Gallbladder /Gallstone's

After many years of painful attacks I had mine removed in 2004. It was done laparoscopically. I have three tiny scars. I was at the hospital at 7:00 and at home watching TV by 1:00. The doctor told me to take a week off work, but I could have easily gone back in 3 or 4 days.

My mom went to Dr. Chalmers in Frisco for her gallbladder issues....apparently now she is no issues with it anymore. He is a wellness doctor. He has helped me with several issues; just I haven't had this particular issue before.

HIGHLY recommend him.

http://chalmerswellness.com

Hello S.,

I hope you feel better soon. while waiting for your appointment you can take digestive enzymes, avoid fried foods.

parsley is good for the gallbladder.
there are supplements you can take to help however between you and your doctor will have to decide about the surgery.

do you have a wholefoods near you so you can get a supplement that may help you until you decide about surgery?

check out the book: SMART MEDICINE FOR HEALTHIER LIVING.

it has a section about gallbladder - including nutritional suplements, herbal treatment and homeopathy. (for example it mentions that magnesium helps relax the bile duct, eases stress and important for the entire central nervous system. it recommends to take a full spectrum digestive enzyme, eat a low fat diet because a compromised gallbladder is placed under additional stress when fat is ingested. it also mentions goldenseal as a herbal treatment.
ginger helps w/ inflamation.

Good luck!
~C.~

First, get a second opinion. Look at the x-rays or scans with him to see why. Make sure you have an accurate diagnosis.

My internist really likes Dr. James Weber ###-###-####)
in Grapevine, Irving, Los Colinas, Keller. My friend was told by him after a bad job was done to her by another doctor that she probably didn't need to have it done. But you do need to know the source of your pain.

If you do need to have it done, check into laporoscopy (sp?) which makes the surgery and recovery much easier. Make sure the doc you use is connected to a good hospital.

It may make it easier to take an intelligent friend or family member with you to help you absorb the infoit all if you're nervous. I found this generic list of questions that are good to ask and note:

What's is causing my pain?
What other symptoms go with that diagnosis?
Can you draw a picture or show me what is wrong?
What causes this kind of problem?
Are there any activities or foods which I should avoid?
When can I return to work or school?
What is the long-term prognosis of my condition?
How can I prevent this from happening again?
How will this problem affect me in the future?
What will happen if I don't treat my condition right away?
What treatment should I follow, including dietary, medical treatment, and lifestyle changes?
When do I need to see the doctor again?
Where can I get more information about my condition?

If you do go in the hospital for anything, have a friend or family member that isn't shy about protecting you if needed. Making sure that doctors and nurses wash their hands before touching you, give you the correct meds, and remind you to wash your hands, drink water, and get the nurse's help faster if they don't come in a reasonable time.

You really need to have it done. For most itis just a routine surgery, back at home in a few hours usually. I regret putting off surgerie as long as I did. I ended up damaging my esphogus from vomiting, the pain would get so bad I would vomit. Know I deal with heart burn and acid reflux that may have been preventable or not as bad had I just had the surgerie.

If done laproscropy a few little incisions. Mine are barely even noticable. It was a bit painful, but I think I only used the pian pills once. I have had cramps worse.

High fatty and heavy meals tend to set mine off. But even with watching what I ate it did'nt make much a difference.

I had my gall bladder removed. I really had no pain at all. I was up walking 30 minutes after surgery. They make 4 tiny cuts on the belly, one at the belly button. Recovery is very fast. Good luck to yo. Do'nt be worried.

I had mine out about 8 years ago. Gallstones seem to run in my family. The good thing is, the gallbladder is easy to take out now compared to when my mom had it done 30 years ago. If you have the laproscopy, as opposed to the old fashioned way, you're in and out of the hospital in about 3 or 4 hours or so. Yes, you may get some nauseau especially if anethsesia bothers you. You won't feel to peppy right off, but the gallbladder pain is gone. I think I took pain killers for a day and a 1/2. This was before kids, but I took the week off from work and just took it easy.

I had a coworker, in his early 30s, who had it done before me. He had waited too long. He had a lot of pain afterwards because an infection had spread to his pancreas. Watching what happened to him, and talking to him once I got my diagnosis really motivated me to get mine out sooner as opposed to later.

If you have gallstones, the only way to "cure" it is to have the gallbladder out. Yes, you can follow a diet that helps prevent them as suggested by another mom; however, some peoople are just prone to them and there's really not much you can do once you have them. (None of us in my family are obese, not all are female, etc. -- the typical characteristics you'll hear)

The thing is, you don't want to wait too long like my former coworker if you can avoid it. If it's bothering you now, get it out while you can still do so laproscopically. Don't wait until your gallbladder gets infected or a stone goes into your pancreas -- that's especially painful and very bad. If you end up with either of these problems, they have to take the gallbladder out the old fashioned way which is a LOT harder and a big abdominal scar.

