Has Anyone Ever Had Their Gallbladder Removed?

I too had it done during pregnancy and it was the best thing I had ever done! Sounds stupid but did not realize until after how often I felt sick to to the "cholesterol crystals" that blocked the duct. I was sick for a month but once teh surgery was done I was out and about the day after I left the hospital! I could not take anything but tylenol and it was fine, the relief felt so good, yet PP is right a litle gassy :)

Hi O.,
I had my gall bladder removed a year ago, and it's really not that bad. I had just had my 2nd C-section, so I was especially freaked out. Just the thought of another abdominal surgery was scary to me. But I was up and walking just hours after having it done. And I haven't had those terrible stomach episodes, so it's really worth it. Good luck!

C. A.

I had my gall bladder taken out when I was pregnant with my first child. I was also afraid for my child but I was in so much pain and couldn't eat a thing and to me that could of been worse then not having the gall bladder taken out. The surgery went so smooth and you feel so much better after it is done. I would recommend not going throught the pain and have it done. My husband has also had it done and they only cut 3 to 4 small holes to do the surgery. It is that simple and you can barley see the scares.

H.

i have a friend that while she was 5 months pregnant had her gall bladder removed. and she and the baby did fine. she was extremely freaked out being pregnant and for the baby. the baby is now 5 years old and doing what a 5 year old is suppose to do. also my mother had her gall bladder out too and she was in her 60's when she had that done. so don't woryy too much about the surgery.

O.,

I had my gallbladder removed last April (on Good Friday, if you can believe it!). My problems actually started in January, and since I did NOT have gallstones, I went through four months of misery before finally being diagnosed with chronic cholecystitis, basically, a non working gallbladder. I was in such chronic pain (after eating) I all but stopped eating anything, ate like a bird, lost about 15 pounds (I was a small person to start with - 5'3", 112 lbs). I met with a surgeon on Tuesday before Good Friday, and was so miserable, he actually came in on his holiday to do my surgery. I don't know where you live, but Dr. Mahoney at Southeast Surgical (affliliated w/ St. Lukes) is a fantastic and incredibly compassionate surgeon. The first week after surgery was a bit rough pain wise, but I could eat anything I wanted. I have some residual issues, like watching the fat content of food I eat, but have gained my weight back and am generally MUCH happier. I had read extensively about gallbladder issues and talked to friends/family who had theirs removed before having surgery myself. Having gallstones is something that you really need to have taken care of, it can be dangerous, especially if it gets lodged in the bile duct, blocking flow to/from the liver. Plan to rest for the first week or two after surgery - and take your painkillers, but after that, you should be just fine! I was marching in my daughter's Little League parade and coaching her team two weeks after my surgery!

Hope this helps!

P.

I had my gallbladder removed shortly after my son was born.It is a pretty common surgery. Usually it is a in and out procedure. I did however end up sepnding one night in the hospital because I was in a bit more pain than I should have been. Also be sure to ask about sterilization of the tools used. I eneded up with a excritiating infection and had to have 2 drains inserted into my abdomen to drain it out of me. It is not common for that to happen however just to be safe I would ask aboutthier sterilization procedure.

Hi O.. I had mine out when I was 7 months pregnant. I and my daughter made out fine.

You'll probably have the non-invasive surgery, and if so, you'll heal much faster. The only thing I can think of to tell you is that when they blow you up with that gas...it's very uncomfortable for the next 24-48 hours, as the gas is working it's way out of your system. No one warned me about that when I had my tubes tied and I thought something was wrong because I had pain in my shoulder blades. Only after talking to a nurse about the pain, was I told it was the gas working its way through my system. Go figure!

Hi O.,

What a popular topic! So many responses already!

I, too, had my gallbladder removed eight months after giving birth to my daughter. As everyone else seems to agree upon, the gallbladder attacks are absolutely horrifying! I had so many attacks that began with chest pain and radiated to my back. Often the pain was so bad, I couldn't breathe. Doctors continued to pawn it off as anxiety attacks. However, during one emergency/ambulence trip, one of the EMT's asked, "Do you still have your gallbladder?" It was then that I had an ultrasound and was found to have gallstones, as well as a non-functioning gallbladder. Apparently, it had severe lacerations and pits.

Anyway, I was scheduled for surgery (laproscopic). As with any surgery there are risks (mainly due to anesthesia use or internal bleeding). However, these surgeries are so common that surgeons are very familiar and the internal bleeding factor is rare.

