Gallbladder Stuff

SwashBlogger

Have any of you ever had gallbladder pain, disease, surgery, etc and care to share your experience? I read tonight that it's actually more common in people who are on restrictive diets or yoyo with their weight. I am guilty of either of those, but I'm pretty sure what I have is gallbladder related. It's being evaluated now.:sick:
Would be grateful for any firsthand experiences you could share.
thx

Miss_1999

One of my best friends just had her gallbladder removed about two weeks ago. Shan has battled with weight and dieting most of her life, and has tried various diets throughout the years. When she was younger, she took several different types of diet pills, until she developed a heart condition. She is a person who is under a lot of stress, and some of the medications that she takes put her at a higher risk of developing gallbladder issues (which she did)- (Birth control pills and her anti-depressant). She's doing well after the surgery, but before hand, she was miserable. A few attacks with it landed her in the hospital before having to have her gallbladder removed.

PrizePopple

I had mine removed when my youngest was about 4 weeks old. Apparently gallbladder issues are also very common in pregnant and postpartum women. The morning I went to the ER I was laying on the floor in the fetal position crying. Mine was really bad though, and when they took it out they found it was gangrenous. I had it removed laparoscopically, but due to the level of infection I had to be on antibiotics for 24+ hours before surgery, and I was in a few days after, so something like 5 days in all. Prior to that I can't even remember if I had any real pain.

oofdieblunk

I had mine out in my early 30's. I was in and out of the hospital on the same day. Same with my husband when he had his out. It's also common in women who lose weight and are on the pill.

bandgeek_17

I just had my gallbladder back in July. I am overweight plus I have had two kids. My doctor did say that gallstones are very common in women who have had kids. The pain was excruciating when I was having an attack. It started out feeling like really bad heartburn or acid reflux but the reflux medicine did not help. I ended up having pain in my right side right where my ribcage was. It all started back in December. The pain got so bad that I would throw up regularly, I didn't want to eat anything. I wanted to lie in bed. I had laproscopic surgery. I ended up with a 1 inch stone in there and my gallbladder out. I was out of work for a week. I couldn't get out of bed by myself for 3 days but I feel infinitely better now and I wish I had pushed to have it removed sooner. My doctor did say that certain food can triggers particularly fatty foods.

I would tell you that if you suspect it is your gallbladder, please see your doctor.

Jruzer

I had a few attacks before I had mine out, but thought they were just bad indigestion. They passed after an hour or two.

My last attack was the night of my birthday when I heavily overindulged. I was in excruciating pain all night, and finally woke my wife about 6 AM. We went to the hospital after we got the kids off to school.

They diagnosed my gallbladder fairly quickly and I had emergency surgery later that day. It was laproscopic so I recovered fairly quickly--less than a week.

I haven' t had a lot of long term consequences to be honest. Having my gall bladder out was one of the events that tipped the scales and got me serious about losing my extra baggage, although I didn't get seriosu about it for almost 10 months.

liftingbro

I had my gallbladder out earlier this year (Feb). I started getting unexplained pain in my upper right quadrant. Had all sorts of tests, then found out my gallbladder was only functioning at about 8%. So, had surgery and it went fine and really had little or no problems from the surgery. I started feel better with in a few days and thought the problem was fixed, then I started to get other symptoms. So, I went to a GI Specialist and was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

My Dr. said that having a surgery can cause people with the genes for Celiac to activate it and it will start causing problems. He said it is hard to tell if Celiac was activated by the surgery or if I've had Celiac for a while and it killed off the gallbladder.

WeepingAngel81

I have had issues in the past, but nothing severe enough to need surgery at this point. Though, with some of the pain I felt, I would beg to differ! Anyway, the last time I had an attack, I was at the docs office. I had been having trouble for about 2 days, but my daughter was sick and I was more concerned about her. This is the same doc who delivered her, so he knew my pain tolerance. When he walked in, he knew something was wrong and sent me to the ER right away. The ER didn't find stones or sludge (as they called it) so I was set up with a nuclear scan. Normal function for the gallbladder was something like 35% and mine was functioning at 36% (I can't recall if those are the exact numbers, but basically I was 1% away from not having normal function). I was sent home and told to watch what I eat. I haven't had any issues since.

That said, go see your doc if you think you have problems with it. Gallbladder attacks are painful, but with situations like mine, may not require surgery.

