Has anyone ever decided against Gallbladder Surgery?

[KyraS]

I had 2 painful attacks this past month and my doctor sent me for a CT scan and an ultrasound which both showed that I had gallstones. Well I saw a surgeon who has me scheduled to take my gallbladder out next Tuesday. After doing a lot of reading online and reading the problems that can arise after surgery and also why we need our gallbladder I am wondering if maybe I should cancel surgery.

I have not had any more attacks since then. I guess the main point that I've read is that even though we can live without our gallbladder that it is needed and it is used. So I'm thinking postpone the surgery and start eating more low fat meals and just wait and see.

Does anyone have any experience with being recommended surgery but choosing to not have it?

[LiLIrishChick63]

my mother had been really sick for months and her doctor kept telling her it was the flu. when it didn't get better she finally went to the emergency room and they did testing and found out that it was her gallbladder. the wanted to do immediate surgery and it's a good thing they did because when they went in to get it, they saw that it was gangrene and if she would have waited any longer she would have died.

this was well over 10 years ago. she hasn't had any problems that stemed from them taking it out or being without it.

[KyraS]

I haven't been sick, just the two attacks which lasted about 15-20 minutes each. The ultrasound didn't show that the gallbladder was diseased or that any of the stones were in the bile duct just that I had stones. Of course if it was making me sick daily I would have it out. I just don't want to take surgery lightly if there is a way to prevent it.

[Cool-Beans]

Lots of people decide that their internet research is more than sufficient to make them smarter than scientists who do real research for and a doctor who has studied for years.

I honestly don't know why these folks GO to the doctor. If you don't trust the doc to treat you, why trust his diagnosis????

Good luck with whatever decision you make. I honestly hope it works out well for you.

[cherylp3]

Do you know how big your stones are?
Did you have a HIDA scan to see if your Gallbladder is actually functioning?

I had my gallbladder removed, I had a stone the size of a quarter.
The biggest problem tends to be the smaller stones which can travel to your kidneys and cause you worse problems.

[lsyorke]

The risk you take is that with the next gallbladder attack you kick on of those stones in the common bile duct(they can't go to the kidneys...different stones!). This now becomes a much more serious situation.
Laproscopic gallbladder surgery(best done on a gallbladder that isn't inflammed and infected) makes this MUCH easier than in the past.
The choice is always your's to make, but with each attack comes more risk for more complications.

[LiLIrishChick63]

Originally Posted by KyraS

I haven't been sick, just the two attacks which lasted about 15-20 minutes each. The ultrasound didn't show that the gallbladder was diseased or that any of the stones were in the bile duct just that I had stones. Of course if it was making me sick daily I would have it out. I just don't want to take surgery lightly if there is a way to prevent it.

my mother had gallstones before she was sick. they just kept telling her "they'll pass" but they never did, that's why she ended up sick.

yeah my mother's ultrasound didn't show it was diseased, either. i wouldn't think it would, to tell you the truth. that's why i said that they didn't notice it was gangrene until they actually did the surgery.

if your doctor thought you'd be fine without surgery i think he/she would have told you that in the first place. there must be a reason that they think there's a problem.

[eclectics]

Originally Posted by KyraS

I haven't been sick, just the two attacks which lasted about 15-20 minutes each. The ultrasound didn't show that the gallbladder was diseased or that any of the stones were in the bile duct just that I had stones. Of course if it was making me sick daily I would have it out. I just don't want to take surgery lightly if there is a way to prevent it.

Sorry to have to tell you it's just going to get worse. Gallstones do not go away. Unless you want to severely curtail what you eat, you WILL get more attacks and they WILL grow more frequent. My mother's worst attack happened after eating just one slice of swiss cheese. That convinced her. I had mine out several years ago and am very glad I did. The surgery is not bad at all. Most folks go home the next day. Good luck on whatever you decide.

[KyraS]

Wow I didn't mean that I was going solely on the internet just that I had been reading alot and that some of the things do make sense.

If this was MY doctor I wouldn't think twice. I trust him completely but this is a surgeon that I had never seen before last Friday. He was very curt, didn't give me any options and didn't do much to help ease my mind. Pretty much just said you have to have surgery and thats that. I don't know if they did a function test as I was never told anything other than I have to have surgery because of stones. I do know I had a CT Scan and an Ultrasound. I had some blood work but was never told what that meant.

I thought that here I would get some been there, done that type answers. It is laproscoptic surgery (if I spelled that right) and he said I wouldn't even spend the night in the hospital just come home that afternoon. That is scary to me too, do they not need to monitor people after surgery? This is all just so sudden to me. I also have a very young child and the thought of surgery is terrifying.

[Geoff_M]

the wanted to do immediate surgery and it's a good thing they did because when they went in to get it, they saw that it was gangrene and if she would have waited any longer she would have died.

