Gall Bladder Gone Bad

[NerdyMHC 76]

My surgeon and my husband (a nurse) warned me that my gall bladder would probably go bad after WLS. What is surprising to me is that I am only nine weeks out! I didn't think it would happen that quickly. It all started when I tried pizza at week 6. I only had 3 small bites, but I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like I was going to die!

I must have suffered from amnesia because I took a bite of my husband's pizza a couple weeks later and woke up in the middle of the night again, feeling the same pain. I swore off pizza for the rest of my life!

Today, I have been experiencing the familiar sharp pain under my right rib cage all day long...It will be there for several minutes, and then it goes away for a couple of minutes, and then it comes back...repeat ad nauseum! I took some liquid tylenol and feel a little better. I tried to eat some pear and right away, the pain came back. Now I am sitting here with a heating pad on my tummy, swearing off of food for the rest of my life! All I ever eat is Protein Cereal, almond milk, tuna, chicken, egg, and canned veggies and fruit (no sugar added).

Anyways, for anybody who has had to have their gall bladder removed after WLS, how long did you have to endure this crap before they decided to take it away? I know that my friend, who did not have WLS, had to deal with it for 6 months and I don't know if I could do that! She finally just couldn't keep anything down and stopped eating for a couple of days before they would finally resort to surgery. Ugh!

My husband said that they won't take it until you have experienced symptoms for a long time.

I hope that this isn't true!

[SerendipityHappens 1,594]

My Gallbladder flared up for maybe 10 years before I finally had it taken out. At the end I was throwing up every night for a month. It was my own fault though. I was petrified of going to the Dr and getting surgery. By the time I finally went to the emergency room, I had a high fever, my gallbladder was gangrene and had perforated and had gone septic. I was admitted and had it removed as an emergency surgery. I was hospitalized for several days for what should have been a one day affair. The Surgeon said it was "one of the grossest things he's ever seen" ... Now since he's a doctor I imagine he's seen a lot of gross things but I didn't ask him to elaborate.

I understand that many doctors are conservative and do not operate until they are certain that recurrences of the attacks are inevitable. Sometimes dissolution of the stones works and sometimes patients never have a recurrence... but where you've already had two attacks so close together, hopefully they'll just take care of it expediently.

Good luck!

[Losin4good 689]

I had my gall bladder removed exactly 3 months post op from sleeve surgery.

I am so glad I did! Haven't had a single pain since!

[alley-gator 96]

Mine bugged me for less than a month before they removed it. Typically if you are having issues they will order an ultrasound, and if it shows stones they remove it.

[Lisa's Hope 421]

I wondering if I have a bad gallbladder as well. I have these episodes that feels like a big gas bubble under my right rib cage that just goes around into my back and hurts like crazy! I'm not nauseous at all but the pain is really bad. I've had 6 episodes since surgery but I can't really relate it to any food that I've eaten. I so don't want to have surgery again but I just might have too!

[NerdyMHC 76]

Thanks for all of the great replies! @Serendipity: Wow! That sounds like it was a horrible experience! I hope you haven't had any troubles since!

I hope that if this continues, they won't make me wait to address it! I would rather have it out and move on with my weight loss!

Thanks again!

[doxieville 799]

I had mine out 6 weeks after my sleeve surgery. I had some aches, they checked, I has stones and 3 days later my gallbladder was remove. Find a new doc if yours won't take it out! Serious damage can happen if a stone gets stuck in a bile duct. (Or so i've been told.). Or pancreatis. Or just a mess if it explodes. Bottom line, don't fool around! Get it out.