Gallbladder issues. UPDATED POST 64

[emmybee]

just curious as to why? Removing the gall bladder stops any further pancreatitis attacks and I can function perfectly fine without my gall bladder. If I don't need it and removing it makes me healthier, then why not have it removed?

My interpretation is that they would rather go through the process of confirmation rather than jumping to surgery first. I'm probably wrong, but that's how I read it

 

[DLgal]

I know a bunch of people who had their gallbladders removed. I'd opt for imaging before having organs removed.

You've obviously never had a gallbladder attack. It's horrific pain and it's not something you want to experience repeatedly.

The gallbladder is sort of an unnecessary organ. Maybe it served a purpose long ago, but most people do just fine without it, like the appendix. It's literally just a little sac that holds bile and dispenses it when needed. Your liver actually produces the bile and there is an entire bile duct system that deposits bile directly into your intestines without needing to pass through the gallbladder first. When they remove the gallbladder, that bile duct system continues functioning in its absence. It sometimes takes a few days for the liver to learn to adjust the amount of bile needed, but it's usually not an issue long term.

 

[BadPinkTink]

You've obviously never had a gallbladder attack. It's horrific pain and it's not something you want to experience repeatedly.

agreed, once was enough for me, the relief when my surgeon said the best treatment is removal, I was like omg, yes please, get rid of it.

 

[Aladora]

I had mine out last June after a terrible attack where I actually thought I was having a heart attack since many of the signs of a heart attack in women are similar to a gallbladder attack. I ate quite low fat until I had it out and ever since it was removed I can eat just about anything I want. Mine was done as a day surgery and I was home that afternoon.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Sounds like my husband last summer, but his ultrasound missed it. It wasn’t until they did a CT that they found it.

 

[jennyq87]

Just wanted to add in my experience since it's a little different. About 10 years ago, I was in and out of doctor's offices for about 3-4 months trying to figure out what was causing my AWFUL stomach pain. I went through X-rays and CT scans and all kinds of tests -- the docs kind of made me feel like I was crazy. Everything kept coming back fine and otherwise I was perfectly healthy. The imaging all said my gallbladder looked fine, no stones, etc. Eventually I went to doc who put me through a HIDA scan and it finally confirmed that my gallbladder was structurally okay, but wasn't functioning properly. I had never been so relieved to hear that I needed surgery. But anyway -- just wanted to mention that because the absence of gallstones in imaging doesn't necessarily mean gallbladder isn't the issue. And I wish I'd known there were different tests for that earlier on. Good luck to you!

 

[bdcp]

Three years ago I got sick. I had tachycardia, lack of appetite, exhaustion and nausea. It got to the point that I dry heaved every morning. Years before I was having what I thought were gas pains which turned out to be gall bladder attacks. Never enough pain to go to the ER or anything. Then, one day I got sick after eating mexican food. I thought it was food poisoning and I had a temp and everything, but it went away and I felt fine after a week. In March 2018, I developed the symptoms I listed and finally in early May, I had really bad tachychardia and went to the urgent care. My heart rate between April and early Aug ran about 125 all the time. When they did bloodwork and urinalysis I had elevated liver enzymes and bilirubin elevation. But, because I had no pain, the ER Dr sent me home when my heart rate went down to about 108. Fast forward a couple of weeks, my GP ordered more bloodwork and my liver enzymes were still elevated. She ordered an ultrasound and bingo, gall stones. I started feeling worse and worse and was nauseous every single morning on top of just feeling like crap. The next week I saw a surgeon who scheduled my surgery for the following week. I lost 24 lbs in 4 months, but I did gain them back after surgery. I woke up from my laparascopic surgery being told my gall bladder wasn't functioning well, had adhesions and was bright red instead of the normal yellow/green color as well as having about 4 stones. I have pictures lol. I also woke up from anesthesia with ZERO symptoms. I felt great from that day on. Best thing I ever did was get that thing removed. My only current complaint is that because there is no storage for the bile, so it drains into the intestine constantly. Some foods, esp fat, milk, can make me need a bathroom after an hour or so. But, that's pretty common and it's just something to work around. It was my first surgery ever. My second was 20 months ago for an ankle fracture and this summer I'm looking at a knee replacement. Sigh. My gall bladder surgery was at 7 am and I was home before 11 am. I had no issues with anesthesia at all. In fact, I woke up in the OR after they were finished so I was wide awake in recovery.

My husband had his gall bladder out about 15 years ago. He had no stones, but had a rubbing feeling under his ribs. He had a HIDA scan that showed he had sludge, which is a precursor to stones.

 

[RamblingMad]

You've obviously never had a gallbladder attack. It's horrific pain and it's not something you want to experience repeatedly.

The gallbladder is sort of an unnecessary organ. Maybe it served a purpose long ago, but most people do just fine without it, like the appendix. It's literally just a little sac that holds bile and dispenses it when needed. Your liver actually produces the bile and there is an entire bile duct system that deposits bile directly into your intestines without needing to pass through the gallbladder first. When they remove the gallbladder, that bile duct system continues functioning in its absence. It sometimes takes a few days for the liver to learn to adjust the amount of bile needed, but it's usually not an issue long term.

What I'm saying is that it could be something else. Doctors seem quick to remove this organ. It could be diverticulitis. It'd get a thorough exam before going under the knife.

 

[DLgal]

What I'm saying is that it could be something else. Doctors seem quick to remove this organ. It could be diverticulitis. It'd get a thorough exam before going under the knife.

Diverticulitis is VERY different than gallbladder issues. I've had both. One has nothing to do with the other. Doctors don't just guess and decide to yank out gallbladders. They only do so when testing/imaging reveals it to be a problem. You are making assumptions about this that are incorrect. I literally had an infected gallbladder and no doctor was "quick to remove it." I had to wait nearly a month.

