Anyone here had your gall bladder removed?

[Jimmy9190]

Yesterday about 2:00 I got a bad pain in my right side below my rib cage. It stayed there and kind of radiated back to the same area on my lower back on the right side. It was a very intense dull pain like a really bad cramp. It kept getting worse and I eventually threw up in the restroom. I felt like I had been kicked by a mule. I left work, even though I wa sin a lot of pain I still drove myself home but had to stop on the side of the road and throw up again. Git home, tried to lie down but could not get comfortable in any position. The pain was in my stomach, under my rib cage and in my back and was very intense.

I called my wife, she called the nurse on call service at our health insurance, described my symptoms and they said head to the ER asap because it could be very serious. I was at the ER for about 5 hours, they did a CT scan, ultrasound and blood tests, found out I have gall stones and my gall bladder needs to be removed asap.

Anyone else had this happen? Any details of what it is like to live without your gall bladder? How about the surgery procedure? I appreciate any info. Thanks.

 

[stockrex]

mother did, you have stones and inflammation,
ask what they will remove, just the sack? or the entire thing with the ducts?

later is major, they will probably open you up,
my mother had the sack removed (laproscopic)
lot of reflux, green spit etc after the procedure.

 

[Cujet]

My wife had hers removed, for something similar. They did a minimally invasive surgery, laparoscopically. The only complication was that she had plenty of air inside her afterwards and was very uncomfortable, with radiating pain into the shoulder area. Lasted about a week if I remember correctly.

For about a year, she would get phantom pains, of a minor nature, in the gall bladder area.

 

[javacontour]

Wife had her out almost two years ago. No real drama. It's done via laparoscopic surgery in most cases, so you are up in a day or two. Sure beats being doubled over in pain if she ate too much rich food, such as after a fondue date.

 

[DSparks]

March 2013...felt like someone stuck a knife right under my sternum and as deep as it would go..the crying kinda pain..thought i was dying....dragged myself to er at 2am....3 hours later I was being prepped for surgery....36 hours later on my way home...pretty scarey but pretty basic...just be careful with the fatty foods afterwards and you will be fine/normal.

 

[benjamming]

yep, eating avocado (high fat food) really did me in.

 

[29662]

Wife and sister had theirs removed. Fatty foods tend to send them to the bathroom real quick. Wife cant eat cruciferous vegetables anymore, gives her discomfort. Both were done lapriscopically, out in 2 days or so for both. Wife is a surgical tech, says it is a very common/routine procedure. minimally invasive and very little to worry about.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Thanks for your info and replies. I probably won't have the surgery for a couple of weeks, got to have consultations with the GI doc and surgeon first. I feel a lot better today but will have to watch what I eat from now until the surgery and then after the surgery too.

 

[ddrumman2004]

Had to have mine removed back in 08. It had become highly infected and was removed via "emergency" surgery.
When it went bad.....I thought it was having a heart attack and the hospital treated me for a heart attack. Heart was so-so at that time and the pains I was having dissipated. Six months later, pains hit me again and then it was removed.

No problems after that surgery and I have got along fine without it.

 

[Lolvoguy]

Originally Posted By: benjamming
yep, eating avocado (high fat food) really did me in.


oh yeah, those fresh veggies and fruits can be a killer!

 

[Samilcar]

Wife had a golf-ball sized stone and had her gall bladder removed. Surgery took a few hours, and I was able take her home a few hours after that (when the anesthetic wore off). Minimally invasive, with two small incisions on her abdomen, one inside her belly button. No lasting after effects as far as diet or anything.

 

[PhillyJoe]

Had mine out March 9, 2007. Lot of pain, thought it was indigestion, wife called doctor who said get to ER if it's that bad. Operated the next day, home day after.It will take time to recover; I think I missed a full week from work, then worked half days the following week.
Secretary in our office had hers out this past Saturday, good friend had hers out Monday. Lot of that going around.

 

[97f150]

Had my gallbladder removed almost 6 years ago. 3 small incisions, 2 days off of work and mostly everything was normal. For the first year fatty/ greasy food would send me to the restroom quick but that subsided. Even 6 years out I still get phantom pains from time to time.

 

[quint]

Had mine out the week before Christmas 2012. Had it done on a Tuesday at 9:00 am, I was home by 2:00 pm. Took the rest of the week off however I went to our office Christmas party that Friday and wished I hadnt (pain). Went back to work the next week and was doing ok in general.