I went to the funeral of a very good friend of mine last week that died suddenly. He had been told that he likely had gall bladder stones and had been referred for treatment. A couple of days later he was watching TV and was uncomfortable (though he was on Vicodin for his pain). He fell asleep and was later unresponsive, though still breathing, when his girlfriend tried to wake him up. She called an ambulance and after they departed with my friend she grabbed his wallet and a book and followed in her car. When she walked into the ER a couple of minutes after the ambulance they told her "Sorry, he didn't make it..."

When I was at the funeral they hadn't gotten the autopsy report yet, but the preliminary guess his girlfriend had been given was that his gall bladder had ruptured.

As a result, I've developed a health respect for gall bladder problems.

[LiLIrishChick63]

Originally Posted by KyraS

Wow I didn't mean that I was going solely on the internet just that I had been reading alot and that some of the things do make sense.

If this was MY doctor I wouldn't think twice. I trust him completely but this is a surgeon that I had never seen before last Friday. He was very curt, didn't give me any options and didn't do much to help ease my mind. Pretty much just said you have to have surgery and thats that. I don't know if they did a function test as I was never told anything other than I have to have surgery because of stones. I do know I had a CT Scan and an Ultrasound. I had some blood work but was never told what that meant.

I thought that here I would get some been there, done that type answers. It is laproscoptic surgery (if I spelled that right) and he said I wouldn't even spend the night in the hospital just come home that afternoon. That is scary to me too, do they not need to monitor people after surgery? This is all just so sudden to me. I also have a very young child and the thought of surgery is terrifying.

well i thought i gave you one, my mother.

there's a lot of surgeries that they will send you home early afterwards. most of the time they won't keep you there for minor surgeries. and a lot of times now they won't keep women who have had babies overnight unless something went wrong during their pregnancies.

[KyraS]

I wasn't referring to you Irish Chick. Thank you for your advice. I'm just terrified to be facing surgery with a small child. Geoff that is terrifying to think of. I have to go tomorrow to talk to the anestesiologist (I know I didn't spell that one right) and I think I'll ask to speak to my real doctor just to make me feel better.

I think I would feel better if they said I was staying overnight as well. Maybe I should also say I've never had surgery at all.

[PhotobearSam]

I was sick on and off for years and we all thought it was Lactose intolerance but it ended up it was my Gallbladder...I started getting severe attacks that put me in the hospital. It was really bad...

Once I got it out, I felt better than I had in years.

My last attack was after eating a Lean frozen diet meal...it was not fatty but the pasta was what was causing my attacks.

My advice, just get it out. Especially if you plan on kids anytime soon...Pregnancy makes it worse sometimes and you can't really do surgery while pregnant.

[KyraS]

Sam is yours better now? Can you eat normally and has all the pain gone? Was yours laproscopically and how long did you stay in the hospital? Thank you so much.

[Pea-n-Me]

Originally Posted by KyraS

I do know I had a CT Scan and an Ultrasound. I had some blood work but was never told what that meant.

It is laproscoptic surgery (if I spelled that right) and he said I wouldn't even spend the night in the hospital just come home that afternoon. That is scary to me too, do they not need to monitor people after surgery? This is all just so sudden to me. I also have a very young child and the thought of surgery is terrifying.

With blood work they look for signs of infection and liver inflammation (which can occur when stones block the ducts in the biliary tree). They obviously saw stones on either the US, CT or both. They sometimes do a HIDA scan to test how well the GB empties, but in your case, they probably felt it wasn't necessary since they identified the stones as the problem already. See, once you have stones, you are likely to have more. And the more you have, the more problems you can have from them. It's preferable to do surgery before there are big problems like blocked ducts, infection, gangrene, liver inflammation, etc. This is why it can be done laporascopically now, but could have to be done traditionally later.

I understand how terrifying it is to have surgery. And there's nothing wrong with questioning whether surgery's really needed. Hey, for as many horror stories we hear about people who waited, we hear others about people who had problems with surgery, right? I've been down this GB road myself as has my DH recently. You need to learn as much as you can and then make the best decision you can, not based on fear, but on practicality. I will try to find you the websites I found helpful and will post them here. Good luck.

PS I was the opposite. I had pain for years, had the million dollar work up, was referred to a surgeon by a GI specialist for GB removal, but the surgeon refused to take it out because all my tests were normal. I was in horrible pain and realized - on my own later - that one of the medications I was taking was causing the rare side effect of biliary colic. So the surgeon was right. They do see these cases every day and are pretty good about deciphering who needs surgery and who doesn't.

ETA: Here's a long, but good explanation of what's involved. http://www.medicinenet.com/gallstones/article.htm