Anyone have their gallbladder removed?

[JESW]

Did your life improve afterward or do you have some of the same problems? I may be looking at this soon..

Jill

 

[wdwmom2]

Had mine removed about 11 years ago. Problems solved!!!!

 

[Kim&Chris]

Just had mine removed 2 months ago. I can eat anything now, no problems at all.

The surgery went very well, thankfully. Some people were telling me I'd have residual pain from the air or gas that they use to blow up your stomach, but I didn't have any problems at all. The only thing that bothered me were the stitches. In fact, they still itch today.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My dd has hers out at 16, I had mine out about 10ish yrs ago.

I had constant soreness and my dd had attacks.

I did delevop reflux which is miserable.

It is not going to get better so no point in keeping it.

 

[lovesmurfs]

I had mine out in 2005 -- no problems! The recovery took me longer than people gave me to believe -- I was down for 2-3 days, but not back all steam ahead for over a week.

 

[ohiomom28]

Had mine out when my son was 2 months old. Scheduled for a Thursday and went back to work Monday. Had pain from the air like PP said but it went away. Even almost 10 years later, I have trouble eating certain foods. Good Luck!

 

[Cadiewampus]

Had mine out a few years ago. No problems. Of course I was not having any problems prior to that. Went in for my routine physical and my Dr notice some of my liver enzymes (?) were low so he ran some tests. Turn out mine gallbladder was only operating at about 7% of what it should. He said it was weird as I had no symptoms. Of course my wife would say thats not all that was weird about me.

 

[PigletsMommy]

I had mine out back in April. I went to my dr for a different problem and mentioned to him that I have been burping a lot. He ran some tests and referred me to a surgeon who said it needed to come out.

The result? I still have burping issues, which is embarrassing and no medicine I take helps. Now I have IBS and can not enjoy half of the foods I used to love.

I dont know what alternative there is but it did not help me.

 

[Tuffcookie]

OP, I had mine out Oct. 12th. I went to the ER on 10-10-09 with pain in my right side. I thought I might have gall stones but I never thought they would admit me right then and there!

I seem to be able to eat anything now. I did stay on a low fat diet for a couple of weeks after the surgery but that got to be old quick!

I really enjoyed my Thanksgiving dinner this year!

The best part for me is that I lost weight and got my flat stomach back! I don't know if that was related to a bad gall bladder or not. I was not overweight, I just had 10-15 lbs I didn't want. Before surgery it seemed like no matter how little I ate I would get bloated. Not anymore!

Oh, and I also have acid reflux so I'm on medication for that now.

TC

 

[Buckalew11]

Am just wondering if anyone who has had gallbladder has also had knee pain? Odd question but I'm curious.

 

[smkiya]

FYI - I'm a nurse in a hospital, and just the other day one of the surgeons said that this is gallbladder season...

 

[2binak]

FYI - I'm a nurse in a hospital, and just the other day one of the surgeons said that this is gallbladder season...

Could it be an increase in eating fatty foods around the holidays? That was mentioned to me when I had mine out, 4 months after giving birth when I was 5 months pregnant I had 3 severe attacks in 2 days. Blood tests and an ultrasound confirmed that I had gallstones. The ER dr said that many women have gallbladder issues during or right after pregnancy because of an increase in eating fatty foods while pregnant or the way the pregnant body digests fatty foods - I can't remember which exactly, but anyway - just a thought.

OP - There are times when I eat greasy foods that I get stomach cramps following, but it's hit or miss and the only thing I can think of that is an affect of having my gallbladder out. The cramps are nothing compared to the attacks I had though so I'll take 'em.

 

[taximomfor4]

I had mine out 14 yrs ago ( I was quite young for gallbladder troubles!) The pain was gone right afterward (because there was no gallbladder, it couldn't hurt me, lol).

HOWEVER I was one of those people whose body didn't completely learn to compensate for the lack of gallbladder. I can have issues when eating fatty foods, and my vitamin D took a nosedive and isn't really improving. BTW, eating fatty foods doesn't ALWAYS give me trouble...and I still do it too often, haha

 

[tayandjensmom]

I had gall stones, one the size of a 1/2 dollar. Had mine taken out laproscopic (sp) was to be a same day surgery/release. Turns out mine was infected and they needed to drain it. Which wasn't an issue at all. Kept me over night. Surgery on Thursday, home Friday afternoon, back to work Monday. Though I do have a desk job. I really felt just fine come Sunday. Even drove 4 hours round trip to return my parents to the airport.

Little bit of pain Fri/Sat in the shoulder area, it was from the air like others suggested. But not a terrible pain, more discomfort. It did help to walk and move around. Makes the air/gas move out of your system.

This was all 11 years ago, no problems since. It was a rather easy surgery. Good luck to you, I'm sure you'll feel much better. Lisa

 

[taximomfor4]

Could it be an increase in eating fatty foods around the holidays? That was mentioned to me when I had mine out, 4 months after giving birth when I was 5 months pregnant I had 3 severe attacks in 2 days. Blood tests and an ultrasound confirmed that I had gallstones. The ER dr said that many women have gallbladder issues during or right after pregnancy because of an increase in eating fatty foods while pregnant or the way the pregnant body digests fatty foods - I can't remember which exactly, but anyway - just a thought.

OP - There are times when I eat greasy foods that I get stomach cramps following, but it's hit or miss and the only thing I can think of that is an affect of having my gallbladder out. The cramps are nothing compared to the attacks I had though so I'll take 'em.

I was taught that it increases with pregnancy because your body is not digesting as efficiently. When hormones cause certain muscles to relax, (Uterus, to prepare for birth), digestion is affected too. Also, the pressure of the growing uterus on the stomach, etc...same reasons you get heartburn while pregnant. Many, many women eat healthier while pregnant than ever before, and end up developing gallstones.

 

[Fundytrail]

Had mine out in June (laparoscopic surgery). In at 8 AM and out of hospital 2:30 PM the same day. A bit sore for a day or two but overall it went well.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Had severve pain prior to getting mine out, my recoup time was very long, 10 days pain wise, about 2 years to adjust to foods. I also went from gallbladder problems to IBS and stomach problems due to lack of bile.

If I eat high fat foods I pay for it. But at least it is not pain anymore.

 

[Darsa]

My 14YO niece had hers out in early November after experiencing a lot of pains in her "upper stomach", as she said. Has had no pain since, and they found a TON of gallstones.

 

[Hillbeans]

Broken record time for me - get it out if your doctor advises it, don't let it go because it'll never get better on its own.

This coming from the daughter of a mom who had developed gallbladder cancer from not getting hers out many years before and died 7 weeks after her diagnosis at the age of 66.

 

[Desnik]

Yes, I would say get your gallbladder removed if you have stones and are having problems. But..... I think you should be aware that there is a 10% chance you may end up like me. Most people have the surgery and are fine, better than ever. However, 10% of people who have the surgery end up worse or not better at all. What I have is called bile salts diarrhea and it is horrible and controls my life. Not only did I have to completely change what I ate, how and when, but I have attacks, reflux, and can't eat dairy at all. I have been seen by numerous specialists, had every test done and finally got the diagnosis of bile salts diarrhea. I have tried different medications and right now am taking one that helps, but my life has been changed forever, in a bad way. I have to plan my day around eating and being near a bathroom for the attacks. This has been going on for about 4 years now. It could go on forever, or just get better on it's own. Not likely for me since it has been going on so long after my surgery. I really wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy and it probably won't happen to you, but I thought you should be aware that there is a small chance that it could. Good luck!

Here is a link with some info:
http://www.gihealth.com/html/education/bilesaltDiarrhea.html