Gallbladder Ultrasound

[fluffylibra30 323]

is that a mandatory thing? Its the first ive heard about it but the office called me today and told me mine was scheduled. I was so suprised i forgot to ask her what for. Will they remoce it during surgery if it is bad i wonder?

[longer-life 139]

I would certainly ask if the surgeon has everyone do it and why. I would have gone CRAZY without a list of their requirements and tests. I don't like surprises.

In regards to removal, when I lost 50 pounds on Weight Watchers once I had to have it removed. It is common when people lose large amount of weight, so it sort of make sense, but why check now? I would want to know if I was you.

[courtines 6]

Some surgeons require it and some don't. I am an ultrasound tech and I actually learned about the surgery from someone who was doing pre-op testing. I think that a lot of surgeons decided that if you have any sort of gallbladder disease, even if it isn't bothering you, that it is easier to take it out at the time of the sleeve surgery. A lot of people who lose a large amount of weight end up having problems with their gallbladders eventually, so I think it is to prevent you having to have more surgery in the future. My understanding is that if your gallbladder is fine, that they leave it alone.

[smallgirlsxthree 23]

Courtines!! I'm an xray/ultrasound tech and I did the SAME thing! Lol just thought that was funny!

Some surgeons require it and some don't. I am an ultrasound tech and I actually learned about the surgery from someone who was doing pre-op testing. I think that a lot of surgeons decided that if you have any sort of gallbladder disease, even if it isn't bothering you, that it is easier to take it out at the time of the sleeve surgery. A lot of people who lose a large amount of weight end up having problems with their gallbladders eventually, so I think it is to prevent you having to have more surgery in the future. My understanding is that if your gallbladder is fine, that they leave it alone.

[IslandGrrl 11]

The gall bladder ultrasound was a requirement from my insurance company. In fact, they did a full abdominal ultrasound. As it turned out, my gall bladder was in fine shape, so I can't say what they would do if they found an issue. I do know that for my insurance this was one of the tests that had to be submitted prior to receiving authorization for a surgery date.

[New in 2012 14]

I think it makes sense to screen the gallbladder. Why end up having two surgeries if it is a problem? I actually have had a few gallbladder attacks recently (very painful and unpleasant), so I will likely have to have mine out. At first I thought it was just really bad indigestion, but then I had other symptoms and almost went to the ER. It resolves after a long night. But now I'm very wary of what I eat. Yikes!

I wonder what will happen if my ultrasound does indicate gall stones or inflamation, as far as insurance goes. They don't cover WLS, but they pretty much have to cover gallbladder surgery if it is indicated. We'll see soon enough!

[bonbon0576 9]

I am also an ultrasound tech. gallbladder problems are very common in people who are overweight; mostly women unfortunately. If they see the gallbladder has stones, they will go ahead and remove it during your surgery.

[LoserMama 37]

See, I want to ask my doc to do this, because I don't want to have to mess with another surgery in three or four months. That was on my question for my pre-op visit a week before surgery, so I am going to ask if they can do that ultrasound to check it out. I'd love to kill two birds with one stone (no pun intended) Any downside to having it removed?

[waterlover 15]

i was diagnosed with a medium size stone and i don't THINK it's giving me any real problems, maybe i have an 'attack' a couple times a year, nothing that a cup of boiled flax seed didn't get rid of.

i was supposed to get it taken out but i didn't go to the surgeon consultation. something inside me tells me i want to keep my gallbladder. i don't know if this is a good decision, i just have an issue taking it out. i wonder if it will get worse after i have my surgery and weight loss.

i know the doctor i chose to do VSG does take it out if it's a problem. what a hard decision. more research i guess...

[longer-life 139]

what a hard decision. more research i guess...

Do research it if you can. The attacks must vary in intensity. I only had one MASSIVE attack that was so so painful I had surgery a few days later because I did not want another one of those. I will never forget it. It started suddenly in the middle of a Costco! It was an 'easy" surgery, as far as surgeries go. I have not missed my gallbladder and it has been about 10 years.

[waterlover 15]

my sister in law almost died from a ruptured gallbladder. she was sooo sick. i don't know if it's the size or amount of the stones that can get caught up in the tract. i don't believe in the whole lemon/olive oil flush thing that is popular on a lot of the holistic sites. although i don't know anyone personally who tried it and did or didn't get results. i think i can feel it sometimes because i get a weird pain once and a while on my right side. who wants to have a VSG then six months later a cholecystectomy? if WLS for sure can muck your gallbladder up maybe it's better to get it removed.

[Kimmes 38]

I am just headed to the hospital for a gallbladder ultrasound! This little bugger has got to go! I wish they had screened it before I had my VSG surgery and removed it at that time. Now it appears I will be having another surgery to remove it. But I will be happy to have it go - my attacks have become more frequent and last longer and are so painful!

Wonder how this will impact my eating habits/diet in the future? I am already at goal (5 pounds under) but have really kept up the Protein (meat first) diet - and I actually think that meat (fatty meat) triggers the attacks.