"Oh, don't worry. We don't need to take our your gallbladder."

[debd80 41]

So here I am. Day two in the hospital. Gallbladder removed and another procedure tomorrow to remove a stone that's stuck in my bile duct.

2 months ago, I had Gastric Sleeve - my surgeon and I had a lengthy discussion about whether or not he would remove my gallbladder at the time of surgery. He opted not to - he said it looked fine in the pre-op scan and didn't think it would be an issue. However, I tried to plead my case that gallbladders have a tendency to "go bad" after WLS.

So my question, how many ended up needing their gallbladder removed and how many surgeons actually removed it at the time of WLS?

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[PrinceVanHalen 97]

I went on my own "gastric bypass" diet two years ago and after 6 months of doing it, I lost all my weight and my gallbladder went bad. I ended up gaining all my weight back after my gallbladder was removed. Now I'm 4 weeks post op. So I guess I'm lucky mine went bad with my last diet.

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[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

I had my first gallbladder attack 10 days after my sleeve surgery. My bariatric surgeon removed it (full of gallstones) 18 days later.

When I asked him if he had ever removed gall bladders during VSG surgeries, he said that he used to do that, but insurance companies no longer authorize gall bladder removal for a GB that has never acted up before.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

One year, no gallbladder issues ever.

[Daisee68 2,493]

As @VSGAnn14 said, most insurance will not pay for it now (mine very specifically excluded it unless there were issues prior) so drs do not remove them at the same time as WLS as they used to. I have been having some pain off and on in the gallbladder area since about 3 months post-op but they have done several tests and say it is fine. My Dr said it is probably a "sphincter of oddi" issue and have given me Bentyl to take as needed. It is a "smooth muscle" relaxer which is also prescribed for IBS and it does the trick. I would prefer not to be on a med like this but Dr (both bariatric surgeon and a GI specialist I saw) assure me it is a very safe med. So until the pain (really not pain but more of a small ache) disrupts my life, I will let it be I suppose.

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[jane13 2,256]

14+ months post-op VSG and gallbladder has been fine, so far

[theantichick 2,204]

I asked my surgeon about it, because 3 out of 5 people I know who had WLS had to have their gall bladders out within a year after surgery. She said the actual numbers are lower than my experience when there's been no gall bladder issues prior to surgery, so it's not justified medically and insurance won't pay for it. So I guess I get to cross my fingers and hope I'm in the group that doesn't have an issue.

[MightyMittenMimi 11]

Back in 2004 I had lost over 120 lbs in less than a year and I never had any gb issues for almost 2 years then it hit very suddenly and it was removed early 2006. So I'm guessing everyone's goes bad at different rates of time. My surgery is this Monday, so glad this is one less thing for me to worry about. Best wishes for everyone!

[Chrystee 838]

Had surgery in March last year, and had my gallbladder out in august!

[luvingme 9]

My doctor want do your surgery unless you agree to remove it! Reading this I'm very happy with my choice.

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[debd80 41]

Still in the hospital going on day 4. Haven't drank or eaten since Sunday.

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[Dub 9,922]

Sorry to hear of your pain and troubles.

I'm nine months post-op and have had no problems.........yet.

[NikkiDoc 312]

I am 18 months out and have had no gallbladder issues. My surgeon put me on Actigal for the first 5 or 6 months after surgery during my rapid weight loss phase.

The only person I know that have had gallbladder surgery was not a WLS patient. She has always been fit and healthy.

[NoMoreWeightNJ 225]

Got my sleeve done 15 months ago and here I sit in the hospital getting ready to have my gallbladder removed. I asked my surgeon if he did it when we initially had our consult and he said if you're not having issues then we leave it. I didn't know if I had any stones at the time but I know now that I do and that it's infected and needs to come out asap. I PRAY that I am not out of work long or that I don't have a difficult recovery. Prayers are welcome.

[Djmohr 6,965]

My surgeon also insisted it be removed at the time of surgery for all WLS patients.

He did not have to worry about me because 17 years ago I went on a low fast diet, lost 75lbs in 3 months and my gallbladder went crazy.

By the time they figured out what the hell was so wrong with me (I could only eat boiled potatoes and dry Cheerios, everything else made me sick)

My gall bladder was so full of stones and infected that they had to do an open gall bladder surgery. Back then it was 3 nights in the hospital and 12 weeks off of work for me. I of course had them bring my work home which was great.

I still remember my general surgeon telling me to be careful after having it removed that likely I would begin to gain weight again. He wasn't wrong.....within a 2 years I gained back all that weight and added another 25lbs to it before I decided to go on the Atkins diet. LOL I lost all that weight and then gained it all back and then some.....can you say yo yo diets.....don't work.

I finally stopped trying to lose weight because it was literally going to kill me. That is how I ended up at 310lbs.