N2Couture

My Mum is having hers removed next week.
I'm on standby for her. She has a very good
friend that recently had it removed, it knocked
her off her butt more than the docs said it
would and she is a pretty healthy 50ish lady.

I have a couple online friends who had theirs removed in their
30s. They told me that certain foods were less agreeable
after the removal.

landay

My experience was similar to many of the others who have commented. I began having gallbladder attacks a couple of months after my daughter was born. The attacks were absolutely excrutiating. If I remember correctly, the pain would start on my left side, and then would progress to my back. At first it felt like trapped gas, but then would progress until I was lying in a fetal position in pain, vomiting, etc. I had my gallbladder removed laparoscopically and was in the hospital for 2 or 3 days afterward.

The doctors told me that recovery would be no big deal. Although they were correct in the respect that recovery wasn't as bad as with major surgery, it was still no cake walk. I didn't really feel recovered for at least a month. If you have surgery, cancel all of your plans, including work, for at least a week. You may need longer.

The other surprise was how that, after surgery, some foods (especially fatty ones) tend to, er, go right through me. It's been 6 years since my surgery, and this is still the case for me. So be aware that the foods that you're able to tolerate may very well change. This has been a very small price to pay for me, though, since I was in so much pain before. When I awoke from surgery I felt immediate relief from the pain.

Good luck to you!!!

lynn1982

I've had gallstones, and so far, I've avoided surgery. (They wanted to remove it during my last attack, I resisted...) Personally, I have trouble digesting moderate amounts of fat (even healthy fats) and red meat. Otherwise I get pain. If I don't carefully watch what I eat, I get another attack. I'm probably going to need it removed eventually for relief...

CJisinShape

I had gallbladder disease for about a year. Incredibly painful - the first attack I had, I thought I would die. I continued having attacks 2-3 times a week. Even a tablespoon of salad dressing would set one off. One day I was throwing up, and my husband called me to him, put his hands on my belly and said, "In the name of Jesus, your gallbladder is healed!" I ran, threw up all over the bathroom, the pain was instanly gone and never had another gallbladder attack since. That was about 6 years ago. I eat normally, even fries now, without attacks. God is good!

sympha01

There are a number of reasons people can have gallbladder problems. Oftentimes it's from eating too much fat in the diet, but it can also be caused by getting way too LITTLE fat in the diet. That's what happened to me. I am an old and back when I was in my 20s everything was all about very VERY low fat diets if you were trying to lose weight. At one point I had a doctor actually put me on an all bread, rice and potato diet (not for weight loss, actually, but that's a different story). Anyway, when I yo-yo dieted that way throughout the 90s, I was stressing not only my gallbladder but also the valve the empties the gallbladder. Evidently, my gallbladder would go from producing lots of bile to digest all the yummy fat I was eating when not dieting, then it would shut down and actually harden up when I went on diets and got hardly any fat in my diet at all. None of this was diagnosed at the time. I just would have these terrible, painful attacks, usually after being on a diet for several months. Eventually I started having attacks all the time, including when I wasn't dieting. Doctors didn't take it seriously -- I was under 40 years old and they don't think about gallbladder much when you're that age. Plus I was was obese, and a lot of doctors just won't take abdominal pain seriously in obese patients: they just say "You probably have indigestion. You should eat better (and less). Take some antacids."

In my late 30s I was finally diagnosed with a gallbladder problem -- in the emergency room. I got admitted to the hospital for emergency surgery and they took the whole thing out. My gallbladder had crystallized so many stones that whole thing had swollen up to the size of a chicken egg and was almost completely hardened.

SwashBlogger

Thank you all for sharing your stories. I've had the tests and, though I have no stones, I have sludge. My gallbladder is working at 16% compared to a normal 35%. I see a surgeon tomorrow and have plenty of questions. I know in my heart that it is elective for me and don't know what to do.
On the silver lining side, I AM losing weight out of fear of having pains : )
Oh, I had the Celiac panel and it came back negative. So that is not a worry.

