Anyone had their gallbladder out - share your stories

Callie22

Honestly, the operation really isn't that bad at all. I was in more pain after I had my tonsils out You feel a little bit sore and uncomfortable but it dies down very quickly. I would say though that you really need to resist the temptation to go back to 'normal' eating-wise straight after. Not a good idea if you've been living on a very low fat diet for a while ... Now I'm fine, unless (as I said earlier) I'm a bit stupid and eat loads of fat or stodge, and tbh the paid isn't *that* bad, just uncomfortable. I try to stick to a low(ish) fat, high fibre diet and I'm fine.

There are an awful lot of scare stories on the internet about gallbladder surgery but I think you do need to remind yourself that it's a bit like restaurant reviews - it's well known that if you have a great meal somewhere, you only tell a handful of people whereas if you have a bad meal then you tell everyone. Also, at the end of the day if you're having gallbladder problems then they're unlikely to go away on their own, and potentially they could make you very poorly indeed. Most people reach a point where they have have no choice but to have their gallbladder out, and for most people who do, the surgery and recovery afterwards really are ok.

marrowgirl

I'm in the ex-gallbladder club too. I used to have terrible random periods of cramping pains (I would vomit and pass out from the pain). I had the keyhole op which was fine and since then no problems at all. I eat a healthy diet anyway due to other health issues so I can't say what would happen if I ate fatty foods though. My only issue was I had a reaction to the anaethetic so I was on the chunder express for a few hours and my recovery was a bit slower than normal but a week later I was on holiday in Italy so it can't have been too bad!

Ellejmorgan

I had the op nearly 12 years ago, done by keyhole...

i had gallstones which started during my 1st pregnancy, at 22 weeks I had acute pain, like my chest was being crushed in a vice, happened again a few weeks later..

I had my baby and when she was two weeks it came back, it was so incredibly painful i'd got to the point where I was prepared for someone to put me out of my misery, taken to hospital and admitted for 3 days with a suspected blood clot on lung and put on thinners..

I had no pain then until the birth of my 2nd child, i'd had a C-section with this baby, when she was about a week old the pain started again..
We had a mattress in the spare room on the floor and I used that to rock back and forth while I waited for the ambulance, it wasn't possible to cope at home, I thought I was dying still none the wiser as to what was up..
Trying to cope was impossible as i'd had a C-section and with the level of pain and the nature of the section itself it was really hard looking back now..

i'd also had pain in the kidney area which started around this time but I hadn't really focused on it, I had flu symptoms which I couldn't knock on the head and were worsening as well as all the visits to casualty within the first 6 weeks of my DD'd life..

One afternoon it came to a head, I drank 10 pints of milk in a couple of hours and I passed out..
Taken to hospital diagnosed with Kidney infection temp was up to 40.2 degrees as result of C-Section, I was taken for a scan as spleen was enlarged and asked 'do you know you have gallstones'

Went home after two weeks, back home for 8 hours another attack back in the same bed on same ward for a few more days..

When the DD was 12 weeks old I had a major attack, it was a Thursday night, my liver was affected and the pain wouldn't go..
I was kept on morphine injections and placed on the list for theatre..
I had the gall bladder removed on the Monday lunchtime at St James in Leeds....

On waking up it was awful as they inflate you with gas, very painful, the next day though I was up and about and home..

I now have 4 tiny cuts on my stomach and don't really give it much thought but it was a horrible time...

Pinkylouloubell

Ellejmorgan,

Mine sounds very similar to yours with the liver being involved although I did have the pancreatitis too.

Im sure people think Im overreacting when I try and stress how painful it is!
I think I could have said - kill me now it was so bad at times and I do not regret one bit having the thing taken out, but I did think once it was out all would be ok.
Perhaps Im one of the unlucky ones.

I know my liver and pancreas are all OK now and my latest scan showed now more sludge or gravel left behind in the bile ducts, so Im just with the erosive gastritis now and hoping at my next gastroscopy this has gone down.