After waking up from my surgery, I was given morphine. Then, I went home and was back to work in less than two days. There was not much pain, just a great feeling of being bloated and gassy. My scars are so tiny, you can barely see them... three minor incisions. Although some find it very wierd, I did get to see my gallstones. They were actually very pretty as bizarre as that sounds. They looked like a rock of crystal.

Good luck. You will do magnificently.

E.

Hello O.,

I had my gall bladder out shortly after I had my daughter; three months after to be exact. Please have a sense of peace about this. I was soooooo apprehensive about the surgery, but it was a piece of cake. I promise. No more attacks or pains, but I had to be careful of the high fat intake or greasy foods shortly after the surgery. Now two years later I am doing fine and there is no concern of what I eat.
I believe the surgery is not as intrusive as it use to be, laproscopic is definitely the way to go.

Good Luck and Be at Peace
Everything will work out:)

A little about me:

I am a SAHM of two; daughter 2yrs. old and son 7mths. old. Married for 6 years and contemplating baby #3. I live in the Port Washington, WI area.

Hi! I just had mine out not even 2 weeks ago. I didn't have gallstones but just a bum gallbladder. I was in the Ambulatory Surgery Center for about 5 hours total including prep, surgery and discharge. They put you out for the surgery so it's not bad at all. They give you 4 incisions one in your belly button and 3 in your abdomen (2 for scopes to see what they're doing and one to 'blow up your belly' so they can see the organs). Your middle will be sore for a few days but the pain medication works well. I actually worked from home the next day (on my computer the whole time). You can't lift for about 5 days and I took Vicodan for 3 days before the healing pain was tolerable. It's really not bad at all. By the 4th or 5th day you feel almost back to normal. Trust me... I flew to Japan just 9 days after my surgery and never would've considered it if it wasn't ok.

My surgeon was Dr. Michael Phillips and was great. He goes to either Waukesha or Oconomowoc if you're looking for someone.

I wish you the best of luck! It's really not that bad but I'm not saying there isn't pain.... just nothing Vicodan won't handle. Make sure you have someone to drive your kids around just in case you have to take some medication. It will make you loopy.

Good luck!
B.

Gallbladder surgery is a very easy and usually uncomplicated surgery. As long as you take care of it! My friend had gallstones and was told to have surgery and like you, she was too afraid too. What ended up happening is beyond scary. Her gallbladder became gangrene and she had to have emergency surgery to remove it. The gangrene had caused a lot of infection and it had spread. She almost died on the operating table and was in a coma for about a week afterward. She now has a horrible scar and still has problems from the infections. All of this because she didnt follow her doctors orders and have her gallbladder removed when she should have. Believe me! You need to do it now or regret it later. The actual surgery is easy and done daily. You will be up and about pretty quick and life will go on normally. I have had two surgerys, not gallbladder, but not much different. I was just fine and home by the end of the day on both mine. Good luck! L.

My surgery went very well. I am glad that you were able to find out so soon that that was the cause of your problems. I had to wait 4 months with a series of 7 different attacks. The last one lasted 9 hours 7 of which I was in the er. Like I said the surgery went well and healing likewise. Yes you will be sore but it is manageable. The worst part for me is that bm's are never the same any more. Any time I eat greasy food or heavy food, gravey or acidy foods.(those things that would trigger an attack the fastest) I will get cramps and really unpleasant BMs. I am told that this is normal and all the ladies I know who have had the procedure done say the same. Good luck and trust me getting it out is way worth it!

I had my gall badder out the same day I had my daughter. I had her 2 1/2 weeks early because the attacks get so bad. I chose not to have the surgery while I was pragnant, do to the risk of the baby. Which was a big mistake (to me not the baby). I had a ton of attacks and they only get worse. I could not eat anything the last month with out having an attack.

I had a c-section, tubes tied, then the gall bladder... The only problem I had with the gall bladder surgery was from the gas I felt like someone broke my collar bone.

I would recommend getting it done as soon a you find out what the problem is and not wait for it to get better. Or the gallstones to pass.

I don't have any problem since I had it removed. And I'm sooo glad I will never have a gall bladder attack again.

Hi O.! Have you ever tried drinkable aloe juice? They have flavored varieties and I would recommend it before you try the surgical route. You can find it at your local health food store. Aloe heals and doesn't just treat symptoms.

*hugs*

O.,
The only thing I can add to this is to make sure you have a small pillow to hold on your stomach afer surgery. It will help when you cough or sneeze. I had it done in '91 and have felt much better since then. Good luck

T.

