Gallbladder

[WCUgirl]

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I don't have any advice; I've never had to have anything like that done.

GOOD LUCK w/the surgery!!!

[Kevin]

A friend of mine had his gallbladder out. Had some good drugs afterwards. As I recall it was a hellaciously expensive undertaking for his insurance provider.

[SSS1365]

My dad had to have his out a few years ago. He had severe abdominal pain, nausea, and violent vomiting (ew). The first time he vomited from it, he thought it was food poisoning. But the second time it happened, he saw a doctor and found out that there was something wrong with his gallbladder. I don't remember his recovery being especially difficult. Good luck with the surgery!

[ZTAngel]

One of my best friends had her gallbladder removed last summer. She was studying abroad in Madrid and she would get violently ill after every meal. Stomach pain, nausea, vomitting. She thought that it might of been that she wasn't use to the different foods there so she kept on eating and drinking lots of alcohol. I'm sure the later of the two didn't help at all. When she got back to the US, her father (who is a doctor) saw how much weight she lost which was about 20 pounds and after hearing her symptoms, he immediately rushed her to the hospital. She had a bunch of gallstones and the gallbladder was so damaged that it had to come out ASAP.
Following surgery, you really need to make sure that you eat healthy. The gallbladder is there to hold bile which absorbs fat. Although the liver will take over the gallbladder's function, it's doesn't do as good of a job so many people will gain weight after surgery. My friend put back on all the weight she lost and then some. Even now that she exercises 4 times a week and eats healthy, she still has a really difficult time losing and maintaining her weight.
Make sure to ask your doctor for a list of foods that you should that will help keep the weight off.
I hope everything goes well with your surgery!

ETA:
The doctors think her gallbladder problems were caused by a diet pill she was taking for about a year. She was only 22 at the time of removal and most young people don't have gallbladder problems. I can't think of the name of the diet pill she was taking but I'll ask her and let everyone know. Reseachers have been finding that people have had a lot of health problems from this particular diet pill brand.

[chideltjen]

My grandma had her's removed for similar reasons. She lost quite a bit of weight before and after the process. She was on bedrest for a little bit too. But she's okay now. Gained the weight back eventually.

[cuaphi]

I don't know if you're interested in alternative therapy/holistic medicine at all but I thought I'd throw this out there:

http://curezone.com/cleanse/liver/default.asp

[seraphimsprite]

I had mine taken out a couple of years ago. Its not a very invasive procedure anymore - just four small incisions. Mine was under semi-emergency circumstances so I stayed in the hospital for a day and a half after surgery, but I think its done as an outpatient procedure in some cases. And they give you really good drugs.

You'll probably have to be more careful with your diet after the surgery. But basically you'll just have to avoid large quantities of fat - it'll really upset your stomach. Basically what my doctor told me was that as long as I don't try to eat a bucket of fried chicken, I'll be fine.

[bucutie02]

My mom had gallstones a couple of years ago. Basically, she would get like this burning feeling in the middle of the night. After a couple of nights, she called the doctor- they told her to go to the emergency room, and it was then they told her she had gallstones, and the pain she felt was when the actual stone was passing through into her gallbladder. Her recovery was well, she just had to stay home for a week, and basically stay in bed.

Now, she cannot eat too many things that are greasy or fried. Which I guess its a good thing because she eats really healthy. Sometimes when she eats a greasy pizza or something of that sort, it upsets her stomach, so she needs to watch what she eats more than an average person does.

[carnation]

I had mine out 2 years ago following the same symptoms you're having. I only had the 4 little incisions and recovered quickly; I've had no problems since.

I'd been having stomach pain for years and the doctors kept saying, "Wait, wait, wait"...I am soooo glad that they finally took it out.

[AGDee]

This is really a pretty common procedure. I know several people who have had it. If greasy foods cause you many problems afterward, your doctor can put you on Welchol, which is a cholesterol medication that binds the bile and fats so that you don't feel sick from foods that are high in fat.

I have a co-worker who had it done outpatient and he was shopping the next day and was only off work for a week. I think you'll be a little sore on Christmas Day, but you won't be incapacitated.

ETA: The possible side effects of NOT having it removed are worse than the surgery. If you get pancreatitis, it is extremely painful and leads to being in the hospital for 5 or 6 days with nothing but IVs.

[Pink_Bug]

Best of luck with the surgery. My best friend had hers removed when she was your same age but in an emergency type situation. As bad as this sounds she was most pleased with the fact that her scar was very small and has faded completely away. She was very ill when she had to have hers removed so just be thankful that your problems have been caught early. But again, best of luck!

[preciousjeni]

Good luck! I had this surgery earlier this year. I found out about my gallstones after eating dinner at my friend's house. After I left her house, my boyfriend (now ex) and I were going to Walmart of all places. While walking through the store, I had horrific stomach pain to the point where I had to kneel down before I fell. It took me by surprise! My ex-man helped me up and we walked outside. Right there outside of Walmart I vomited by spaghetti dinner! HORRIBLE does not describe it. So, I went home thinking it was food poisoning but the pain never stopped nor subsided.

We went to the emergency room because I thought something was about to burst in my abdomen (turns out I wasn't far off!) and they did an ultrasound. Yep, it was gallstones.

I had laproscopic surgery, where through two small and two extra small incisions the entire procedure was done. Afterwards, I couldn't eat well because I was afraid to! LOL! I also had some abdominal discomfort for a few days and incision site pain for a couple weeks. Nothing too bad. I was driving four days after surgery!

My biggest problem is that I get vicious diarrhea if I eat fatty or high protein foods. And, I can't ever determine how much I can eat! One day, I'll eat a peanut butter sandwich and just have stomach grumbles. Another day, that sandwich will put me on the potty for hours. Ok...that's really graphic and nasty! Suffice it to say, I've learned NOT to eat those foods!

BTW, my doctor says that the gallstones - the vast majority of which are simply cholesterol and bile salts - formed after I lost a bunch of weight because my body had to process so much fat. And, what's in fat? Cholesterol! That's how it all happened. I was 25 at the time of surgery.

Word to the wise: Be careful about those natural remedies. They "work" but not in the way you'd want them to. Usually the remedies call for drinking olive oil. This will encourage a gall bladder attack! Not only that, but if the attack is severe enough, your gallbladder could expel a gallstone. And, usually gallstones are way too big to pass through so they get stuck...That's not just minor surgery!

[James]

Why have it removed if you can use natural ways to cleanse it? How odd. I personally don't like to be cut open.

I know of some people that have used natural remedies and the problem went away. Their docs wanted to cut them too.

[preciousjeni]

Originally posted by James
Why have it removed if you can use natural ways to cleanse it? How odd. I personally don't like to be cut open.

I know of some people that have used natural remedies and the problem went away. Their docs wanted to cut them too.

"Natural cures" don't really work for gallstones.