Not to scare you, it's just that some people don't understand that there's nothing non-surgical you can do for gallstones and gallbladder attacks once you have them. Yours is bothering you so it's really good that you're meeting someone next week. A second opinion is fine, but if you have stones, you have stones and there's only one option to fix that like I've said. You may want to go with a different surgeon, which is fine too. I think I met with 2. But if you have gallstones and are suffering from attacks you'll need surgery. The good news is, the surgery is not bad and once it's out you're cured. The only residual effect I have is that sometimes, not always, fatty or fried foods will bother me digestive wise. I really think that's a small price to pay and one that is actually kind of good for you.

Good luck! I swear it's not that bad at all. I was totally scared too (and my dad's a surgeon). Just be sure someone can help you with yoru 3 yr old and enjoy the rest.

I had my gallbladder removed less than a year ago. I could not believe how good I felt after it was removed. The biggest that helped my recovery was getting up and moving about. I had my surgery on a Monday and by Thursday I was driving and back to rehearsals for our Christmas porductions. I would not hesitate to have it done. I had a friend that tried some home remedies and still ended up having to have her gallbaldder removed. It did not matter what foods I ate or how much water I drank, I still had flair ups.

Good luck!
A.

My gallbladder was removed in the early 90's. Before having the surgery, I went to 2 gastroenterologists and had 2 sonograms. I wanted an unbiased 2nd opinion so I didn't tell the 2nd doctor that I had gallstones. The bad thing was the 2nd sonogram showed no stones. When I told the doctor that I had already had a sonogram and it had showed stones, he consulted with the radiologist and they redid the sonogram. It turned out that even though I had gone to a different radiology location, it was the same radiologist who read the scans. It seems the 2nd sonogram tech didn't do a very good job and the 3rd sono, done personally by the radiologist, showed stones definitively.

That wasn't good enough for me though. I was still hesitant so I put it off dealing with the flare ups as much as possible, until one night I had an attack that was so bad, my husband had to rush me to the hospital. I presented with severe chest pains and really thought I was having a heart attack. They did a number of other tests, including another sono, and concluded it was my gallbladder. They ended up doing an emergency surgery to remove it about 4 or 5 hours after I got to the emergency room. Funny thing was that all the sonos (4 at this point) before the surgery showed 2 to 3 larger size stones, but when the surgeon removed it, she said it was completely filled with little bitty stones. So, if nothing else, that's proof that those sonogram machines don't always show the true picture, unfortunately.

They were able to do the surgery laproscopically, so recovery (time off from work) was only about a week, but I did have to stay in the hospital for 2 nights (the night we went to the emergency room and then the next night). That was probably because they did the surgery on an emergency basis rather than pre-scheduled though.

I had heard there are other ways to treat stones, but only if they know what type of stones they are, meaning what they are made of (calcium, or other mineral deposits). There's supposedly some way they can break up the stones if they are a particular type, but all the doctors I talked to said since they can't tell what type of stones they are, it's usually a waste of time and money and that the only other option is surgery.

It is true that if you avoid fats and greasy foods, you should be able to help control the attacks somewhat, but once you have stones, they will always be there so I wouldn't think that's a very viable solution.

In hindsight, I would have saved myself a lot of pain, and money, if I had just gone ahead with the surgery after the 2nd, or rather 3rd, diagnosis. The surgery and recovery wasn't very painful and it definitely made the gallbladder attacks go away, which had been excrutiating at times. I cannot tell you that I noticed any other differences either after they removed my gallbladder, besides no more pain.

I know it's scary and obviously, based on my experience, I can totally relate to wanting to avoid surgery at all costs. Unfortunately, I think gallbladder disease is one of those you can only cure through surgery. The good news is it's probably one of the most common surgeries, they can usually do it with only a few small incisions, and I believe that most people have no complications afterwards.

Good luck to you! I hope you are able to find some relief soon!

Blessings,
N.

Diet changes, herbs or supplements might (but not necessarily) help *prevent* gallstones and gallbladder disease. Once you have them, the only way to take care of them is surgery. There is no homeopathic treatment unfortunately. I think any "Dr" telling you this would be a total snake oil salesman. The sooner you have this taken care of, the sooner you'll feel better.

It's not bad if you get the laproscopy and it's such a routine procedure now. Just talk to your Dr and ask him about how many he's done, etc.. Just make sure he's a good surgeon. If not, or you don't like him, find someone else.

Good luck. I hope you get better soon. It's no fun. :(

I had Galstones and yes you can avoid, fatty foods but it will only help for a time. Getting my gallbladder removed was very easy, i had 2-3 very small incisions and no problems after. I had it done on Friday and returned to work on monday, I am a court clerk so no strenious job.
Also i had a niece who went the diet route for a while because she had no insurance and it back fired on her, she had to have emergency removal and then another surgery to remove a stone from her bile duct. so her recovery was 6 weeks and many antibiotics later. You do not want to mess with it too long it can become infected and become toxic. Just don't wait too long and all will be great!

