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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]No! Why? Why would you do that if you don’t have to?

I can only see this if you were going to live in Antarctica or something. [/quote]

because it’s an easy surgery and better than ending up in emergency surgery later?[/quote]

Surgery has a lot more risk than the possibility of surgery.[/quote]

Surgery has a lot lower risk than gallstone pancreatitis, which has a 15% risk of death on admission. Or did when it happened to me.

Schedule the surgery, OP. [/quote]

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

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+2. Gallbladder attacks are extremely painful. The surgery and recovery was very easy. [/quote]

+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. 
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