Anyone here had their gallbladder removed?

[Alison in KY]

Were you better while you still had it, or after?

 

I've been struggling with stomach issues (I'm only 38) since April when I had a 2 day stay in the local hospital for diverticulitis. I thought my stomach was still messed up from that, but I just recently found out that my gallbladder isn't functioning at a high enough level. It's working at 16% as of last week. My doc wants me to see a surgeon and have it removed.

 

I get more confused when I get online and look and the people who are saying yes have it removed and no, that they felt better with it in. It seems that so many people still have stomach problems with it removed. I'm just confused and if I can do something naturally I would prefer that.

 

Thanks for any advice,

Alison in KY

[KatieJ]

I was having attacks tho...lots of pain. I haven't missed it once..no stomach issues at all. It's been 13 years!

[Plaid Dad]

I had mine out in March and I just wish I'd had it done sooner. I've had no further digestive problems or pain.

[Raders Fan]

I can't say I'm enjoying the recovery, but I also had my spleen and 2/3 of my pancreas removed, so the surgery was a bit more extensive. The pain from my gall bladder was excruciating; I can't imagine regretting having it removed, regardless of what possible future dietary restrictions I may have (my doctors don't anticipate any problems). Good luck with your decision.

 

Jennifer

[Quiver0f10]

I had mine out a month ago. I did eveything I could to keep it and it was a 16 month struggle. I really wish I would have had it out sooner as I had some problems after that I believe were/are directly related to waiting too long.

 

The surgery itself was a breeze. Everyone told me that and I was skeptical, but really, it was so simple and I was up and about that night.

[Confuzzled]

I resisted having mine out and ended up in the emergency room in extreme pain and very jaundiced with a gallstone blocking my bile duct.

 

I was SO much better after emergency surgery to remove my gallbladder. I should have just scheduled the surgery when it was first recommended to me.

 

It's been gone eight years and I have fewer stomach problems than I did before removal. The surgery was a breeze. I didn't even need pain medication after the first day.

 

Kris

[Laura in VA]

I'm thankful that my doctor removed it as soon as he did.

[Bev in B'ville]

a year and a half ago. I can no longer eat beef, but I really don't miss it anymore. No problems since and I'm glad it's gone, sure beats the pain.

[Twinmom]

My DH is pretty darn happy he had his out! Feels much better now.

[Alison in KY]

Why can't you eat beef?

 

What are your food restrictions after having it removed? I've read some websites that say you can actually get IBS from having it removed. I've read other places that say you can eat certain soluble fiber foods and have your function restored.

 

I don't have any problems with stones,that they've seen at least. I just have,um, morning stomach issues. It tends to put me in a bad mood when I'm running to the bathroom all morning...when I need to do the dozen things on my list plus teach my kids something.

 

I also have diverticulosis, which I thought was the problem until I recently received news that my gall bladder was working at 16%. They think that's bad. Does anyone know if I can get that percentage raised?

 

Obviously surgery freaks me out, plus I'm worried that I could actually be no better after surgery with the stories I've seen online.

 

thanks,

Alison

[Twinmom]

I can't really answer your other concerns, but I can tell you this: according to DH, the surgery itself was not a problem. A breeze, I believe he said. I've had two laparoscopies myself (which is essentially how they do the gallbladder removal) and I had hardly any pain. Just a day down and a few weeks of being careful, no biggie.

 

DH can eat red meat. He already had IBS...that didn't stop, but it also didn't get worse. Truly, the worst thing he had was some nutty conversations while coming out of anesthesia...kept talking about sludge...it was bizarre! :D

 

I don't know if this is the best thing for you to do, but really, the surgery is just fine.

[dangermom]

I had some attacks, so the docs wanted to take mine out. I was nursing at the time and wanted to wait for a while, but :eek: since I couldn't eat any fat, to my horror my little girl stopped gaining weight! Luckily we caught that in about a month, and I weaned her (she was 10 months old) and then had the surgery. I haven't had any problems at all in the 7 years since. I've never noticed a thing.

[Alison in KY]

That's funny about the sludge. I was an environmental major and sludge was a topic often used. My friend and I used geeky slang to nickname each other...like sludge mamma. Can't remember anymore, but it was goofy and funny.

[Blueridge]

...who did not, under any circumstance, want her gall bladder removed. Instead she did some kind of gall bladder 'flush' with some concoction of olive oil and lemon juice.:ack2: She said it completely removed all pain, and that was 5 or so years ago. Now she does this flush once a year for good measure. I googled for a recipe and found many of them. Blessings~

Ginger

[Alison in KY]

anyone else? I had an endo on Wednesday. It's probably coincidental, but I'm really starting to feel rotten. I assume it's a new reaction to my bad gall bladder.

 

I've looked at flush and other diet changes, but then the doctor told me I'd better get it removed...that if I messed around with foods and such there was a chance my gallbladder would still go bad and it would affect my pancreas...which is much worse than just removing your gall bladder.

 

Thank you,

Alison