paulawatkins1974

Whe I was 27, I knew I needed mine out but kept putting it off (noone to babysit 3 kids etc) It was torture when an attack would happen but I'd pop perks (doctor prescribed) and then put it off again. Until one day a stone got trapped in a bile duct so (sorry if tmi) My pee looked like coca cola, eyes were all yelow etc. I was becoming poisoned inside! So they scheduled me for emergency surgery to remove the trapped stone and then gallbladder removal the following wk. I too had yoyo dieted for the prior 7 years. Alot of people say they have problems later with certain foods etc. But it has never bothered me

lalepepper

Hi SwashBoggler,
Sorry to hear you're having gallbladder problems. I had my first attack at 20 and had it removed at 21 following a severe attack and infection. You're right that the surgery will likely be considered elective. When I had my first attack and thought I was dying, I learned that I had multiple stones. I was told that it was worth giving it time and making some dietary changes could help reduce the sludge and prevent more stones from forming. I had a few small attacks and was told I could have it removed but didn't need to, and had decided it was time to schedule surgery with an expected wait time of 8-12 weeks. Before that could happen I had my bad attack and it was removed in emergency surgery.

The relief was instant, but I wish I hadn't have had to get it out under those circumstances. For many people once stones have developed, attacks are likely to continue until they are expelled, broken up, or the gallbladder is just removed. Unless it's an emergency situation, most gallbladder surgeries are considered elective but your doctor's recommendation is key. Gallbladder disease is common and most doctors are familiar with the different methods. Since you don't have stones right now, a less invasive option may be best for you, depending on your individual considerations. My surgery was laproscopic and a I have a couple tiny scars plus one in my bellybutton. Healing took some time and I unfortunately seem to get "phantom attacks" once in a great while. I've never had a chance to ask my surgeon about those, but from my findings it seems I'm not alone. If you have any questions feel free to let me know! My gallbladder problems were what kicked my butt in to gear to drop the weight, and 3 years later I'm in such a better place. I wish you the best of luck!

SwashBlogger

Thanks so much for the frank information, Pepper! I'm usually a decisive gal, but this has me perplexed...it's so irreversible!! My gut (so to speak) is telling me to hold off. But, I'm going to do exactly what the doctor suggests, which is out of character too lol.
I like to ask them "if it were you, or your spouse, what would YOU do?"

rml_16

I had a stone and had mine removed two years ago. It was quick, easy surgery. I have a few scars, but you can only see them if you look really close and know where to look.

I haven't had any issues since.

Mygsds

Had mine out 9 years ago. In those days, they did the full surgery, but now just tiny incisions, I think 3 and they suck it out.... I had tons of stones, a lot of pain on my right side and afterwards..... Felt fantastic..... My surgeon also told me what they sort of look for... Fat, female, forty and fair completed... Sounded kind of old school to me..best to you..

independant2406

I had gallbladder pain for about 6 months before I realized what it was. It just felt like horrible gas pains under my rib cage (near my spine). I had several episodes and blamed it on something I ate/ working out too hard etc.

But then, November last year (after a particularly greasy meal) I had an episode so bad it left me crying on the bathroom floor for almost two hours. I was used to pretty bad menstrual cramping and had my appendix out 10 years earlier... so I kept thinking it'd just go away if I gave it enough time. My husband decided to drag me to the ER even if I didn't want to.

After we got home from the ER with the diagnosis of gall stones I did tons of research online. I didn't really want to remove it if there were alternatives you know? But after reading several people's experiences it seems like in most cases once you have the stones you're stuck with them (and new ones) for life and stuck with the pain of passing them once in a while. It is somewhat possible to control it with dietary changes... but your stuck eating high carbohydrate low protein foods... and since I have hypoglycemia this wasn't an option for me. Many of the people who put in heroic efforts trying to control it with diet usually ended up getting surgery eventually (after suffering a lot) because foods that didn't trigger attacks before started to cause them after a while anyway...they eventually ran out of "safe" foods to eat.

Basically your gall bladder isn't an organ (not like your liver or your pancreas or something like that anyway) Its just a holding tank for the bile from your liver so the bile is slowly released and not dumped into your digestive tract all at once. Its 100% possible to live without it and not have any serious consequences... and most people don't have to take any medication after having it removed. If you have a pretty active liver sometimes once the gallbladder is removed it dumps bile in too heavily. If your one of those people who's digestive system doesn't adjust naturally you'll need to take a pill with your meals that will absorb the bile and keep it from causing diarrhea and other unpleasant side effects. Most people's systems will adjust naturally though and the symptoms fade over time.

I had my gallbladder removed 1 week after the ER visit. The surgery was super fast and way easier recovery than having my appendix removed. I went home about an hour and a half after surgery. The pain after surgery I'd say is comparable with a super hard ab workout. Not bad at all really. I did have issues at first with eating certain foods high in grease/fat/oil. Some things (a year later) still are cause for a run to the bathroom (including extra virgin olive oil and the greasy restaurant meal that caused the really bad gall stone/attack/episode to start with). But in general, I can eat normally now and its not a huge inconvenience. I'm really glad I decided to have it out and not wait!!

