Gallbladder experiences? Anyone?

[Denise W]

Hi! Did you ever get to know what exactly was the problem that you had? Did you have to remove your gallbladder? I have a number of similar symptoms and was really curious to know. Thanks in advance!!

This person hasn’t been on here since 2017.
Denise

 

[Abirdlookingdown]

As you just joined and this is your first post I'm going to take pity on you and respond.

This thread / conversation about gall bladder surgery is 3 years old and is known as a zombie thread here. The original poster has not been active on Disboards since 2017 and I very much doubt that they will respond.

I have recently had laparoscopic gall bladder removal surgery, so I might be able to help you with information you require.

Hey thanks so much! Did know it’s an old thread from 2017 but was hoping she gets an email with my msg :/. Did you have similar symptoms like the OP posted here?

 

[BadPinkTink]

Hey thanks so much! Did know it’s an old thread from 2017 but was hoping she gets an email with my msg :/. Did you have similar symptoms like the OP posted here?

Not exactly. Ok here is my story, it may or may not help you.

In July I woke up one morning in excruciating pain on my right side. Never felt any pain like it before. I thought it would ease if I burped but all that happened was that I got nauseous and eventually vomited. I was holding my side , sitting on the side of the bed and bending over, the pain was so bad. I took some paracetamol (tylenol ) and when it eased a bit I managed to get myself to the local emergency department.

At the hospital they put me on a drip and did scans. I was eventually diagnosed with pancreatitis caused by an inflamed gall bladder and gall stones. I spent 5 days in hospital on a drip and no food. My consultant advised gall bladder removal as it was very likely that I would have another pancreatitis attack.

They sent me home with a diet sheet from the dietitian. From that day until my surgery I went on a very strict low fat diet. I eat healthy anyway, but even the good fats like avocados, seeds and nuts I had to cut out. I lost a huge amount of weight but did not have any further pancreatitis attacks. The gall bladder is a fat storage unit, so by cutting out as much fat as possible, it reduces the inflammation. Gall stones are made from the fat in the gall bladder and bile which helps with digestion. Pancreatitis happens when the gall stones move out of the gall bladder and into the pancreas.

I was scheduled for a laparoscopic gall bladder removal at the end of September. I had day surgery. I went into the hospital at 7.30am and was home by 5pm. I have 4 small wounds, one just below my bra line, one at my belly button and two on my right side. I had dissolvable stitches and recovered at home.

I just used paracetamol (tylenol ) the night when I came home. I had very little pain, just felt achy. The first week I was very weak and slept a lot. I am now 6 weeks post surgery and healing well. I will have very tiny scars, which in another few weeks , once all the scabs are gone will start treating with vitamin e cream.

I had no symptoms or anything unusual before the pancreatitis attack. I am in good health, no diabetes, low cholesterol and have no dietary issues. After the surgery I have no issues with any food and have gone back to a normal healthy diet, eating all the same foods I did before the pancreatitis attack.

 

[travelmomof3]

Gallbladder can be really hard to diagnose, esp if it doesn't "perform" during test time.

I have had on-off symptoms for over a decade, went through an ultrasound of all my abdominal organs and everything was normal and also that meant no gallstones.

I recently had a very terrible bout of GI issues and that oh so familiar dull ache (feels like I've been punched under the ribs) on my upper right side. Went in for a HIDA test but by the time I got the test I was feeling better and the test came back normal.

All recent blood work and physical exam is normal.

I know for sure what I eat affects how I feel. I have not had fatty foods (salmon, avocadoes, fried foods) in years. But one thing that helped calm it was eat in an anti-inflammatory diet. Daily now I sautee a bell pepper, serve over one of those little containers of minute brown rice, add any leftover meat (rotisserie chicken, cooked pork, etc.) and top with salt, chili powder, and Pico.

For coffee in the morning I no longer add cream and just have it black. My dr suggested avoiding beans or regular coffee as caffeine can exacerbate. So, in the morning I use instant coffee (half of a decaf Sbux VIA and half of a regular Sbux VIA) so I can get a little caffeine. It's been working.

Overall, surgery is not on my agenda for now, I'm trying to control with diet as best I can. The dr believes I have "lazy gallbladder" which will be aggravated with inflammatory foods.

