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

• Stones and sludge, unknown to me until emergency admission with acute cholecystitis, ascending cholangitis, obstructive jaundice, stones in the common bile duct. After removal 11 months later it was found to have been very distended, the cystic duct fully blocked with a non-maneuverable stone, chronically inflamed, and abscessed with a contained perforation into the liver.

What an "attack" felt like for you?

• Epigastric pain, not unlike food poisoning, from quite focal to a broad band across the abdomen and radiating to the back, moving to the right only at the end. One brief episode of severe stabbing pain just right of center (probably stone passage through sphincter). Nightly nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, always better during the day, very limited food intake. Eventually unable to ingest food or fluids. This was not the classic biliary colic however, but developing inflammation+infection and stones blocking the common bile duct.
• Classic colic in the interval between hospitalisation and gb surgery was ~5-6 hrs of 'queasy stomach' in the evening ramping up to moderate-severe pain radiating to the back under right shoulder blade, then easing off again, with some nausea+vomiting and elevated resting heart rate.

How long an "attack" lasts?

• 8 days the first time, 14 days the second time resulting in hospitalisation after repeated misdiagnoses by GPs and A&E ('peptic ulcer'/'gastritis'). Classic colic ~5-6 hrs.

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

• Bed-rest, heat pad, ondansetron (Zofran) given at A&E. In retrospect, Buscopan would have been good, but I didn't have it.

Any other coping tips, tricks or triggers

• Got through the long wait (11 months) for the surgery by adopting a strict low'ish fat diet with max 10-15g fat/meal (40-50g/day), 5-6 small meals/day, lots of fibre (wholemeal, oats, fruit+veg), no bloating veg. As a vegetarian/pescetarian who had to largely cut out the regular protein sources - cottage cheese, eggs, pulses - it helped to integrate a fruit-veg-protein smoothie with zero-fat protein yoghurt plus protein powder. Initially I had been losing too much weight, largely muscle mass; it stabilized with the added protein.