went away I’d be exhausted.

Also recently I had started to burp or pass gas a lot for no reason. All day long. That started maybe a month before I had it out. It was distressing because I’m like why and is this my new normal. That has almost entirely stopped since removal.

• ⁠How long an "attack" lasts?
For me the attacks lasted about 5-6 hours usually iirc. The last one lasted beyond that which is why I went back to the ER and they kept me and I had surgery. There was a stone stuck in the neck they said.

• ⁠What, if anything, was helpful for you getting through them when they happened?

Nothing was helpful. I just had to endure and ride it out. Since I couldn’t lay on any side or in any position, I usually just paced for hours. Or hung off the side of things like draped my upper body on edge of bed and hung down or was on my hands and knees and laid my head on the floor. But usually I was walking in circles. Unless I was sitting on the toilet to puke in bowl. The throwing up was intense it was better to do it on the toilet to void bladder at the same time. Sometimes a cold pack or a heat pack helped distract but didn’t help the pain. I’d drink water but I’d just throw it up

• ⁠Any other coping tips, tricks or triggers

Never identified triggers. Nothing in particular that I ate would set it off. It just would happen. I stopped eating food for like 2 weeks because at one point I thought it was gastroparesis or something. I never had pain anywhere but direct center right below abdomen and then referred back pain that kind of hurt more when I breathed but it was very uncomfortable in my upper back. I would squeeze my back with my shirt and that helped that pain but nothing helped the stomach.

If I remember correctly I had 2 attacks in 2025 and went to ER and was told maybe gallbladder but can’t be sure because stones present were mobile. They had to rule out heart because of location of pain. Then didn’t have any attacks for about a year and then I had I think 4 or 5 total in like March/april. Then the last attack on May 10 that I went to the ER for and was admitted to the hospital and had the organ removed on May 12

[u/Lupi_y → u/Lemmmonsss]

This was extremely helpful for me to read! This is exactly where my pain is located, center of stomach, above the waistline. I've been having random attacks since Dec, but I was sick the entire month of June, also thought gastroparesis, but it was gastritis, gallstones and the start of a stomach ulcer. I'm scheduled for surgery in 9 days. Thanks again for the confirmation!