It is unfortunate that my response will be the lone wolf out there but there are alternatives to surgery! For me it is a last resort and if you have not investigated other options you may want to. There is a gall bladder flush that I have done at least 3 times over the last 12 years with great results. The first time I removed about a 1/2 cup of stones in all sizes. I used to experience a lot of pain under my right rib too. It takes about 3- 5 days to do the whole thing and with a little discipline and only small discomfort you can remove the gall stones on your own. They will pass through the bowel with absolutely no pain. I have advised others who were scheduled for surgery and it is definitely worth a try. I believe I have saved myself from going under the knife as well. There is a book called, 'Are you Stoned' that can give you step by step instructions. And I would be happy to talk to you more about it offline. It just depends how open you are to taking control of your health and looking outside the box.

Best of Luck-
B.

Having my gallbladder removed was the best thing I ever did after 10 yrs of pain bc I was scared. I was working in my garden the next afternoon! Not really any recovery time. Remember that if your gallbladder ruptures it can be fatal.

If you have gallstones that are causing problems it is best to go ahead and have surgery- they do it laproscopicly now, so there are 3-4 very small incisions (vs 1 large one) and the healing time is much better.

Gallstones can cause blockages in the main bile duct which can lead to rupture or can make your liver sick as it also uses this bile duct.

I had mine removed 9 years ago, and am so glad. I did not have stones, but a very sick gallbladder. Everything I ate hurt (had been sick with it for 8 year on and off)... got to where water would make it hurt. Sure you can avoid the "trigger" foods, but most likely it will not get better on it's own once there are stones involved.

I went to hospital on Friday at 7am and was home by 5:30 that evening. Spent the next day, resting and slowly walking around the house, alternating tylenol and ibuprofen. The walking helps ease the muscles. I could not use the pain meds they prescribed as am allergic to coediene, but using strong pain meds can also constipate you and cause more discomfort.

Just moving around and resting with feet up. I was back at work the following Monday... part time for the first week. Was careful not lift anything too heavy though for a few weeks, because you still have healing on the inside too.

All in all it was a quick and fairly simple procedure.
Praying for you to have comfort and peace at this time.
D.

I started having gallbladder problems last August. Finally in Oct 08 I went to the doctor and starting having some testing done. I actually had a lot going on, Gallbladder disease, Gastrointestinal Reflux disease and a Kidney stone. Prilosec helped for the heartburn from the reflux but I finally had my gallbladder removed in December. I haven't had to take any medication since and I haven't had any pain. I don't have to eat a special diet although for the first 6 months or so there were a few things that went right through me. There are some foods that you should stay away from if you're wanting to avoid surgery. I can't remember them all but fried foods and cheese were a couple. I personally am glad I had the surgery.

I had my gall bladder removed when I was 27 so we are talking about 21 years ago. My doctor gave me the option of controlling with diet or surgery. I couldn't imagine eating bland foods forever so I opted for the surgery. I had to wait 3 weeks for my surgery date and in the mean time I kept my fat grams below 20 a day and it worked. No pain. The good thing about that approach was I lost 15 lbs in those 3 weeks!!!! But....I was tired of always watching my fat intake and making different meals because my husband wasn't about to eat a broiled hamburger patty or have turkey sandwich everyday for lunch! So, I for one, recommend having the surgery. It is much easier now with the laproscopy than when I had my 8 inch cut across my belly!!! Good luck!

I had to have my gall bladder out two years after having my twins. You can adapt your diet but you have to be very strict. And the stones you have now will not go away as well as the pain. There are other risks involved with living with stones: smaller stones can get lodged in the bile duct and you will have serious complications if that occurs. I had virtually no complications after my surgery with the exception of very loose stools especially after very fatty meals. That side effect diminished in time. I was able to have my surgery laproscopically which helped with recovery! I would do it all over again because the pain was so intense. Good luck

Once you have the stones there are no remedies to get rid of them. It is generally the stones passing that cause the pain. Also, the stones cause your gall bladder to become inflamed and infected so waiting it out may cause you to have a more invasive surgery rather than the laporscopic one you will probably have now.

I had my gallbladder removed about 2 1/2 years ago. At the time my boys were 2 1/2 and 5. I remember asking the doctor how soon I could lift my younger one after the surgery and he said the next day!! He said it might hurt a bit, but it would not harm me. I don't remember having much pain past 2-3 days after my surgery. It may have been sore, but not painful, if that makes sense. It was nothing compared to the pain I had before the surgery. I had my surgery on a Wednesday and drove my kids to school on Friday with no problems.

Good luck!

Gallbladder surgery is one of the easiest surgeries to have. My husband had it done on Thursday and was back at work on Monday---before they could get the "get well" card signed and delivered. Your fear is probably the worst thing about the whole ordeal.

Hello S.,

I had to have the proceedure done quite some time ago. You will feel so much better! The actual surgery is not as tough to go through as it use to be. I am a twin, my sister went through it long before I and had a very intrusive surgery. Now it is so much better. Not any where as painful as it use to be.

My surgery was a breeze compared to hers. Very little pain and not all the recovery time. You will love the fact that you can eat normal again without worry as to pain!

T. W

I also had no trouble during or after the surgery. The next day after surgery the only reason I could tell I had the surgery was a little soreness. My life was not interrupted.