Gallbladder Surgery... is it necessary???

Well I had my first official gallbladder attack when my son was 2weeks old went to emergency room and found out I had gallstones tried the best I could to eat non greasy food because I too didn't want surgery after doing some research and breastfeeding a new born baby after that I had a few smaller attacks and 1 big one that had me in pain for days although I should of gone to the emergency room I didn't because I was waiting to see a surgery specialist I just waited it out by the time my son was 7 weeks I felt like I couldn't eat anything till finally I had a huge attack and had to go the emergency room again my liver test were abnormal and my pancreas had so much inflammation they told me I had pancreatitis and put me on liquid diet till my stomach swelling went down and took me in for emergency surgery so I had no choice, in my situation my attacks escalated quickly and in less than 2 months my gallbladder was gone I think if you can eat decently without triggering attacks I would just wait it out but please if you get an attack don't wait it out like me go to the emergency room because your gallbladder could also burst and by the way do you even have gallstones?

I thought the same thing and I postponed the surgery date three times thinking that maybe I wouldn't get those Horrible attacks anymore. I was trying to see if i could just eat healthy and maybe i could keep my gallbladder Especially after reading all the bad things about Gallbladder surgery it actually made me really scared I was trying to avoid as much as possible. But the pain came again after 2 months so I just went for it. I had my surgery on Oct 18th and it wasn't that bad it does hurt when you wake up but after the 3rd day I felt way better I can eat whatever i want now! Today after I went Trick or treating I came home and orderd some pizza! I don't have any pain or Diarrhea like everyone else says on here I feel good I feel normal and i'm very happy I got it done.

If you have stones. it has to come out. Stones can lodge in your duct and cause MAJOR ISSUES. as for complications, they are rare. I did much like you and waited.. Almost 6 years.. mine came out 3 weeks ago. I can say its better.. Only two complaints is if I eat high fat, I may have to run to bathroom within 20 minutes. When I have to go.. I HAVE TO GO.. This is not always, so its a bit hard to scedule.. Second thing is I have some nerve associated pain in my lower belly..  Ultra sensitive..  Even just wearing a shirt feals like skin is being ripped off.. I wrap an ace bandgae around it , for presure, and it helps a lot..  DR says its a wait it out thing.. Other then that, I eat whatever i want now.. Not much fear of an attack .. There is no 100% in this world..  I say go for it !

I'm on board with having it done. Contrary to what you may read on the internet, you CANNOT heal a bad gallbladder. If you have stones, they will continue to come. If it does not function properly, it will not go back to normal again. Sure there are things to do to get a longer life with your gallbladder as others have mentioned, but it will inevitably need to come out.

The only thing you will read on these boards are the horror stories for the most part. And from what I've noticed, those people had a lot more going on with them than JUST gallstones. Will it happen to you? Maybe.. but chances are honestly very slim. Over 700,000 people get their gallbladders out every YEAR - and how many people do you see having problems? Less than 5%.

I had mine out 10/20 and I feel better EVERY day. I did not have gallstones, but my gallbladder was hyperactive meaning it was pushing too much bile into my system too fast. I had nausea and sour stomach every day especially in the mornings; soft light/yellow stools; and a constant ache on my right side/back. Ache is gone, stools are evening out slowly and nausea/sour stomach are gone.

Recovery can be tough. As my surgeon/nurse told me, you don't need to be a hero - taking pain meds are OK! I didn't take the prescribed ones - just 3 Advil every 6 hours.  My worst complaint was the gas pains and a sore throat from intubation that dissipated after 2 days. By day 3 I was med free. I have had diarrhea after the surgery for about a week as my body adjusts and I ate very low fat to help with that. I started taking probiotics and it seems to be getting better. Even if you do have diarrhea or constipation - don't panic! It can take up to 4-6 months, even a year for some to even out. There are so many things to help these days in the interim and forever - probiotics, fiber, calcium carbonate, prescription meds if absolutely necessary.

Let us know what you deicde and we will help you through this! It is scary (mine was as it was my first surgery!) but the surgery is honestly such a breeze and I bet you'll be happy you won't have to worry about attacks anymore!

All I can say is that I have had gallstones for 10 years with mild symptoms and was advised to wait it out and see. However, since last year, symptoms have been severe and persistant and have led to other digestive disturbances and poor quality of life, not able to eat much. Avoiding fats and looking after my health as well as possible helps but does not cure in my case.

?What I really want to say is, if you are in the UK be aware that if you get worse, like me and accept surgery as inevitable, you may face a very long wait involving suffering and life being on hold in the meantime. It has dragged on a year now for me with cancelled and postponed surgery dates and will now be next year. I have lost earnings, missed holidays and family events, generally had a year of illness. So be aware and don't leave it too late if things seem to get worse. The NHS states it will treat us within 18 weeks but they tell me now they are busy and under staffed, have greater priorites than gallbladder surgery which is seen as routine and non urgent. So we have to put up with it if we are at a busy hospital. Even complaining to the commissioners is not a guarantee of any improvement. Good luk with whatever you do.

Well I have my surgery tomorrow morning at 6 a.m.!! Wish me luck. I'm very nervous 😥😥

Well I'm all done now. I got there around 5:45 signed in they gave me my IV 30 minutes later took me to the operating room. I left about 8:30. I'm a little sore but happy I did it and I wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be!! Thanks to all of you for the advice!!