 

[BadPinkTink]

What I'm saying is that it could be something else. Doctors seem quick to remove this organ. It could be diverticulitis. It'd get a thorough exam before going under the knife.

and just like PP, I had multiple types of tests, xrays, ultrasounds, CAT scan with dye and MRI. I also had multiple blood tests and background medical history checks. My doctors were not just quick to remove it, they came to a logical diagnoses based on test results.

again, many of us in this thread have been though this, the pain is extremely severe and the best treatment is removal.

 

[elgerber]

My attacks were excruciating, the first one I thought I was having a heart attack. The pain was in my rib cage area, all the way through to my back. They were horrible.

 

[NotUrsula]

just curious as to why? Removing the gall bladder stops any further pancreatitis attacks and I can function perfectly fine without my gall bladder. If I don't need it and removing it makes me healthier, then why not have it removed?

Two words: gastric dumping.

Not that it's an adequate reason, but it's the most common reason that people avoid the surgery. Somewhere between 5-40% of patients come down with Post-Cholecystectomy Syndrome, and that is what they are afraid of.

I can pretty much promise you that almost none of these people has ever had acute pancreatitis, because if they had they wouldn't care. I was hospitalized for 5 full weeks NPO while my pancreas recovered from the attack; I had no actual gallstones, but I had "sludge" that totally blocked the pancreatic duct. I was too sick to have the gall bladder surgery at the time and had to wait. I also developed double pneumonia as a complication and ended up with a central line. They finally let me go home after 5 weeks (by this time I was climbing the walls in that shared hospital room), and then I went back a week later for the day surgery to remove the gall bladder. (And had a wee bit of a recovery issue that required me to stay in hospital an extra day.)

Anyway, that was 6 years ago, and I'm still dealing with gastric dumping. It's embarrassing and awkward (among other things, I absolutely cannot attend business dinners any more), but compared with acute pancreatitis it's a walk in the park. There is no way I would have chosen to take my chances again with the gall bladder in place; I came within hours of dying. ((My case was completely asymptomatic until it wasn't; when it hit I went from feeling just a wee bit queasy to back pain that was WAY worse than labour. I was admitted via the ER immediately on the basis of my bloodwork, and had to have ERCP (gastric scope) surgery within 12 hours to save my life. It took 3 weeks flat on my back tanked up with IV hydromorphone, and with no food except a glucose drip, before my doctors would declare me fully out of danger and on the road to recovery. The specialist told me later that when I was admitted he had given me only about a 10% chance of survival.))

 

[MrsPete]

I know a couple people who've had gall bladder problems, and your description does sound like what they experienced.

My RN daughter Gall bladder removal is one of the most common surgery in the US today.

She also says that you can use the "Five Fs" to determine how likely you are to have your gall bladder go bad -- the more boxes you check from this list, the more likely you are to experience gall bladder problems:

- Forty (or older)
- Female
- Fat
- Fertile (meaning you've had a child)
- Fair skinned (meaning of European descent)

 

[bdcp]

Also, family history plays a role. My grandmother had hers out in her late 50's/early 60's, my mother had hers out in her late 50's/early 60s and I had mine out at 58. I'm waiting for one of my two sisters to have theirs out lol. My sisters son had his out at 17. It's much more common in women than men. Although, as I said my DH had his out. My former boss also had his out a few years back. Overall, it was such an easy surgery and recovery. I had surgery on a Thursday, as I said, home 4 hours later. I went to church on Sunday and went and walked the mall Mon, Wed and Fri and then back to work the following Mon (11 days after).

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

My attacks were excruciating, the first one I thought I was having a heart attack. The pain was in my rib cage area, all the way through to my back. They were horrible.

Excruciating is a good word to describe it. I felt like I was being stabbed with an ice pick. The pain went on for hours and of course, both of mine were in the middle of the night. I didn’t want to wake anyone, so I suffered in silence, even though I really wanted to scream.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I know a couple people who've had gall bladder problems, and your description does sound like what they experienced.

My RN daughter Gall bladder removal is one of the most common surgery in the US today.

She also says that you can use the "Five Fs" to determine how likely you are to have your gall bladder go bad -- the more boxes you check from this list, the more likely you are to experience gall bladder problems:

- Forty (or older)
- Female
- Fat
- Fertile (meaning you've had a child)
- Fair skinned (meaning of European descent)

Oh yay, I check all 5. Well I’m not fat, but I am overweight on the BMI scale, which is what I’m guessing they base it on?

 

[elgerber]

Oh yay, I check all 5. Well I’m not fat, but I am overweight on the BMI scale, which is what I’m guessing they base it on?

I actually only checked 3 when I had mine out. I was 28.

 

[DLgal]

I actually only checked 3 when I had mine out. I was 28.

Same. I was 32. My surgeon said my second pregnancy was likely to blame. I have a short torso and had a large baby (19 inches and 6lb 9pz at 36 weeks). The surgeon said pregnancies can basically cause the development of gallstones because the gallstone gets squished and cannot squeeze efficiently and empty all the way.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Same. I was 32. My surgeon said my second pregnancy was likely to blame. I have a short torso and had a large baby (19 inches and 6lb 9pz at 36 weeks). The surgeon said pregnancies can basically cause the development of gallstones because the gallstone gets squished and cannot squeeze efficiently and empty all the way.

Interesting. Well I'm 10 years past my last child - who were all big babies (8lbs 2oz, 7lbs 14oz, 9lbs 5oz & 8lbs even), so avoided it then. At least I know what the symptoms are now, if it ever does happen.

 

[bgirldeb]

Weight loss and weight cycling can cause gallstones as well.