Was fine for a couple weeks after that, was happy the daily front pain, back pain, nausea, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea and all the other nonsense was finally gone, but then right out of nowhere at about 2 months had almost daily bouts of diarrhea for a good 3-4 months. Doctor said that was "common" for many after gallbladder removal, sometimes for a fairly long time, and to avoid fatty meals, which helps a lot, but is sometimes hard to avoid, like eating out on weekends or at work. Its been a year and a half now and sometimes its still a problem, but most times its not. But when it is, it really, REALLY is. Sorry if this is TMI. The more time goes on the less of a problem this seems to be though.

The wife had hers out too and had similar problems for about 2 months but then has had no issues at all since. Some people have issues with it being gone, others dont. Altering your diet will really help though, if you do. Good luck. The surgery itself is not bad at all really.

 

[opus1]

A coworker had hers out a couple of years ago. The biggest problem afterwards was having to learn which foods would send her running to the bathroom and which she could tolerate, and then avoiding those in the first category.

 

[Tdbo]

Going through this right now.
Mine is non-functioning.
Lots of pain on my right hand side and Nausea.
Surgery is scheduled for June 9.

 

[GreeCguy]

They popped mine out about ten years ago with no problems at all.

The only "adjusting" I had to make for a while was when I ate. No matter how much or how little I ate at any given meal, 20 minutes later I was heading to the can, (and in a real hurry). It made going out to dinner a real challenge as I like to use my familiar spots. That lasted about six months. The doctors told me my system was adjusting to a lack of gall bladder. Now, I have no problems and I eat whatever I want.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Thanks again for the replies. I was not feeling well on Thursday and Friday, felt kind of bloated up like I had drunk 3 Cokes in a row or something. Had a lot of pressure in my stomach and had no appetite but I really have not had much pain since Thursday morning. Last night my appetite came back to normal, my wife and I had dinner at Olive Garden, I had 2 big bowls of salad and the Pasta Fa gioli and several breadsticks. I had no problems before or after dinner and have not had any bathroom trouble either. I did go back to work on Friday, in order to save my vacation and sick leave for the surgery. I did not do anything yesterday, sat around the house and took it easy. Today I felt fine and had my same appetite and energy level again, was busy here at home all day. Maybe my gall bladder problem is not so bad yet but for now I feel OK. Mrs. Jimmy and I will meet with the surgeon on Tuesday. He should be able to give us a much better idea what is going on. I am very grateful to have good health insurance.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Well I have an update here...I had the surgery yesterday morning, I am right at 24 hours post-surgery now. I had some problems with the red tape between the hospital, surgeon and my health insurance and almost had to reschedule but my wife stepped in and got that worked out in short order...

The hospital and staff were outstanding, that was the best medical treatment I have ever received. The ER visit a couple weeks ago was great too. Yesterday they were very attentive and explained everything they did and everything they asked me to do in great detail so Mrs. Jimmy and I both understood what was going on.

All I can remember is the pre-op procedures, where they shaved my abdomen and started the IV. Then the anesthesiologist, surgeon and attending RN all came in and told me about the procedure. They made a couple incisions in my abdomen and pumped it full of air then made another incision in my abdomen and one in my belly button and removed the gall bladder. My wife said the surgeon told her that it was a very good thing I had it removed when I did because it was enlarged to an abnormal size and definitely would have caused more problems later if it had not been removed now.

I do remember the operating room when they first took me in there, it was very cold and also lit up like a football field. They had me slide over to the operating table and they put an oxygen mask over my nose and mouth. The next thing I knew I was waking up in the recovery room, very groggy but I knew where I was. There was a nurse sitting there monitoring my progress and after a while they brought my wife in and she helped me get dressed. They took me to the car in a wheel chair and I came home and went straight to bed.

I slept a while and woke up hungry, but also felt seasick and dizzy. That was from the anesthesia and I remember the anesthesiologist telling me most people just have to sleep it off. I took an anti-nausea pill that dissolves in your mouth, and ten minutes later I threw up. A little later I was able to keep down some chicken broth and Powerade. I slept off and on and was nauseated most of yesterday and last night. The nausea got progressively better and was gone when I woke up today. This morning I took a pain pill and am a little queasy now. I do not tolerate pain meds very well.

Other than being tired and still somewhat dehydrated I feel OK today. The only pain I really have is in my belly button. The surgeon also fixed a small hernia at my belly button while he was in there. I should be back on my feet in a few days but am not used to sitting around doing nothing and sleeping all the time. I am glad I had this done because I sure don't want any more gall bladder problems.

Good luck with your surgery Tdbo. I hope it goes as well as mine did. And thanks again for everyone's replies here.

 

[Lolvoguy]

why do you need to remove your gall bladder?

I've heard of others getting this done, but never understood why