Both my father-in-law and Mother-in-law had theirs removed. My father-in-law couldn't have the non invasive surgery due to some complecations with his gallbladder, but my mother in law was able to have the noninvasive surgery.

My mother in law has 3 small marks from the small incisions, my father in law has 1 larger, but other than that they had the same thing in recovery. Didn't seem to be in much pain, but kept telling us not to make them laugh. :) It's a fairly common surgery, so I wouldn't worry.

You said good AND bad stories, so don't let mine scare you!

I'd been going to the ER with excruciating back pain for three years. The pain was so horrible it would wake me up at night and I'd be crying. (Found out later that when there's a problem in front of your body, the pain can occur on the other side your your body). For those three years worth of gallbaldder attacks, the doctors never picked up on it and sent me home with naproxen (aleve). (Yes, I'm still bitter).

I finally had an ER doctor who knew what he was doing and by that point, it was so advanced they had to do an emergency admission into the hospital. I had an ultrasound the first day, a scope the second, and the surgery on the third. I don't remember much of those first days - I was on morphine for most of it.

They went in to do the laproscopic surgery, but were unable to, so I have the huge scar across my belly and the tiny scars from where they tried to do it the easy way. I also had a t-tube in my chest for 6 weeks after the surgery to drain bile. The surgeon took the bile bag off after a week (I had to drain it and measure how much was in there), but the tube stayed in. It was one of the most annoying parts of the whole thing. I had this tube sticking out of me, the skin around it was very raw and it hurt.

The surgery took over five hours, in the hospital a full seven days, and I was off of work for two months. I went home with percocet (oxycodone) for pain. They started letting me have "real" food four days after the surgery (the last day I was in the hospital) and I could drive within a week or two. I think it was about a week before I could shower - after I got the staples out.

NO ONE else I've talked to had the same experience I did with the surgery, so I'm assuming mine was more on the "worst case senario" side of things. I was pretty much in my regular routine within a few weeks, just still got tired very easily and didn't eat much. It wasn't fun, but thank God no more gallbladder attacks! That alone made it worth it!

HI O. I am S. when I was 16 i had my gall removed and it was pretty simple it is an outpatient sugery i was laid up for a couple days but meds did help with the pain so it wasnt too bad. The only problem i had is with the scar on the top of my stomache for some reason it streched and it is very noticible a year or so later i was dignoised with both diverticulitus and ulceritive colitis dont really know if it caused from the same series of events but i thought i would let you know about the possibilities if more stomace pain does occur but thats about it anyother questions just let me know.

I had mine removed about 6 years ago. After having about 25 attacks with in 5 years. when a Stomach Doctor found it. I was off of work for about 1 week. Feeling better in about 2 days. Working in a office you should have no problem going back after a week. I was back at work with the conditions I could sit down when needed. I was back at 100% in two weeks. I would not worry. It is a day surgery. I was in at 6am and out by the time my soaps were on at noon. My suggestion would be to have someone with you and the kids for the first day or two. I luckly had my best friend to stay with me for the first two days...
Good luck and don't be Nervous

A.

Mother of one 2 year old boy

Hi O.!

I had my gall bladder removed when I was four and 1/2 months pregnant! Talk about adding a little stress. Twice before the surgery different people had to sit us down and explain what could possibly happen to the baby. Very scary.

The surgery went well and because I was pregnant my doctor's made me stay over night. I am really glad they did and I would recommend your doctor insisting on it. The worst part was that they could not find my daughter's heartbeat after the surgery and so I was in recovery for four hours and they wouldn't tell my husband anything. But it turned okay. They only gave me five days off of work. Well, two days after the surgery I ended up unable to eat or drink anything. I couldn't keep anything down. I went to the ER and they tried to get blood by sticking me 13 times!!! Needless to say, I was badly dehydrated and they sent me home anyway. The next morning I ended up being admitted back into the hospital for three days. I think the problems I had were very much worse because I was pregnant. Good luck.

BTW, my daughter is now a beautiful 5 year old Kindergartener! :)

I had my gallbladder removed not too long ago. It's a fairly simple procedure that's now done on an out-patient basis. Very minimally invasive with laproscopic technology.

But,it is still major abdominal surgery. And although several people told me they were back to work within three to four days, I'd say it was at least five to seven days before I felt confident getting myself up from a seated position or from bed. It will still take months for your body to completely heal, even from the minimal incisions. Don't expect to be able to pick the kids up, lift groceries, keep the house spic & span or walk long distances. Your family and friends will need to help out for at least four to six weeks to make sure you don't over do it.

Best wishes.