FYI - I discussed with my surgeon and expressed frustration that my efforts to lose weight were the cause of the gall stones. I had just lost 25lbs (over about 6 months) prior to having the gall bladder attacks and was pretty upset that trying to do something good for my health had caused more health problems. The Dr told me gall stone formation can sometimes be accelerated by rapid weight loss, but is just generally more common in women, particularly women ages 18-45. He said some people will get gall stones and others will never form them (based on their genetics). For those of us with the predisposition to form them its kind of a 50/50 weather they'll ever bother you or not...and I just happened to be one of the unlucky ones.

Also, its worth noting the surgery and all associated bills cost somewhere in the range of $42,000 (I live in Indiana) so if you have insurance definitely check out what your deductible, copay and yearly out of pocket max is and plan accordingly.

lalepepper

Thanks so much for the frank information, Pepper! I'm usually a decisive gal, but this has me perplexed...it's so irreversible!! My gut (so to speak) is telling me to hold off. But, I'm going to do exactly what the doctor suggests, which is out of character too lol.
I like to ask them "if it were you, or your spouse, what would YOU do?"

That's a really good question to ask! Yeah, it's irreversible, but your life is likely to be less stressful without it. Personally I knew going it that I would have to make dietary changes. Without the gallbladder to store extra bile for use on high-fat meals, the body can have difficulty breaking down the fats if you have a high-fat meal, especially animal fats. This can result in diarrhea or nausea, or I sometimes experience the "phantom attacks". This doesn't mean you can't digest fats in general - I eat a normal level of fat in my diet, but most of it is from nuts, legumes, and healthy oils. I also really cut down my meat and processed foods intake, as I've noticed too much of either of these can exacerbate things. If you're willing to make changes, life without a gallbladder is pretty much normal, and you have some incentive to avoid eating overly fatty meals. I very rarely have any difficulties, and it helps me keep on track because I don't want to have digestive issues! Let us know how your consultation goes - I hope you get all your questions answered to your satisfaction. The worst that can happen is you're not sure...you don't need to decide right now, just understand that it's possible you may have another attack. Knowing what it is is half the battle.

hill8570

My wife had her's out about a month ago. She was one hurtin' puppy until they figured out the issue -- she's a lot happier now, for sure.

I think the main cause was her persistent high cholesterol -- the "stones" (more a crapload of gravel rather than anything big) were all cholesterol stones. The liver tries to flush excess cholesterol out of the body through the bile ducts (and gallbladder) into the intestines. In some folks this turns into stones.

She thought the (laproscopic) surgery was a piece of cake, other than the b*tch nurse in a hurry to get her out of the outpatient recovery room. The referred pain in her shoulders from the excess gas from the surgery was far worse than the incisions.

SwashBlogger

Okay guys. This has been helpful and interesting to me. The surgeon did think it was indicated, though I have NO stones, just "markedly decreased functionality". I'm having it done this Tuesday.
For the record, I have never been more than 10 lbs overweight (I am at MFP to see that perimenopause does not make me fat), have never dieted, do not have high cholesterol, and eat very little animal protein. It's almost exclusively found in women, particularly those who've had at least two pregnancies. However, an abrupt change in diet can precipitate the attacks. I, after being a healthy carb freak forever, tried South Beach for 10 days. That is when this all started.

feedmedonuts

I was only 17 when I got severe gallstones and had it taken out. I guess it happened because I was 180lbs at the time (5'5") and went on a VERY sudden diet and exercise regime....I pretty much went cold turkey on my old lifestyle. It was too much too fast, I lost 50lbs in less than 6months. I started getting the worst pains I have ever felt in my life under my ribs, kind of a painful bubbling feeling. It made it hard to breath. Unfortunately due to my young age nobody suspected gallstones and I got diagnosed with "panic attacks" instead, meaning I had to deal with this pain for many months longer and I almost got held back a grade due to how many absences I had. After 2 trips to the ER I finally found a doctor who suggested gallstones. Did a scan and sure enough it was LOADED with stones. Had the surgery and haven't had the pain since, although I've had a whole new list of other digestive issues since then. You are so right about the "abrupt change in diet"! That was not a fun experience!