Had your gallbladder out?

[MzDiz]

I had my gallbladder removed on Tuesday (third surgery in 10 months, yuck) and I'd like to hear about some normal people's experiences. Not that y'all are normal, but you'll have to do.
What's life like for you now? Tell me how it's changed your habits.

 

[wdwmom2]

I had my gallbladder taken out about 12 years ago.

My life now, no more pain. I can eat anything I want. I do know that there are people who do have to watch what they eat, especially fat, due to the fact that the gallbladder secrets bile into your stomach which helps the body process fat. Your liver is actually where the bile originates, and is still secreted into your small intestine. So, you may not know how your body will handle this until you are fully recovered.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I had mine removed almost 13 years ago and after about a week I was back to normal and still to this day I can't tell any difference from before or after the surgery. I was actually back at work two days later because they didn't tell me not to and I felt fine, even though I moved a little slow. I was a little shocked when I went in the following week and the Dr said that he released me to go back to work. I think he was even more surprised.

 

[joviroxx]

Had mine taken out 4 years ago on a thurday, back to work on Monday. Nothing has changed for me except no more pain!

 

[tlbwriter]

I had pretty bad diarrhea any time I ate anything fatty for almost a year. But now, no problems at all.

 

[BKMETV]

Mine came out last May...except for the fact that the anesthesic made me sick for a week, it was great. No more pain. Haven't found anything that I can't eat. Just remember to take it easy for the first few days.

 

[ZuZugal]

Had mine out right after the birth of my DD15. I was nursing her at the time so did not want to take any pain meds after the surgery. Doc asked me if I needed a refill on pain meds at my follow-up visit. I told him since I was nursing I didn't take any pain meds. He told me women should rule the world, not men!!

No problems; eat whatever I want; no pain any more

 

[kwelch10377]

I had mine out a year ago. I have had no problems since.

The one thing I will say is becareful about gaining weight afterwards. I have manged to gain about 15 lbs. I think a lot of it has to do with that I went back eating stuff that was causing the gallbladdber attacks and the fact that my body was trying to adjust to processing fat.

 

[MamaLema]

I had mine out 12 years ago. Before that, I was eating very unhealthy. After the surgery, I can no longer eat big meals, so I eat 6 small meals a day.

I also cannot tolerate a lot of fat. This has helped me lose 50 pounds and keep it off for 10 years. I taught my body to crave healthy foods. If eat too much junk, I will feel sick for a few days afterwards.

 

[daughtersrus]

I had mine out the "old fashion way" 25 years ago when I was 22. I honestly thought that I was having a heart attack

I had my first attack that landed me in the hospital 7 days after my DD was born. It took them several attacks weeks apart before I finally got a diagnosis.
Then, I had to wait a few more weeks before they would do surgery since I had a C-sect with DD. My gallbladder was full of stones and I had several in the liver duct. The surgeon said that he stopped counting when he got to 100. Honestly, the surgery was much harder than the C-sect or having my appendix out when I was 15.

Since the surgery, I have never had a problem. Some people are surprised that I can eat nuts, cabbage, broccoli... without any problems.

 

[Disneymadhouse]

This is a very intereting post to me as about four years ago i was diagnosed with gallstones. I didn't do anything about it then as I wanted to get pregnant.
I found certain foods set of an attack and then i had no more pains for months. I later found out that I was 28wks pregnant ( i found out at the infertility clinic) so thank goodness i hadn't needed to take any pain killers.
I have enquired about the surgery again, as after my baby was born i had some horible pains but was told it was a 2 - 4 week recovery from a gallbladder removal. My DH is disabled and wouldn't be able to cope with the little one.

I have not had a flair up for ages now ( hoping i am not tempting fate here!), so will just see how I go. Maybe my gallstones have just upped and left!!

Claire

 

[MomRN]

My gallbladder surgery was pretty routine (I did have a drain because the gallbladder was pretty necrotic, and it took the surgeon double the time...and I stayed overnight, but I was back to school a couple of days later), but a couple of weeks after I had another attack, that was worse than any of the previous ones. I literally told my husband to let me lay there and die because there was no way I could sit up in a chair in a waiting room. He called an ambulance (only 1/2 trips in an ambulance, the other was a car wreck where the car rolled over). I ended up having a bile duct stone. An ERCP later that was all done.

I still have "problems" eating fatty foods...

 

[MzDiz]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I knew that I could have problems with eating certain foods, but what I'm reading so far has been pretty encouraging.

 

[My 2 princesses]

I'm just in the process of deciding if I want it out or not. Meet a surgeon later this month to discuss. Thanks to all who have responeded so far, I will be following this thread closely.

OP - hope you are recovering well.

 

[vettechick99]

Ask your doctor for Prevalite or Questran (I think those are the names). It's a powder that you take daily to help with any issues. It's a miracle drug!!

 

[DVC-Don]

Had mine out about 5 years ago. It took about six months to get back to normal with my diet. No issues for years.

 

[ols386]

I had mine out in 2005. I had a complication after the surgery, and it took me about 2 weeks to start feeling back to normal.

I've not really had a problem since having it removed except that if I eat very much meat, like beef or pork, it does have some negative impact on my digestive system, but nothing drastic that keeps me from living my normal daily life.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

Had mine out the old-fashioned way, 23 years ago when I was 18.

I used to have trouble after eating, especially rich or fatty foods, but after being diagnosed with diabetes and eating clean I don't have trouble anymore.

And by trouble I mean an immediate, urgent need to locate a restroom.

 

[Tinijocaro]

I had my gallbladder removed on Tuesday (third surgery in 10 months, yuck) and I'd like to hear about some normal people's experiences. Not that y'all are normal, but you'll have to do.
What's life like for you now? Tell me how it's changed your habits.

Had mine out a year ago. I can now eat anything I want without getting sick. For the first few months, my bowel habits changed. I would go three times before I left for work and when I had to go, it was pretty urgent. That has since settled down.

I've gained 15 pounds since my surgery-not happy.

I was out of work for two weeks, had lap surgery.

 

[DisneyLover83]

Ask your doctor for Prevalite or Questran (I think those are the names). It's a powder that you take daily to help with any issues. It's a miracle drug!!

You can also take Welchol, it is a pill instead of a powder, it has given me my life back. I had mine out in 2007 and if it were not for Welchol I would never eat out.