Gallbladder Removal

[Cindy C 150]

I went for an ultrasound yesterday and they found that I have gallstones. My surgeon wants to remove my gallbladder ASAP so we scheduled the surgery for March 2nd. He said that because of the location of the gallbladder in relationship to the location of the band a gallbladder infection could cause a lap-band erosion. Lovely! I would like to hear from other bandsters who have had their gallbladder removed and how it has effected your life. Has your body adjusted to the organ being gone or are you having problems with digestion or dumping syndrome since? Has your weight loss been effected? And anything else you can tell the rest of us. Thanks in advance!

[GermaineF 25]

Were you having any symptoms? I think I'm having gallbladder issues as well, I go to the dr on Wednesday and i will talk to my dr about it.

[Cindy C 150]

I have been having some nausea and abdominal pain. When I had labs done about 3 months ago my liver enzymes were elevated which is what made my surgeon suspect my gallbladder.

[GermaineF 25]

I'm having abdominal pain also, it's on the right side, kinda under my rib cage, no nausea though

[shues138 35]

I was banded January 2007 in August 2011 I was in the er for a major gall bladder attack and my gall bladder was removed September 2011. My gall bladder was the size of a fist an hour outpatient surgery turned into 4 hours and I was admitted overnight. Also they had to put a drain in because there was so much bile. DO NOT HESITATE TO GET YOUR GALL BLADDER REMOVED! I had symptoms for years and had no clue I thought it was heartburn. Anyway in January I came in for a fill. The ms took the Fluid out of the band and it was brownish Orange color she scheduled me for an endoscopy the next week for possible band erosion thankfully everything was fine. She said that there was so much bile leaking from my gall bladder during my surgery that the Fluid seeped into the band. Everything is fine now thank goodness.

In regards to how you will react after surgery, you won't have an appetite for a few days you'll be tired just take it easy. Then your body is going to adjust ie: bowel movements 4 times at least a day. It was so bad I got a hemmerhoid if this is tmi I'm sorry I'm just keeping it honest. The constant bm was about a week. Then after that I ate like a horse and gained 30 lbs! But I'm back on track and lost 20 of that so far.

So that's my gall bladder story and I have to say mine was the worst. If you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them.

[GermaineF 25]

I was banded January 2007 in August 2011 I was in the er for a major gall bladder attack and my gall bladder was removed September 2011. My gall bladder was the size of a fist an hour outpatient surgery turned into 4 hours and I was admitted overnight. Also they had to put a drain in because there was so much bile. DO NOT HESITATE TO GET YOUR GALL BLADDER REMOVED! I had symptoms for years and had no clue I thought it was heartburn. Anyway in January I came in for a fill. The ms took the Fluid out of the band and it was brownish Orange color she scheduled me for an endoscopy the next week for possible band erosion thankfully everything was fine. She said that there was so much bile leaking from my gall bladder during my surgery that the Fluid seeped into the band. Everything is fine now thank goodness.

In regards to how you will react after surgery, you won't have an appetite for a few days you'll be tired just take it easy. Then your body is going to adjust ie: bowel movements 4 times at least a day. It was so bad I got a hemmerhoid if this is tmi I'm sorry I'm just keeping it honest. The constant bm was about a week. Then after that I ate like a horse and gained 30 lbs! But I'm back on track and lost 20 of that so far.

So that's my gall bladder story and I have to say mine was the worst. If you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them.

You say you had a gall bladder attack...what were your symptoms?

[Sue Magoo 71]

Hi:

I got my band July 2007, in March had gallbladder attack. Got gallbladder out in April 2008. Was pretty easy. One helpful tip is to have something really tight to wear over the tummy to keep it from jiggling after the gallbladder surgery. A Spanx would do. I never had any bathroom issues because of my gallbladder removal. Fatigue was the only issue post surgery. Took a while for this to go away.

Best wishes to you. Keep us posted.

Sue

[running_scared 125]

My gallbladder attacks started as a pain under my right ribs, and it felt like someone was poking me. Then as they got worse, the nausea started, and it would feel like someone was reaching into my chest, and pulling my ribs apart, right from left, and the pain would travel over to my back.

I am not banded yet, and I had my gallbladder out over 4 years ago. I also have IBS, so it took a long time for my digestive track to adjust, but I'm all cool now. The surgery was by far less painful than the attacks themselves. Mine was also infected and very enlarged when they removed it, and it took them hours to do the surgery, as it has welded itself to my liver (eww, lol). Also, they got 7 or 8 1/3 inch stones out of it.

I wouldn't be too hesitant to get rid of it, as I've felt so much better overall, without that demon organ!

Good luck.

[#MagicWithinme 173]

I was set to get my lapband in November 2011, and was goin thru the final tests, including an ultra sound. I got a call the same day from drs office that my gallbladder looked to be full of stones, no symptoms whatso ever. so instead of lapband I got my gallbladder taken out, dr wanted to do lapband 3 weeks later but opted out.. its bets to do it now, before problems/smptoms start showing up, froom what Ihear they are not nice pains.

[shues138 35]

@germainef it felt like I had a really bad stomach ache but it was all on my right side actually I thought I had the stomach bug but after four pepto bismols and a night of agony I knew it was something else....also I couldn't get comfortable no matter what position I was in. If you're not sure go to the md its so much better to be safe than sorry

[shues138 35]

@runningscared my gall bladder was embedded in my liver too so weird how that happens glad I'm not the only one!

[running_scared 125]

I think it's all the swelling and infection that causes that. My surgeon was very concerned that I would wind up with an infection, but I got lucky!

[dwiley56 5]

I had my gallbladder removed Jan. 23, 2012(I was banded June 3, 2011) I have all kinds of pain in my side and in my chest. I feel ok now, just taking it slow.

[Caribear 184]

I am pre-band, but had my gallbladder out in January '11. For me it started as a deep achy pain, and I felt like I had a brick under my ribcage. I didn't have any nausea unless I ate something fatty. Unfortunately for me, it started right before Christmas, and I ended up throwing up after every Christmas party I went to (couldn't resist the food!) Then about a week before I had it removed, I passed a stone. It felt like a hot knife stabbing me from the inside, lasted about 20 minutes, then suddenly just stopped. When they finally removed it, the surgeon said it was pretty infected and had lots of small stones and a few larger ones. I haven't noticed any changes to how I react to food since I've had it removed.

In the beginning I was afraid to have surgery, and I tried to "fix it" with natural remedies, but by the time they took it out I was ready for it to go. So I would have to agree with the previous posters that if anybody is having trouble with it, just get it taken out. It's not worth the suffering.

[Meduseld 29]

I had my gallbladder removed on December 27. It honestly hasn't affected my life at all! I do sometimes get phantom "gall attacks" because I was so used to the pain after eating, but other than that, absolutely nothing.

Be warned though. On stone didn't come out and was in the duct after my gall bladder got removed. 3 days after I got my gall bladder removed, I had a "gall attack." Luckily, that was the last one I ever had!

Good luck to you! I'm sure you'll be fine. Just rest!