Gallbladder Issues

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  • running_free_1984
    running_free_1984 Posts: 115 Member
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    I'm in the same boat. Just got my ultrasound done a week ago and have to meet with a general surgeon to schedule.

    I'm not going to think too much into the possible side effective. I'm primarily meat and dairy free. But boy, would I hate not being able to have a vodka cranberry!

    TIme will tell i suppose.

    Some people get side effects, some don't, i owe myself about 6 beers tonight and a naughty takeaway ;)
  • SweetJoanne
    SweetJoanne Posts: 106 Member
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    great comments on here this was a great article, thanks everyone
  • JoelleAnn78
    JoelleAnn78 Posts: 1,492 Member
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    Went into pancreatitis was hospatilzed for 7 days...best surgery of my life. I think it is such a worthwhile surgery there is no sense in being in pain when you can do something about it.

    Never had issues afterwards,and back to classes a week later.

    Discuss with your doctor and what you want out of your quality of life, but personally I say get it!

    Question for the ladies who have also given birth. I've heard gallbladder attack and pancreatitis is worse than giving birth is that true?

    My personal list --

    (1) Gall stone
    (2) Kidney Stones (three so far)
    (3) Child birth

    ETA: Removing my gallbladder has been one of the very best things I have ever done. No noticable after effects except the absence of excrutiating, debilitating pain.....
  • ninnyfurr74
    ninnyfurr74 Posts: 111 Member
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    Hey there, I had my gall bladder out about 15 years ago and have never regretted it! The pain from the attacks is one of the worst things I have ever experienced! My first attack came two days after I gave birth to my first son. I had 3 more in a two week period. Not fun. Finally my mom convinced me to go to the ER, she knew what was wrong as she had been through the same thing. I was scheduled for surgery a week later. My story is not all that unusual, except for one thing. I can eat all the fatty foods I want, but I am one of the rare 7% that has problems eating salads. Yep, you read right, salads. The doctors can't explain it to me, and it isn't very common, but any time I eat salad, especially if it is iceberg lettuce, I have to run for the bathroom about an hour later. I don't regret it though. I had laproscopic surgery and was up cleaning house two days later! Easy recovery! Don't put it off! Oh and I have never had any problems with alchohol. Hadn't even heard of that side affect until this thread lol.
  • grho
    grho Posts: 71 Member
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    I won't say my experience is typical, but I was out of the hospital that night (surgery was ~9 AM) and back home by 6, after stopping by costco to get prescriptions filled. I had it done on a Friday and was back at work Monday (desk job, so nothing too hard) but didn't have a lot of pain at all.

    As far as what I can eat I have never modified my diet due to having my gall bladder out. I eat pretty much whatever I want. I have had one instance where I noticed feeling really bad after I ate and that was after I ate a fried appetizer plate for lunch and a taco salad with a lot of fried bread all in the same time period. I actually eat pizza quite a bit and have never had to run for the bathroom or had any problems with it.

    All in all, compared to the pain I was in the the gall stones I would not hesitate to do it again. My surgery was laproscopic.
  • susannakaysen
    susannakaysen Posts: 5 Member
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    Thanks again everyone! It's really good to hear that the majority of people have had pretty good experiences! I'll let everyone know how it goes.

    Just to add about the pain of a gallbladder attack, I've got a freakishly high pain threshold and have broken bones, dislocated and joints without much complaint. The doctors are a bit puzzled about me really. But holy hell the pain of a gallbladder attack is something else. I'm sure if the time ever comes for childbirth it will be a walk in the park!
  • ironmaidenchick
    ironmaidenchick Posts: 213 Member
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    Hey chick, I had mine out about 4 months ago, was pretty painful for about a week, so make sure you have someone looking after you for the first few days cause things like getting up and bending are real hard cause of where all the incisions were made, ive had a lot of trouble with food and alcohol since, but I think everyone is different, and your body also has to have time to adjust, I cant eat anything processed, high fat and I seem to have trouble with bread, also some coffee so my diet is very healthy so that's a plus side of it and also the weight loss!
    If you have stones you are definitely best to have the surgery cause they will get bigger then you risk the chance of them getting into the bile duct and that causes all sorts of complications. Good luck!
  • susannakaysen
    susannakaysen Posts: 5 Member
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    Hi everyone, I had my gallbladder surgery yesterday. The doctor explained everything clearly to me and did point out that some people had issues with certain foods, but the majority don't have to change their lifestyle. After my surgery I found out I had 2 large stones (about a plum stone size) and some smaller ones. It also turned out that my gallbladder had pretty much shut down and was filled with mucus. If it had stayed in I probably would have gotten septicemia. Since my gallbladder hadn't been working for a while anyway, I feel better about being able to eat and drink since I didn't have any restrictions before. Just now I'm in quite a bit of pain from the surgery but will hopefully be recovered soon!

    Hope everyone else who has to go through it has a good experience!
  • farniente8
    farniente8 Posts: 30 Member
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    I had my gallbladder removed in my early twenties and have not missed it at all. I have not noticed any digestive issues although I was warned that there may be some. It's been over 10 years so I doubt one will pop up now! My attacks were incredibly painful. If yours are anything like that then having it removed will be the right solution.
  • FourIsCompany
    FourIsCompany Posts: 269 Member
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    I'm glad you decided to go through with it and I hope you're back to normal very soon!

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