I had a large, very fatty dinner and then went to a late movie. I started feeling pain and nausea and thought I'd overeaten. The pain kept getting worse so I left the movie and went home. I had bad chest pains and severe nausea and finally drove myself to the ER thinking that I was having a heart attack. The pain was severe enough that the first shot of morphine didn't touch it. A second shot alleviated the pain and anti-nausea helped. They EKG'd and then x-rayed me and determined that I had gallstones. The doctor told me that I didn't need emergency surgery and that I'd be okay as long as I kept to a very low to no fat diet. That's what I've done and now almost 2 months later I haven't had any more episodes. In fact, watching my diet and exercising I've lost 23 pounds, so oddly it's been a good thing for me. I haven't determined yet whether I'll have the surgery (I miss my desserts...), but for now feel like I'm on the right track health-wise. This is a guess, but I started cholesterol pills last year. I wonder if that contributed. The rapid weight loss, which this article said could contribute, came after the attack. I'm not aware of any history in my family, though that doesn't mean it hasn't been there.

My first episode started on December '10, it was after eating dinner during a bday party. I tried to vomit and do bowel movement thinking it will ease up the pain, but it did not. This went on for 5-10 minutes, then I took 2 TUMs which after 15 minutes I was relieved. I said to myself, oh. My first heartburn. Then the second attack came on February'11, I was at work and my co-workers had to lay me down to the floor because they could not even get me up to walk to the bed, they gave me Pepto-Bismol and Nexium at the same time, took 20-30 minutes for my symptom to be relieved. This time I went to the doctor and he then prescribe me to take Prilosec for a month. I did not heed to his advice and thinking losing weight and changing my diet will help with the heartburn instead of taking the medication. I learned too the coffee, then eating with chocolate triggers this episode. I lost weight, modified my diet. However after a day of skipping lunch, followed with a heavy dinner, September 2011, a different kind of pain hit me at 3am. Took tums and thought it will go away after 15 minutes, but did not. Pain went on for another 2-3 hours. Went to the doctor right away and he ordered to have an ultrasound done. Got the ultrasound done after a week, then while shopping for food, intense pain started in the middle of the abdomen, I was having cold sweats, I did a bowel movement thinking it's going to relieve me, but the pain still continues and increased, then more on the right side under my breast.

I had pain under left ribcage, went to A&E. I was told it was wind which sent my heart into over drive. Following week pain and nausea for 3 months, managed to get better. In September 2011 things started to go wrong again couldn't eat, pain under left rib cage and radiating deep into the back, pain also on right. Nausea again, lost more weight. Gradually got worse and saw doctor. Had my gall bladder out, felt great for one week and then an even bigger nightmare began. The pain and nausea was awful, no support from the doctors, lost more weight, down to 6st 7lbs. Ended up in hospital and possible pancreas problem. Managed to recover but it's happening all again. Neat scars though!!

I had dinner around 7:00 pm and about an hour later, I began to feel my stomach ache and I wrongly attributed the pain to indigestion. It progressively became worse to the point that I felt like crying. My wife was away on a business trip, so wrangling with the increasingly unbearable pain, at around midnight I drove myself to the ER. There I was told my symptoms pointed to gallbladder stones and surgery was the prescribed remedy. A cat scan later and pumped up with morphine, the surgeon took care of business and out came the gallbladder.

I had been told by the doc that I had gastro- it seemed to occur at the same time each month for about 3 -4 months. I already suffer from GORD, it took a little longer than normal to discover the gall stones. I would not wish the pain I went through on anyone- I lost over 15 kilograms (when I was really sick, I weighed 49kgs). I had my gall bladder out in 2009, and for two months felt good, then the pain came back, I went yellow and couldn't eat for days. I had a c-t scan done, which revealed some stones had gone into my liver, hence the jaundice. I thought the pain when I had all the gall stones were bad, but passing those pesky stones was worse! Saying that, I have recovered, just can't eat a lot of things still, as they don't agree with me and I have only put about 3-4 kgs back on.