I really dont know if these two things are even related event though Im still under the same team at hospital.

I do try to eat a good diet most of the time with no more pizza, indian, chinese, fatty food, but my downfall is chocolate.
I do know if Ive had something naughty and this brings me straight back in line on hte good stuff again with hte fear of the pain coming back.

Ive also started coming out in splodges and spots/rashes mainly on my hands/feet and left leg.
Not sure what these are, had them for about 3 months now.

Hope all of you are well

Pinkylouloubell

The op is fine, now half as bad as I thought. Good Luck

wantnomoneyworries

marrowgirl wrote: »

I'm in the ex-gallbladder club too. I used to have terrible random periods of cramping pains (I would vomit and pass out from the pain). I had the keyhole op which was fine and since then no problems at all. I eat a healthy diet anyway due to other health issues so I can't say what would happen if I ate fatty foods though. My only issue was I had a reaction to the anaethetic so I was on the chunder express for a few hours and my recovery was a bit slower than normal but a week later I was on holiday in Italy so it can't have been too bad!

I have been diagnosed and am waiting to see consultant - was told after first attack I had a virus!! I am reassured to see this post as I have passed out a couple of times but could not see how it could be related to gall stones so thanks for information

carlislelass

I had mine out years ago by keyhole surgery...back home after 48hrs. No problems unless I eat cheese, spicy food or anything with vinegar in . Was initially treated for an ulcer( had one previously) but a scan showed three gallstones, waited 3mths for surgery.

Desperado99

torbrex wrote: »

I am on the list to have my Gall Bladder removed but I have yet to receive a date.
I have only had one really bad incident but the surgeon thinks it would be 'prudent' to remove it due to the quantity and size of the stones in there.

I will freely admit to being petrified of the op, even if it is the keyhole one, I hate hospitals and no amount of comforting words about how much better I will feel afterwards and how simple the op is will go any way to ease my fears.

I had a gastroscopy when they were doing the investigations and I did not like that one bit, I could not stop wretching the whole time.
The only thing they found with that exam was a slight hernia in the wall of my gut and some tears probaly as a result of the episode of sickness and wretching that I had the week before.

I wish I had not seen this thread as it has made me a bit more aprehensive about the op :eek:

Honestly, the op isn't that big a deal. I was far more worried about the gastroscopy than the op itself (I opted for sedation, and don't remember a thing).

I've always been nervous about hospitals but I guess I've got over that as I had to be an inpatient a couple of times this year. In one way I was lucky as I didn't have a scheduled op - I was only told about an hour beforehand so I didn't have a chance to work myself up about it.

When I first started with pains, they would only be every few weeks and wouldn't last more than an hour, by the time I had got to the point with my gallbladder that I couldn't live with it any longer, I was having pains that would last for days regardless of how restrictive my diet was. So I knew I had to have the op and that was that.

just remember most posts online tend to be about how stuff went wrong, people don't often comment when everythings gone as it was supposed to.


best of luck

Gers

Had mine removed as an emergency umpteen years ago as I developed pancreatitis - I can recall being asked if I drank heavily or was a drug user... and NO was the answer!

Got a huge scar (Ross Taylor in Newcastle) and been right as rain since - can eat and drink anything without any effects.

:j

marrowgirl

wantnomoneyworries wrote: »

I have been diagnosed and am waiting to see consultant - was told after first attack I had a virus!! I am reassured to see this post as I have passed out a couple of times but could not see how it could be related to gall stones so thanks for information

Me too. At first they said I had a tummy bug, indigestion, gastroenteritis and/or food poisoning.... I didn't get any of the usual syptoms such as heart burn after eating and my diet was good so I wasn't eating fatty foods. It was only that I had a blood test a few hours after an attack and the GP rang me because my tests were so bad he thought i was having liver failure! Anyhoo, gallbladder gone now and all is wonderful! x