Anybody ever have gallbladder issues?

[RitaZ.]

Hillbeans, I remember your mom's story. You posted about it when I posted about my surgery. I didn't know g/b problems could become that serious until I read your post. Since then, my friend's husband became very ill with sepsis due to his g/b. Now I know that it's nothing to take lightly. I'm just glad mine was removed.

 

[Hillbeans]

Hillbeans - I am so sorry to hear about your mom. I've never heard of gallbladder cancer. I'm definitely going to have it removed (too much pain). I really think I'm more concerned about missing out on the Mickey Bars when I'm at WDW. Thanks for sharing your story. I never knew it could turn out so badly.

I had never heard of it either - and in fact there are only 4,000 cases of it each year so it's still pretty rare. I also do not mean to be an alarmist nor am I in any way advocating that everyone have surgery - but just wanted to give a worst case scenario.

Good luck to you, and if you do decide to have surgery, you'll be eating Micky Bars at WDW again in no time!

 

[chell]

Next Tuesday will be a year since I had mine out. Monday morning I had a consultation with the surgeon and Tuesday morning I was in surgery. Mine was on the verge of rupturing but my physician didn't catch it. The surgeon told me if I had waited 24 more hours it would have ruptured. I'm glad they didn't tell you that yours was inflamed.

This was my first surgery (besides wisdom teeth that is) and I did just fine and I am the worlds biggest chicken. The staff was wonderful and kept me comfortable and relaxed the entire time. I was out of work for a week and had lifting restrictions for a month after. I believe the limit was 10 lbs. Several friends also had theirs removed last year and they were out of work the same amount of time and had the same restrictions. So my guess is that you will get a week of rest from it.

If you do have it removed just remember to roll to your side when sitting up! DO NOT try to sit straight up!!! I made that mistake once and only once.

 

[chell]

I had never heard of it either - and in fact there are only 4,000 cases of it each year so it's still pretty rare. I also do not mean to be an alarmist nor am I in any way advocating that everyone have surgery - but just wanted to give a worst case scenario.

Good luck to you, and if you do decide to have surgery, you'll be eating Micky Bars at WDW again in no time!

It may be rare but it is still nice to know about it.

 

[Tinijocaro]

My mom always said that gall bladder problems were very consistant with the 4 F's:

Female
Fair (as in skin)
Fat
Forty

I have three of the F's... so I'm pretty much a good canadate for it. My surgeon comfirmed this. Maybe that's part of what's going on?



Our diets can't be helping either. I love me some fats!

My surgeon said:

Female
Fertile
Fat
Forty

 

[lovesmurfs]

Had a gallbladder "attack" Thanksgiving weekend last year. When I went to ER, they thought heart attack and put me on the cardiac floor. When it turned out to be gallstones (and was recommended surgery to remove), I did a bunch of online looking, and decided to go ahead and have it taken out, mid December of last year.

It took longer to recover than people told me it would -- I thought I could have it out Thursday a.m. and be back to work on Monday. I think it was the following Thursday before I went back. I still have twinges from time to time, and I still have trouble with the stuff that used to give me trouble (fried chicken, pizza).

Best wishes.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

Thanks everyone for the good thoughts.
Only a week out, huh. I was hoping for two. You know - one to recover and one to Christmas shop.

I didn't realize what big a problem gall bladders can become. Thanks for all the great words of wisdom and advice.

Oh, I just had a great thought. We are driving our RV down to FLA. We have a freezer. I wonder if I can grab some right before we leave, stick them in the freezer, pop them in the freezer at home and eat them after surgery! Ohhhh I'm so smart. I feel better now!!

 

[DVC-Don]

Yep, wound up in an ER three times in a eighteen hour period (twice via ambulance!) due to the pain. Third time the ER doc wanted to send me home again, but DW called a surgeon she knows who came in, ordered a test and admitted me. I will never go back to that ER again. This was last December.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I had a long saga with biliary pain. Three years worth. So frustrating. Had every test out there, and all were normal. Compounding my case was that I got breast cancer, so now everyone's wondering if tumors are what's causing the pain (those tests were also normal, thank God).

My GI doc finally sends me to a surgeon. He won't take the GB out because the tests were normal, but also tells me that if indeed a normal GB is taken out, there's a 3% chance of that person developing irrectractable lifelong diarrhera. His exact words were, "if that happens, you'll wish you had the GB pain back, believe me".

So I lived with it, but it was awful. I had gotten so bad I was taking prilosec twice a day, and lots of maalox tabs in between. The colicky pain would wake me up at night.

Last June I was home sick with pneumonia. Bored and in lots of pain, I began probing some more on the internet re: biliary pain and there was one thing I came across that caught my interest. The fact that statin drugs can rarely, but sometimes, cause biliary pain. Having a strong family history of hyperlipidemia on both sides of my family, I'd been started on a very low dose of lipitor. I decided that day to stop taking it, and within a week my pain was almost gone completely and I no longer needed prilosec or maalox. My doctors were astounded (and slightly ). I didn't care as long as that awful pain was gone.

Truthfully, I still have a small bit of discomfort there, the same pain I've had for 3 years now. But it had gotten way worse on the lipitor, and since I've been off it it's back to the level it was before I went on it. My own theory is that there is a little something wrong there (probably with my GB or Sphincter of Oddi) which isn't enough to show up on tests. Whatever it is got way worse with the lipitor, but now it's back to baseline.

