Seeking Some Opinions on Gallbladder Surgery

I had my gallbladder out about 5 years ago. It was the best thing I had ever done. Recovery isn't too bad either.

I had my gallbladder out 5 months after my son was born. I was fine within a few days just a little sore and it was a little hard to get out of bed for a week but other then that I felt great!

Valentine's day will be the two year anniversary of my gallbladder being removed. The surgery was quick and I was back home within an hour of waking up. I have four scars - about an inch each (one is in my belly button and completely unseen, the other three can barely be seen, but I know they're there). One week after surgery I returned to school and even drove myself to my follow-up appt. with the surgeon. A week later I returned to bartending.

My surgeon told me my gallstones were the biggest he had ever seen! One was about the size of 3 fifty cent pieces!!!

The only L.-term effects of the surgery are the weight gain (I had gone so L. with hardly eating because of the pain that once the pain was gone I went crazy) and the heartburn, which I had never had until my surgery.

Hi T., you and I are in almost the same boat. I have had a gall stone for at least 5 years. They discovered it when they were looking at an ultrasound of my bladder, but decided not to do anything because it was not symptomatic. It did bother me (a lot!) when I was pregnant with my daughter two years ago. It has started bothering me again, and I had an ultrasound last Friday. My doctor called me and told me to get in to see a surgeon ASAP. I see one on Dec. 13, and I am hoping that I can get the surgery done over my Christmas break. I only have one large stone, it is almost 3/4 of an inch in diameter.
I am scared too, because it is surgery. Anytime they have to open me up makes me a little nervous. But I do want to get pregnant again sometime next year, and I do not want to go through the pain of gallstone + pregnancy again!
Go see a surgeon and see what they say. It will probably make you feel better just to know some facts. Send me a message if you want to hear how my consult went, etc...
A.

I had the surgery about 3 years ago and it was very simple nothing like it used to be. Just 3 pin size incisions and an oupatient surgery back to normal in 3 to 4 days. Did you grandmother have any other health issues?

Grandmothers have more complicated cases...peritonitis from long-leaking gall bladder, older lungs, heart.etc. Simple belly-button in-and out surgery. I was feeding patients(I'm a nurse) 2 hours after surgery and home in the morning to take care of 3 kids. No pain, felt great! Talk to people in your area about which surgeon they like best. Any questions, feel free to ask me...W.
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I had my gallbladder remover almost 4 years ago. I was in and out in about 6 hours. The recovery was painful but I was back at work in 10 days. It will all be fine. I will keep you i my prayers.

Hi, my name is K. I'm 25 years old, my galbladder was diagnosed as "diseased" 5 years ago. The pain was unbearable, but the surgery to remove it was short. It is done with scopes through 3 to 4 small cuts on your abdomen. Recovery from any surgery is unpleasant to say the least but in a week you'll be fine. There is minimal invasion so the risk is low. It's better then the suffering , believe me!!!!

T., I had my gallbladder removed over 5 years ago. The Dr. said it just quit working. They used scope surgery, 4 small incisions in my stomache and removed it. It was outpatient and I was completly healed in a few weeks. My best friend had her gallbladder taken out while pregnant and because of the baby they had to actually cut her and her surgery went fine and she was also healed in a matter of weeks. Talk to your Dr, know your options and have faith in god and your dr. Good Luck!

S.

T.,

I had my Gallbladder out three months after my son was born and I just got sick from the anesthetic. Other then that I went home the next morning and was back to full life duties in about five days. My Doctor had said that if I hadn't had it out I would have ended up very sick! Keep you in my prayers. Everything will be fine

i had my gallblader out in 98. it wasn't bad at all. went into the hospital at 6am was home by 1pm. i know it's hard to lose someone like that, but chances for something going wrong with the surgery are slim. you have a better chance of walking out your door and being hit by lighting.if you are scared,talk to your doctor he/she can run down some facts with you. the only problems i have had are some eatting issues. i cant eat some foods i loved. good luck with it.

Hi! I had gall bladder surgery when I was 1999. It was an emergency 1 because I turned jauntice. If they're recommending it I would do it asap. The pain I had that night from it is as bad as labor. I havent had no complications & neither has my mom,she got it done too. Its not bad at all. They put you to sleep & when you wake up its not that sore. You will have little scars on your belly, but I would do it if I were you. Good luck!

T.,
I had my gallbladder out in March of 2001. The surgery wasn't bad and recovery also wasn't too bad. The pain that I experienced before the surgery and all of the things I had gone through because of the stones (vomiting, nausea, pains on my side that went around to my back, etc) made the surgery worth it. The only problems I had afterward were soreness for a week and going to the bathroom RIGHT after eating (even sometimes before being done eating!). That eventually gets better, for the most part. My surgery was such an emergency that my gallbladder almost perforated, so I had to have a drainage tube. When they removed that it was the worst feeling, but it was over in 30 seconds and everything was fine afterwards. I recommend getting the surgery because if you get more stones or if they get bigger, you will be in so much more pain. Age and how long your grandmother had the stones are probably 2 of the things that contributed most to her death. Good luck!

Having gallbladder out can be an emergency, at which point you can die. Your grandmother's situation may have been an emergency, and if she had other health problems that would have made a difference too.

More often, though, it's not an emergency. Ask your doctor to refer you to a good surgeon.

I had my gallbladder out almost four years ago. There was some post-op pain and all, but I honestly can't tell the difference now. I mean, other than the pain is gone.

One caveat: The doctors at Reston Hospital might be great, but the nurses can be horrible -- especially in the recovery room. I would NOT recommend having it done there. They don't want to give you painkillers and they are NASTY.

T.,
Don't be afraid. In just the last several years, gallbladder surgery has changed SO MUCH! When your gram said she had surgery, she had SURGERY! Nowadays, it's a very simple procedure. I'm a nurse and see this often - so please get it taken care of - you'll be surprisingly amazed at how simple it was. Best of luck.

I JUST HAD MY GALLBLADDER REM,OVED ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO AND I AM 24 WEEKS PREGNANT....I HAD TO HAVE IT DONE CUZ IT STARTED PRETERM LABOR AND WAS VERY VERY PAINFUL SO I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL....MY SURGERY WENT THRU WONDERFULLY...THE INSISCIONS WERE SMALL AND I WAS A LIL SORE THE FIRST WEEK BUT NOTHING MAJOR...NOW SINCE THE GALLBLADDER AND STONES ARE GONE I FEEL GREAT!..I CAN EAT JUST BOUT ANYTHING AND THE PAINS HAS GONE AWAY FROM THE STONESS...I WISH U THE BEST OF LUCK!!!

I had my gallbladder taken out 2 years ago. I ended up in the ER twice in a week. The first time an ultrasound was done and they found the gallstones but said it was nothing serious. The second time my gallbladder had become infected so the surgeon took my gallbladder out. I did not have any complications from surgery though i was not allowed to lift anything over 5 pounds for two weeks. Being an EMT ( I am still certified but only do it when I see an accident now ) I could not work for those two weeks. There are usually three small incisions. Two in the belly button and one on the right side. The incisions only hurt if you move wrong. Even after getting my gallbladder out the doctor says I will have phantom pains the rest of my life. I'm not sure what that is about since I have not had any pain since after the surgery. I hope this helps.