Hope you feel better!

 

[bdcp]

I thought I had come back here and posted again after my post in 2017 about my DH. I had had "gas" pain under my ribs around the 2008-2009 timeframe off and on, in the evening, but no real pain perse. I had a bout in 2009 of what I thought was food poisoning, nausea, fever, exhaustion which turned out to be a gall bladder attack. In March 2018, all of a sudden I started feeling badly. It started one day at work after eating a red velvet donut which ended up causing me to show new digestive issues. After that, I developed tachycardia and wasn't digesting food completely, some was going pretty much right through me. I threw up most mornings for a few weeks too. I also lost my appetite and started losing weight because I honestly could eat barely 1/2 a meal. I went to the ER after we returned from a cruise in late April and they did blood work and my liver enzymes were slightly elevated. On the cruise I had pain one day for about an hour. The tachycardia continued but didn't bother me very often. I went to see my Dr right after the ER and she ordered more bloodwork that showed my enzymes were still slightly up and then an abdominal ultrasound. She thought I had fatty liver, which I don't at all. I had gall stones. About 6 weeks later I went for a physical after going through heart tests, all which turned up normal except for the rapid heartbeat. I had lost 24 lbs. We talked and I told her I'm pretty sure it was all related to my gall bladder. The cardiologist agreed since my heart was totally normal (ekg, halter monitor and echocardiogram all confirmed that). She told me to contact a surgeon. I called the one who did my DH's. I saw her one week after my physical and 8 days after that I had surgery. Best thing I ever did. I woke up from surgery feeling back to my old self. Appetite came back, energy came back and the twinges I was feeling and the nausea were gone. Occasionally if I have something with milk in it or high fat before early afternoon, it causes some digestive issues, but that's common. Anyway, point is, the gall bladder can cause so many different symptoms. My gall bladder was red/pink and not at all healthy plus had adhesions and stones. Healthy gall bladders are yellow/green. As my surgeon said, it needed to come out. Don't wait too long. Gall bladders can rupture and cause infections and death. My tachycardia was caused by how messed up my gall bladder was. I was 58 when I had it removed and it was my first surgery ever.

 

[bdcp]

Not exactly. Ok here is my story, it may or may not help you.

In July I woke up one morning in excruciating pain on my right side. Never felt any pain like it before. I thought it would ease if I burped but all that happened was that I got nauseous and eventually vomited. I was holding my side , sitting on the side of the bed and bending over, the pain was so bad. I took some paracetamol (tylenol ) and when it eased a bit I managed to get myself to the local emergency department.

At the hospital they put me on a drip and did scans. I was eventually diagnosed with pancreatitis caused by an inflamed gall bladder and gall stones. I spent 5 days in hospital on a drip and no food. My consultant advised gall bladder removal as it was very likely that I would have another pancreatitis attack.

They sent me home with a diet sheet from the dietitian. From that day until my surgery I went on a very strict low fat diet. I eat healthy anyway, but even the good fats like avocados, seeds and nuts I had to cut out. I lost a huge amount of weight but did not have any further pancreatitis attacks. The gall bladder is a fat storage unit, so by cutting out as much fat as possible, it reduces the inflammation. Gall stones are made from the fat in the gall bladder and bile which helps with digestion. Pancreatitis happens when the gall stones move out of the gall bladder and into the pancreas.

I was scheduled for a laparoscopic gall bladder removal at the end of September. I had day surgery. I went into the hospital at 7.30am and was home by 5pm. I have 4 small wounds, one just below my bra line, one at my belly button and two on my right side. I had dissolvable stitches and recovered at home.

I just used paracetamol (tylenol ) the night when I came home. I had very little pain, just felt achy. The first week I was very weak and slept a lot. I am now 6 weeks post surgery and healing well. I will have very tiny scars, which in another few weeks , once all the scabs are gone will start treating with vitamin e cream.

I had no symptoms or anything unusual before the pancreatitis attack. I am in good health, no diabetes, low cholesterol and have no dietary issues. After the surgery I have no issues with any food and have gone back to a normal healthy diet, eating all the same foods I did before the pancreatitis attack.

Actually, the gall bladder stores bile which you need to digest fats. The gall bladder does not store fat.