The moral of the story: look at your medication list when you are dealing with this type of pain and see if there's anything you're taking which could be causing the pain. And remember: taking a GB out isn't completely risk free. Some people, probably a small minority, get this diarrhea, and some still have the pain afterwards as well. I'm glad my surgeon had the sense not to take mine out.

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

I am having mine out on November 22.

 

[Hillbeans]

Hillbeans, I remember your mom's story. You posted about it when I posted about my surgery. I didn't know g/b problems could become that serious until I read your post. Since then, my friend's husband became very ill with sepsis due to his g/b. Now I know that it's nothing to take lightly. I'm just glad mine was removed.

Rita - that's a very scary story! Your friend's husband is lucky to be alive, but what a horrible situation he had to go through!

Chell - I remember when you had yours out - so glad you're doing well a year after surgery. I remember when you were having pain, and now I hope that you are ok!

DVC-Don - Did you have surgery?

Lovesmurfs - Glad to hear you're doing well after surgery also.


I just found this little bit of info on the web:

Gallbladder Cancer
Gallstones are present in about 80% of people with gallbladder cancer. This cancer is very rare, however, even among people with gallstones. Certain conditions in the gallbladder pose a higher than average risk for cancer:

Porcelain Gallbladders. People with gallstones and so-called porcelain gallbladders have a very high risk for cancer. (In this condition, the gallbladder walls have become so calcified that they look like porcelain on an x-ray.) Whether gallstones themselves cause the cancer or whether some factor in bile is responsible for both conditions is unknown. One study demonstrated that gallbladder removal reduced the likelihood of bile duct cancer, suggesting that gallstones themselves were responsible.

Symptoms of gallbladder cancer are usually not present until the disease has reached an advanced stage and may include weight loss, anemia, recurrent vomiting, and a lump in the abdomen.

 

[RayaniFoxmur]

My surgeon said:

Female
Fertile
Fat
Forty

It is true that pregnancy brings on a lot of gall bladder problems so this would make sense as well. Your digestive system slows down, causing both stones and sludge... it's actually extremely common for a pregnant woman to get her gall bladder taken out several weeks to months after giving birth.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Hillbeans, thank you for sharing your experience. Repeat it as many times as needed. I am so sorry for the loss of your mom.

At my post-op follow-up visit I was SHOCKED when my surgeon told me, we checked your galbladder and it was cancer-free. I hadn't even thought of that possibility and no one said anything to me. I am sure they test every one that comes out, but still. YIKES.

 

[RitaZ.]

At my post-op follow-up visit I was SHOCKED when my surgeon told me, we checked your galbladder and it was cancer-free.

That's what my surgeon said to me during my post-op appointment. He told me that no tumors had been found.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

It is true that pregnancy brings on a lot of gall bladder problems so this would make sense as well. Your digestive system slows down, causing both stones and sludge... it's actually extremely common for a pregnant woman to get her gall bladder taken out several weeks to months after giving birth.

My Dsis had her's taken out 3 weeks after giving birth. Her stones had become impacted and she ended up in the hospital for 3 days. She since was breastfeeding and wanted her DD with her, they put them in the only locked ward in the hospital (besides psych). They ended up in pediatrics. She couldn't breastfeed but was able to continue pumping.

I'm also under the impression that everything that is removed from your body is biopsied (sp?). Same Dsis lost an ovary to endometriosis and it was tested as well. I never thought about it but she keeps losing parts. And she's considered the healthy one of us.

 

[Christine]

I'm also under the impression that everything that is removed from your body is biopsied (sp?). Same Dsis lost an ovary to endometriosis and it was tested as well. I never thought about it but she keeps losing parts. And she's considered the healthy one of us.

This is true.

 

[phorsenuf]

Yes, I believe it is standard procedure to biospy everything they remove.

 

[Virgo10]

I'm back from my ultrasound. Because it was abdominal, I got to see lots of organs. Missed a few too because the tech made me lay on my left side facing away from the machine. It wasn't too bad, just not as much fun as a day at EPCOT.

Mostly it was just take a deep breath and hold it while the wand thingy was dragged around my stomach area. Lots of pushing too. The only area she concentrated on was the mid right stomach. Everything else just seemed to get a quick pass.

The tech was pretty tight lipped and really wouldn't tell me anything. At one point I could see two well defined white oval shapes in the GB. If they were stones, they were big!

I won't know anything for sure until some time next week.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

I'm back from my ultrasound. Because it was abdominal, I got to see lots of organs. Missed a few too because the tech made me lay on my left side facing away from the machine. It wasn't too bad, just not as much fun as a day at EPCOT.

Mostly it was just take a deep breath and hold it while the wand thingy was dragged around my stomach area. Lots of pushing too. The only area she concentrated on was the mid right stomach. Everything else just seemed to get a quick pass.

The tech was pretty tight lipped and really wouldn't tell me anything. At one point I could see two well defined white oval shapes in the GB. If they were stones, they were big!

I won't know anything for sure until some time next week.

I heard that gall stones were big. Kind of frightening when you think of it. Hugs to you. Hope we're both feeling better soon.

 

[Virgo10]

Hugs to you. Hope we're both feeling better soon.

Right back at ya!