gallbladder..anyone had trouble with theirs or had it removed?

sillyvixen

glitterball wrote: »

I did a little research and decided not to go ahead due to the possible side effects..

i had my gallbladder removed and it was the best thing i ever did. i only had 4 or 5 noticeble attacks over 20 years and put it down to eating somthing bad!! in retrospect i realise my gallbladder has been complaining intermitantly since i was schoolage .. only when i went yellow did i see a dr. due to my jaundice i had to wait 7 months untill i was sorted for sugery - i took a date 2 weeks earlier as it was better for work to have 2 weeks off then - offered a cancellation as another patient cancelled due to holiday plans!! my surgeon was shocked at what he found and had to convert to an open op - i was in theatre 7 hours and had severe complications due to gangrene and adhearance to other organs - my surgeon stated that i was days away from fighting for my life - oddly enough due to the low fat diet i had followed for the last 7 months and loosing 4 stone i felt healthier than i had in years!! this dr saved my life!! i had read on the internet about the problems that may or may not occur following the op (and have only had minimal digestive problems) but even that is better than the problems that may have occured had i not have had the op .. i was only 34 and may not have seen my 35th birthday if i had not had the op when i did!

Phirefly

Thanks all for your replies concerning the pros and cons of the op. I've not had a full diagnosis yet - just a verdict of suspected gallstones when I went to the walk-in centre in chronic pain.

Subsequently My GP thought it was unlikely that I had gallstones as I appeared to have no other indications, but I don't think he performed a full examination and I didn't have chance to point out the strong family history of the condition and possible indices in my diet. He put me on omeprazole for acid reflux that seems to have had no effect.

I've just changed GP due to relocation and have an appointment tomorrow as I was in chronic pain again over the weekend, so hopefully I will get a more conclusive diagnosis.

little_miss_messiah

Hi

I had my pesky gallbladder out a year ago after half a dozen 2-3am dashes to A&E - first time I thought I was having a heart attack! TBH I was following a low fat diest and nothing in particular used to set it off, but for me the only pain relief that touched it was morphine at A&E - I got an ultrasound within 3 weeks of referral, and after diagnosis was kept in after yet another visit to A&E as DR Gallbaladder man was making his visit the following morning - he saw me and I had it whipped out 6 weeks later - apparently he visited the hospital (York District) every 6 weeks.

1 more mini flare up after (apparently there can sometimes be 'sludge' left behind) and 2x 1.5 cm incisions (1 inside my navel) and it's all a distant memory, thankfully.

I wish you well, as it's horrid

Phirefly

little_miss_messiah wrote: »

Hi

I had my pesky gallbladder out a year ago after half a dozen 2-3am dashes to A&E - first time I thought I was having a heart attack! TBH I was following a low fat diest and nothing in particular used to set it off, but for me the only pain relief that touched it was morphine at A&E - I got an ultrasound within 3 weeks of referral, and after diagnosis was kept in after yet another visit to A&E as DR Gallbaladder man was making his visit the following morning

Thanks for sharing your experience - this all sounds VERY familiar (particularly the morphine).

I saw my GP and have been referred for an ultrasound. In the meantime however, on Sunday night I had another episode, the worst yet and ended up in hospital where they gave me an ultrasound there and then and surprise surprise its gallstones and I'm going to be booked in for the op.

I'd be interested to hear about anyone's experience of life without a gallbladder - have you had to dramatically alter your diet? Any other problems?

Thanks