Gallbladder Surgery

[Capt Derel 287]

I had kidney stones twice in 2006. Very very painful. They did a amplified soundwave pulse treatment. Its called something like lithotripsy which breaks down the stones making them small enough to pass. I just dont want that big 6 inch scar. But if it comes down to it I will have it removed.

[beautifulnewme2012 164]

I had kidney stones twice in 2006. Very very painful. They did a amplified soundwave pulse treatment. Its called something like lithotripsy which breaks down the stones making them small enough to pass. I just dont want that big 6 inch scar. But if it comes down to it I will have it removed.

I had it done laparoscopically... Funny thing is, the surgeon used my old gall bladder surgery scars for the sleeve surgery plus added a few. Worked out nicely. Lol

[BigSexxy 2]

I was sleeved Aug 1

GB removed in early December.

It has not slowed my weight loss.

[bethany1987 66]

I had kidney stones twice in 2006. Very very painful. They did a amplified soundwave pulse treatment. Its called something like lithotripsy which breaks down the stones making them small enough to pass. I just dont want that big 6 inch scar. But if it comes down to it I will have it removed.

My surgeon said he will use my sleeve scars and have to add one tiny one. I'm excited about him using my bigger sleeve scar because he glued it shut last time and so the scar is bigger than it should be IMO. I'm going to ask him to suture it this time so I will just have a tiny line now instead of an oval scar.

[Samma 0]

Don't wait!!! I had my surgery about 2 year ago. (Still don't regert it!) I had one attack about 6 months ago. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't stand, I couldn't sit down, NOTHING helps. It is the worst pain I have ever had including the WLS and my C-section. I still shudder when I think about it. Went to the hospital by ambulance and there they made sure I wasn't having a heart attack and let me go home when they found "several stones" in my gallbladder. Since then I had maybe one minor attack. Recently, I was sick with weird nightly fevers that are gone in morning and all sorts of strange things. Including bilrubin and red-blood cells being found during a urinalysis. Scheduled the surgery to remove my GB. The surgery itself wasn't bad. Able to go home that day. However, the surgeon said it was a good thing I had it done now. Apparently when your GB gets inflammed...it becomes sticky. Who knew!? My GB was FULL of stones of various sizes and was stuck to my liver, my bowel, and one other organ (I can't recall). Luckily they were still able to remove it laproscopically but it could have turned out alot worse. DON'T WAIT. I had no stones about 2 years ago....was left with a GB that was stuci to my insides!

[SittingPretty 16]

It has not slowed my weight loss. I lost approx 40lb the first 3 months. The Dr said I probably had stones before and didn't know it.

As for the scars....I am the unhappy owner of 7 big fat ugly scars. If this is any indication of how I scar then plastic surgery is out of the question, lol. I would wind up looking like the bride of Frankenstein, all patched together.

[Back~To~Amy 307]

Thank you so much. You have described exactly what I had 2x so far. I thought it was from me eating something wrong. If this happens more for me I will have it looked at. I feel your pain. Literally

First of all, gallbladder attacks are more often than not brought on by high fat foods. Please do see a doctor soon. I kept having "the worst attacks ever" like someone above posted. They were usually in the middle of the night (typical, but not always) and they would last about an hour and a half. Then, I had THE attack. That one was 10 times worse than the other ones I thought were the worst attacks ever. I lived alone and after puking more than I ever had and enduring the pain and all the other symptoms for almost an hour, I knew this one wasn't going away so I called my sister and told her I was calling 911 and to meet me at the hospital.prior to this. I kept saying I was gonna see a gastroenterologist but I kept putting it off. BIG mistake. Gallbladder pains can radiate and cause pain in many places. There is usually pain at the location of your gallbladder too.....on the right side pretty much straight down from the breast nipple at the bottom of your rib cage. Please, if you think it may be your gallbladder, don't do what I did. See a doctor soon. It will not get better. It only gets worse and the pain is off the charts and unrelenting without some good narcotics. And, if it ruptures, it can be dangerous. Oh, and for me, recovery after surgery was a breeze. My recovery now from VSG is a lot more painful. I guess after THE gallbladder attack, surgery pain was no where as painful. Take care!

[Dooter 1,457]

Yep, worse pain I EVER had was gallbladder attacks (and I've given birth to twins and one boy with a HUGE head!!). Had mine out in '02 and it was MUCH easier than the sleeve surgery IMO. The attacks feel like you're being knifed in the gut right below the sternum. It won't stop until the fat is out of the system. Bethany and Capt. D-- AVOID FATS LIKE DEATH!! This will help prevent further attacks until you can get it fixed!

[BenisaMartim4 369]

I had mine out in '98 and on a scale of 1-10 the pain is a 20. When I had The Attack, I absolutely though I would die. By the time my husband got me to the hospital, not only did they think I was having a heart attack, they were afraid that I would have a stroke too because my BP was so high (from the pain). They pumped me full of narcotics to no avail. I finally ended up on a morphine drip. You scream, writhe, puke, sweat and anything else a person might do that though they were having their heart dug out with a red hot spoon. Mine could have very easily killed me (and I was only 20). The stones move around and block the duct. This causes pressure to build up and can lead to a rupture. My doc told me that pain meds should never be give when gallbladder problems are suspected. He said masking the pain could lead to your death. If you were having an attack and covered it up, it could rupture and you would not have time to make it to the hospital. You could even die in your sleep. So if you are having problems get them seen about ASAP and don't try to buy time with narcotics.

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[Webchickadee 716]

I was in a bad motorcycle accident in July 1999. Prior to that accident, I had never had a single symptom of gall bladder trouble.

The accident was quite severe and left me with a ruptured spleen, broken wrist (surgically repaired with metal plates), three broken ribs that punctured my left lung and collapsed it, a separated shoulder and severe road rash on both knees and both arms/elbows.

During the following 3 weeks, I started having serious pain episodes that the doctors kept blaming on gas pain. But I was in hospital and living off an iv!

I was discharged to a rehab hospital and the following day experienced the worst pain of my life. Everything from the accident paled in comparison! On return to the trauma hospital, they gave me Fentanyl (usually given to women in labor), but it only works for 30 min and they would only give it to me every 90 min. For the 60 min it had worn off, I was screaming my head off, and the nurses kept telling me I was disturbing the other patients in the ER! I didn't care.....i was dying!

They said it was an inflamed gall bladder, but after circling the drain on the ward for 3 days (which I don't remember), the head of trauma surgery told me they were going to take my gall bladder out.

The 40 min surgery took 4 hours....my gall bladder had actually ruptured 3 days earlier (no wonder it felt like I was dying!), and now it was all floating around my other organs! Another 12 hours and I would have gone septic and probably died. The theory was that I might have had a small stone that impacted into the wall of my GB from the forced of the crash. Then it festered, caused gangrene and then ruptured the GB.

I recovered quickly from the GB surgery (my first laparoscopic surgery) and other than having digestive difficulties after greasy or oily foods, I've had no after effects.

But I will never forget the pain. Do not let your GB pain go untreated. A ruptured GB could kill you, and the agony will make you wish you were dead!

[SLIM12 19]

As part of my pre-op testing my Dr ordered a sonogram of GB, pancreas, stomach, liver, etc. oops there was a large 1" stone in my GB. So it will be removed at the time of my sleeve. 6-18-12!