Tell me I'm doing the right thing "removing gallbladder" - Page 2

lori57703 · 10-24-2009, 03:19 PM

I don't know if you had your gallbladder out yet but if I were you I would do it. The stones may have been caused by your pregnancy but they will not just go away. They may stay in there and not cause too many problems but more than likely they will move. When they move they get stuck in in the duct between your gallbladder and small intestine blocking the usual drainage of bile. This is incredibly painful, can lead to infection and emergency surgery.

I had my gallbladder out 4 years ago and I am so glad. I had several attacks over several years before they figured it out. I was so miserable leading up to the surgery that the surgery was a peice of cake!

I hope this helps. Good luck! Lori

Tawnnie405 · 10-24-2009, 10:51 PM

I had mine taken out 4-29-09 , I feel better having it out. I know if it was left it in,it would had gotten worst. Goodluck with whatever you decide.

RoaryKennedy · 10-28-2009, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lori57703

I don't know if you had your gallbladder out yet but if I were you I would do it. The stones may have been caused by your pregnancy but they will not just go away. They may stay in there and not cause too many problems but more than likely they will move. When they move they get stuck in in the duct between your gallbladder and small intestine blocking the usual drainage of bile. This is incredibly painful, can lead to infection and emergency surgery.

This is what happened to me! I started having attacks when I was 18 wks pg with my daughter. I never said anything to my doctor, but I instinctually knew it was my gallbladder from stuff I'd read in the past.

When my dd was 7 weeks old, I had a horrendous attack. It started out just feeling like maybe a stomach flu--I didn't throw up, but I just had that exhausted, sore tummy feeling. It went away after about 24 hours, so I just assumed that I had the flu. So, I packed up my dd and headed to Target. While I was driving, I got the worst pain and was nearly doubled over in the car. Luckily, my mom was with so she took my daughter, and my husband came and got me and took me to the hospital.

They admitted me right away, because of the stones lodged in my bile duct and the infection. I thought I'd have the gallbladder surgery the next day and be done with it, but I ended up having to have an ERCP to open the bile ducts so the stuck stones could drain. On the second day, they removed my gallbladder, and I immediately felt better. In all, I spent four days in the hospital on painkillers and IV antibiotics. After it was removed, I went home the next day and it took about a week to feel completely normal.

I don't ever even think about it being gone, to tell you the truth. It was the best decision, but also the only decision, that I could've made. I haven't had any GI problems or any side effects, so I'd never even notice that it was gone.

Good luck, and keep us posted on how you are doing!

Tawnnie405 · 10-29-2009, 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tawnnie405

I had mine taken out 4-29-09 , I feel better having it out. I know if it was left it in,it would had gotten worst. Goodluck with whatever you decide.

The time I posted this the burning pain that I got before my gallbladder was removed I thought was gone for good. The constant burning pain is back and plus the heartburn that makes me stop what I'm doing to take some Tums.(I take 40mg Nexium daily) It has been 6mos since the removal, so I guess I will wait and see before heading back to the doctor. Anyone still have pain after your gallbladder removed?

Stacie M · 10-29-2009, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOLLAND

My thing is that if it was caused by my pregnancy and the baby being up to high causing it not to function properly then it should work ok now since I'm not pregnany anymore.
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That's not really how it works... Women who have ever been pregnant are at higher risk of gallstones/gallbladder disease because of the hormonal changes associated with pregnancy (not the baby pushing on it). Also, women with a history of hormonal imbalance (such as PCOS) are also at higher risk for gallbladder disease. Being overweight (which I don't know if you are or not) is also a big risk factor.

I had mine out at the ripe old age of 22 LOL. I had never been pregnant, but was overweight and have PCOS. My surgeon said it is very common in women with endocrine disorders.

The surgery is simple and you heal up quickly. I literally felt better as soon as I woke up. I don't think I realized how bad I felt before, until I saw how much better I was when it was out.

RoaryKennedy · 10-29-2009, 02:54 PM

I've also been told that it's very common if you lose weight quickly, and more than 50 percent of WLS patients end up having their gallbladders removed, and I've also heard that some surgeons are just removing the gallbladder when doing the WLS because of that.

I did lose weight quickly after I was pregnant--I didn't gain much to begin with, and then I lost a lot afterwards (thanks largely to PPD) and by the time I had my gallbladder out, I was about 15 pounds less than my weight before I became pg.