Positive Outcomes of GB Removal

Hi Linda, I am in the same situation as you are, however mine are not sure if it's gallbladder or not which is causing me problems. My father had his removed a couple of years ago. He used to constantly feel sick and in pain. Had nausea and would  vomit frequently after meals. He lost about 20kg's as he could only eat very specific foods(fish) which did not make him sick. He had his removed and after a couple of months started eating normally(pizzas,bbq, you name it). He has now gained most of that weight back and eats no differently than before. The only difference is that he has to go to the toilet abit more frequently, however he has always had IBS. Another female friend of mine had it and has ZERO complains. Hope this helps!

Hi Linda!

Don't worry, I have a positive story!! I am now 2 months post-op and although I haven't quite settled down with what I can eat yet all is well!

I had lots of aches and pains afterwards and it does take time to heal, but if you follow instructions-don't lift anything, rest and eat sensibly you'll be fine!

Good luck, don't worry and let us know how you get on xx

Hi Linda, i can give you a positive story.

I had massive doubts about surgery, in all, i put things off for 4 years, some were genuine reasons, some were convenient ones.

Eventually i got so fed up of the pain i decided to get it sorted, resigned myself to a life of bland food and ongoing problems 

I am now 4 weeks post surgery, and im totally surprised how well things are going. I have had no sickness, the loose bowel problems (had a history of these) have calmed down. My diet range is increasing, my energy is returning and im building muscle strength again. In fact i have had less stomach/gut pain than i can ever remember (that could be dairy related tho, as thats still out of my diet)

Surgery incisions contine to heal nicely, i can lift weight again

My gallbladder had large stones and was totally infected by the time is was removed - i dont miss that little pear shaped bugger at all!

I never expected this - but one thing i have learned, people are quick to report the negative on the internet, but rarely do when things are good. Its easy (and im totally guilty of this) to get absorbed by the problems people have

GB surgery WILL effect your life, it has mine even though the above makes it sound rosy. I am glad i had my surgery, it made me realise how much of my life i was living in discomfort

Hope this helps, 

Matt

 

Hi the op itself was perfect although I was in quite a bit of pain after the first day .pain lasted 5 weeks for me but I did have to have lesions removed from bile duct as well as gallbladder removal. After 5 weeks pain had disappeared and all was wonderful ? I can now eat anything and have no pain at all . I'm so glad I had it done I'm 8weeks post op now and life is sweet . Good luck

Hi Linda, I've been on here for 7 months and I've seen lots of very worried people facing surgery who've had surgery and then you don't tend to hear of them again which I would suggest they've got better and have no use for this site anymore. I also know people who've had there gallbladder's out and haven't had any problems the only problem he has is that he has to be careful with high fat/ fried food. 

I was like you very worried about surgery but the hospital I went to was excellent, the nurses really looked after me and wouldn't let me go until they were sure that I was well enough to go. After being so scared as you are they were kind, caring and very supportive, especially  as I was a bit sick after surgery because of the anaesthesia and pain relief.

Have you got a date for surgery?

Linda, my daughter had no trouble and is so happy it's gone. Most do not have big problems. I am just one who has.

One doctor told me that the problem must not have been my go. I only had one test.

Good luck.

Hi everyone. Thanks for sharing your positive stories.

It really does help to know that not everyone has a bad time after removal. I'm so pleased that you are all doing well .

I know that I need the operation as have been suffering from pain, sickness and diarrhoea for quite a while now.

Thanks again and I hope that you continue to do well.

Best wishes

Linda

They are not on here but my mum, both cousins, father in law and my husbands work collegues wife all have had no issues, infact I dont know a person in real life that does have an issue afterwards and most can eat anything they like.

I am also on several health forums and whilst some have issues with the toilet and certain foods, most say they have no issues and can eat what they like and best thing they have done.

I think forums like these concentrate all the bad stories, as they are people seeking help afterwards too, we dont read all those living just fine.

When I spoke to a retired surgeon and read his blog, he says the ones with the most likely positive outcomes are thise determined it is the gallbladder casuing the issues as those who have other causes are not going to get better as the gallbladder wsnt the cause in the first place. He only removed those with symptomatic gallstones or those with a non functioning gallbladder AND symptoms, otherwise they were just monitored and he had a very high successful outcome rate.

If you have any other condition caused not by the gallbladder, then those related symptoms will not be fixed and will progress worse as they havent been fixed, so make sure its the gallbladder.

All surgery carries risk.

It does scare me though, I know these issues are a real risk. My heart breaks for all those suffering long term issues.

Hello Linda

I too was so petrified of the prospect of surgery and had actually lived with my gallstones for two and half years with persistent pain nausea and sickness from the gallstones. I would dread mealtimes.

However I am 3 months post gallbladder removal and I can honestly tell you that those discomforts have all gone and I am so relieved that I have my life back ! You won't regret it one bit. As I said I was terrified and told the surgeon and anaesthetist this and received great care. Wishing you the very beat of luck

Lisa.

I used to take digestive enzymes after meal to ease the burning feeling after meal, depending what I ate. it helped me, but it's the day to day discomforts that can be depressing. I had my gall stone removed a month ago and , of course, the first two weeks were not really easy due to the pains on the site of the incisions. It improved after four weeks and lots of rest. My stomach have now adjusted and I can eat anything. now, instead of loose bowel, I have constipation. I will take the latter! my burning feeling after eating food with grease is now gone and the indigestion feeling is also gone. I eat anything and no bad effects unlike before. Sometimes I get very little indigestions from food that are hard to digest but mild and tolerable and does not last at all. No comparison when I had my gall stones. too many feeling of sickness and discomforts. I hope these information will help ease your worries. Good luck!