Gall Bladder Surgery

Hi, I actually had the gall bladder surgery, and I am so glad I did. I had frequent gall bladder attacks- very painful at times. I thought I had ulcers, until I went to the doctor and they did an ultrasound, and sure enough some rather large gall stones were in there. I did not develop these during any of my pregnancies, it was just something my body developed over time I guess. Anyway, the surgery was performed all with lasers- I have three very small scars on my stomach, and one in my belly button. I stayed in the hospital overnight just because I thought if I went home my kids would "expect" their Mom back (if you know what I mean). Anyway, overall I have had no problems or complications since having the surgery 2 years ago. The only downside to this operation is there are certain high fat foods that upset my stomach, but overall there are no diet restrictions.

Good luck, and let me know if you have any other questions.

L.

Go for it. The same thing happened to me when I was pregnant with my fourth daughter. They could not remove it while I was pregnant, and about 2-3 months after she was here, I woke up in extreme pain....so bad it hurt to breathe. You will have to change your diet slightly. The doc who did the surgery was very good at what he did, but not too good on his advice. He told me that I would be able to eat and drink as usual....not so. I am just a social drinker, but had to cut back on the hard drinks, the wine is fine. Spicy foods you have to be very careful about. If I have it for dinner and do not drink enough water before I go to bed...I pay for it in the morning. The change in diet is not a burden though. Definetly worth the trade off. I was nervous to get it done, but I had to stop thinking about it and just do it, and I am sooo glad that I did. If you are concerned about scarring, don't be. They are little and can barely be seen. I think mine look great, for scars that is. Good luck S.. You'll be just fine....Oh, and recovery, so good you have to be careful. You'll feel like you can do any and everything...don't. The minute you feel like that, sit down somewhere and smile...you now have a valid reason not to do chores!

I had gallstones and got rid of them without surgery but it took a dedicated weekend regime. I found the remedy on line and saw the results. No more problems, but would do again if they come back.

I had my gall bladder out when my son was three months old after suffering some excruciating attacks. The surgery wasn't bad, I was out of the hospital that night and on my feet again after two or three days. Haven't had a problem since.

One caution I would give, if you are nursing, some of the more old-school doctors may tell you that you have to pump and dump because of the anesthetic and painkillers, but this isn't necessarily true. If you go to kellymom.com or la leche league they can provide you with the latest information about what drugs are and are not currently considered safely compatible with breastfeeding. What WAS true for me was that I was in too much pain for the first 24 hours to nurse my son comfortably. But if your daughter is 6 months and taking other sources of nourishment, that likely won't be so much of an issue for you! Good luck.

Gall stone attacks are triggered by high fat foods and large portions. I had a very bad attack where I ended up in the ER. I didn't know it at the time what it was. A month later after an ultrasound, they confirmed it. Gall Stones! Many of them. I had surgery 4 months later - best thing I every did! It's been a year. Some times I'm not always able to eat high fat foods like a greasy hamburgers and large portions. It makes you have to go to the bathroom. But I just know now to watch how much of the fatty foods I eat. Which is not a bad thing. I had laparoscopic surgery - 4 tiny incisions. One in the belly button and three others.

Yes, I did develop gall stones durning my pregnancy, and it was very strange because I was only 20! If your attacks are anywhere near as painful as mine were, there is no reason to live with this! I was going to have mine removed when my baby was 6 months, but only 3 weeks after he was born, a gallstone got stuck in my common bile duct and I developed pancreatitis. This is a very serious, life-threatening condition and I almost died. It was horrible! I was in ICU for a week, in the hospital for another 4 days so the swelling in my pancreas could go down, and then I got my GB removed. That was 10 years ago, and I haven't had any complications from my surgery. I agree with everyone else that it will only get worse. I would definitely recommend surgery to prevent any further attacks or complications. My attacks never seemed to be linked to high-fat foods, and I've never had a problem with them since. I think when the stones are caused by pregnancy horomones it kind of goes against the norm of what ususally causes them. Just my 2 cents! I just got really tired of the Dr.s telling me to stay away from high-fat foods and then having an attack after eating a salad, or even not eating at all! Good luck in your decision!
R.

Go for the surgery - I had so many health problems after my daughter was born and could never figure out why or where they were coming from. I had all sorts of gastrointestinal issues with digestion of all sorts of food, episodes of extreme unbearable stomach pain and vomiting, diarreah, you name it I had it. I felt sick on and off all the time, with just as many good feeling days as bad feeling days. I was finally diagnosed with gallbladder disease after one night of being in so much pain, I was ready to trade it for natural childbirth (LOL) and had to go to the ER. -They wanted to remove my gallbladder that night, which I was not comfortable with, and I decided to "let go" for awhile to see if my body would do on its own. Bad idea. Gallbladder disease doesn't go away with time, episodes just get more and more frequent.
The surgery was a breeze - you'll need a good week or two to recover and you should have someone with you all the time for at least a week to help care for the baby. The surgery is no big deal with little pain involved, but they DO cut through the muscles of your abdominal wall, so you absolutely cannot bend, pick up, or lift ANYTHING for 1-2 weeks afterwards or you will rip the sutures holding your insides IN.... creepy, I know, but it doesn't hurt that much (feels like youve done a whole lot of crunches). So hubby or a family member/friends need to be on board to help you through that first week, mostly because of the lifting and complete ban on any even mildly strenuous activity.
You'll recover fast, and will INSTANTLY feel so much better. It really is much less of a big deal than you might think. Do it, because the problems will NOT go away, even with diet modification.

I didn't develope gall stones til way after my childrens birth, however, I do recommend having it done cause it will only get worse!! I had a severe infection due to the gall stones by the time I was diagnosed and when the attacks occurs every was strong and longer. Best thing I did was have the gall bladder removed. It and out of hospital in a day or two, felt and looked immediately better. With laser surgery it was very non invasive and healing time was less than a week for me!!!! Good luck!

Hi S.,
yes, I have been there and done that. Surgery can be extremely successful though it is not uncommon to take at least one to two weeks to recover even from laproscopic surgery. It was a lot rougher then I expected from what the surgeon said (thankfully I had some heads up from the nurse).

Our preshcool teacher shared her experience with us. She had severe gallstones confirmed with ultrasound etc. She actually underwent a course of accupuncture (through a Kaiser in Hawaii) that completely cleared the gall bladder (also confirmend by ultrasound) and has had no problems since. Unfortunately I did not find a similar service in the very limited time I had to look (I was having frequent and very severe attacks). If you have the opportunity it may well be worth investigating options. I know Stanford University Hospital has a department that offers accupuncture, don't know if they treat gall bladders though.

If you are a nursing mom then I would suggest you pump and stock up some breast milk before surgery. Once your anesthetic is out of the system sufficiently for you to be safe and comfortable holding your daughter you should be able to nurse again. You may however need some help with positioning for comfort.

I also agree with the advice to make sure you have help for the first week or two if you plan the surgery. You may well need it. If you are one of those that recover quickly, you can always thank the help and allow them to return to their normal routine, or if you both want just enjoy the company. :)

K. H.