gallbladder removal
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Anonymous
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Pregnancy can trigger them (my first attack was when my only child was 3 months old) age (female over 40) and so can many other factors. Obesity and high fat diet can cause but rapid weight loss, extremely low fat diet, can also trigger.
But most people with asymptomatic gallstones stay asymptomatic. |
Anonymous
And by the way: though the surgery was ultimately laparoscopic and easy as pie (discharged the next day), the eight days NPO in the hospital until the pancreas had calmed down enough that I was allowed any oral intake (and the surgery) was not. I would not mess with this, OP. |
Anonymous
| I had my removed. the 3 Fs are fertile, female, forties. I don't think it necessarily comes from bad diet. |
Anonymous
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I had my gallbladder removed laparoscopically and nearly died. They missed some and it formed two quart-plus abscesses in my abdominal cavity. I had to spend 10 days in the hospital and had six surgeries. Now I have bile dumping disorder—a common post-removal side effect which results in the runs every day, multiple times a day for the rest of my life. Fun.
I wouldn’t have it removed until it causes a problem. |
Anonymous
They sometimes add “fat and fair” all of which describe me. I had mine out but had terrible attacks and reflux which resolved after removal. My friend nearly died from pancreatitis due to a gallstone so I was not hesitant. If I was asymptomatic and doctor wasn’t suggesting it I may have skipped it |
Anonymous
I had mine removed in 2007 - best decision ever. I had debilitating gallbladder attacks that left me curled up in the fetal position with cold sweats. The surgery was done laparoscopically and I had an easy recovery. No regrets |
Anonymous
There can be complications. DH was hospitalized for two weeks when there was a blockage following his emergency gall blader removal. There had been signs of gall bladder inflammation earlier so if you are having symptoms, I would plan the surgery before it becomes an emergency. |
Anonymous
| Does it run in your family? DH had both grandmothers, his brother and sister who needed their gall bladders removed. |
Anonymous
DP. Stop troll-hunting, pp. This is an informative thread. |
Anonymous
DH thought he had food poisoning (nausea, cold sweats, diarrhea) but it was really his gall bladder. |
Anonymous
+2. Gallbladder attacks are extremely painful. The surgery and recovery was very easy. |
Anonymous
+3. The problem with “wait until you have an attack,” is you don’t know when that will be. But, chances are itwill happen when you eat fatty food or change your normal diet— so vacation, weddings, graduations, etc. I had my first (and only) attack on vacation in a Caribbean country with 2nd/3rd world medical care— an hour after eating Brie with fruit. And yes— I was not watching my diet on vacation. No idea what it was at the time, but I was curled up in a ball on the bathroom floor in enormous pain, cold sweat, and praying I wasn’t about to find out what medical care looked like on the tiny island. It eventually went away. I went to the doctor as soon as I got home, got a diagnosis and had an easy removal. But at the time, it was terrifying because I wasn’t near good medical care— or my own house, family, friends. Several years later, we were on vacation in the US when DH got very sick very fast out of nowhere. He was so far gone by the time he got through the ER and was admitted that I had to have his healthcare POA faxed to the hospital— he was too out of it to make his own medical decisions. His attack was a lot more serious and complicated and he was hospitalized for 5 days— and then I had to get him home. And, oh yeah, our kids were with grandparents during what was supposed to be a 2 night anniversary get away. So, I was alone in a hotel, trying to get work coverage and the kids were a state away. Fortunately the grandparents were able to babysit longer. But getting the kids home too when DH was too sick to just stop and pick them up added to the complication. Point is, waiting for an attack is a gamble. It could last 2-3 (very scary, painful) hours and pass. Or, it could become life threatening the first time. It could happen during a downtime at work when you are at home near a good hospital and your MD. Or on the day of a family milestone event, or when you are traveling. I’m in the don’t risk it crowd— because I saw— twice— what happens when attacks are very severe and/or happen at inconvenient times. For a simple procedure, you can schedule it outpatient, plan time off work and coverage for kids etc. If you let it go, you could be stuck having surgery when it is much more serious, you require actual hospitalization, and you are 1000 mile from home. |
Anonymous
Not always. Those with familial hyperlipidemia have a much higher risk of gallstones. |
Anonymous
Don't forget Fat. Fertile, Female, Forties, Fat |
Anonymous
^this. I had mine removed 6 weeks postpartum. Had hyperemesis and was hospitalized for two weeks in first trimester. Ob/gyn ran every test to ensure my vomiting wasn’t from another condition - like appendix, etc. Had no gallstones then. 6 weeks after I gave birth to my first, gallstone attack and had it removed. |