Gallbladder Stuff

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!!!

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!

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!

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.

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.