I've just had my Gallbladder removed AMA!

[TVDFan]

As the title suggests!

I had my gallbladder removed on Wednesday and I'm stuck in bed bored.

AMA

This is an interesting read for me. I expect to have gallbladder problems when older, as my Mum did and she passes all the good stuff on to me.
Can I ask how old you are? Also did you have issues with wind and bowel movements being really stinky? This seemed to be one of my Mums major issues.

I'm 28, was 25 when problems started. No issues with bowels and wind. I probably go to the loo less often than most but I think that's just me 🤷‍♀️

That seems quite young for it. My Mum was in her late 50s early 60s, as was a friends Mum. I hope your recovery goes well.

What was your diet like when you were trying to avoid attacks?

Are you looking forward to lots of lovely fatty food now it’s out?

I'm due a scan in a few weeks. I've been pain free since switching to a low fat diet. Only diet I've ever stuck to, because it's just not worth the pain, no matter how much I fancy junk food.

What was your diet like when you were trying to avoid attacks?

Pretty crappy but I spent 4+ months where I cut out fat completely. During those months I had more attacks than ever 🤷🏼‍♀️

I had mine out very many years ago, OP, and I too remember that itchy legs (shins, in my case) was a Thing afterwards. If you've not already spoken to your GP about that I would mention it now, if you still have it.

@SpudsandGravy what did your GP say? Mine are extremely itchy since having my Gb removed.

@WhatAKerfuffley

Mime are fine now. Was fine after a couple of weeks! When I mentioned it to my GP he said it was normal but then again he might have been trying to fob me off 🤣

I had mine removed 17 years ago and I still worry that the pain will return. Mine started when I was heavily pregnant so I just chalked the pains up to that. When ds was 3 weeks old I was home alone with him and collapsed in agony. I managed to get to the phone and call my dh at work. He sped home and called my midwife who instantly recognised my symptoms and put the GP on. He told me to call in to the surgery to collect a form to hand in at Ward 8 at the MRI (that was literally a lifesaver as the next 5 times I was admitted was through A&E which took hours). Anyway I digress. When I stumbled into the GP surgery I fell to the floor, crawled to the toilet and started throwing up violently. All the staff came running. DH was sat outside in the car feeding ds who was ravenous. When I got to hospital it was so strange I walked in crying my eyes out. I was bent double in obvious pain and people (staff and patients) didn't bat an eyelid. I managed to find the ward by myself and collapsed on the floor again. This time people helped me. There was a woman in the next section of the little ward who was in pain too. She had 2 kids with her that kept running about the ward, in and out of bays, riding on those little trolleys with equipment and helping themselves to stuff in a little fridge with food like sandwiches, biscuits, juice etc (probably for patients kept waiting a while). The poor mum was too ill to bring them in line and I overheard a nurse tell the doctor that her husband dropped her off and told the staff he would return for the kids which he didn't. I remember lying there in agony but also high on morphine watching what I presumed was an emergency Foster couple turn up and take the kids while the mum lay there unable to do anything but cry. The whole time I was there she didn't have a single visitor. She was so lovely but barely spoke English. My dh would bring me stuff I needed so I got him to bring extra items for her.
It took 5 visits to A&E to get approved for surgery. On my last visit the nurse doing my discharge paper very snottily informed me that I was doing myself no favours by eating digestive biscuits (my mum brought them in the day before and they were untouched). At this point anything was setting me off so I was surviving on water and plain toast. When I turned down lunch she insisted that I eat a pink salmon salad. Just as I was leaving the ward it all came back up and I collapsed and blacked out. When I came around I could hear my friend speaking with the doctor and telling him how the nurse insisted I ate something healthy. He later told me that the nurse had been encouraged to look up my condition and see what happens when oily fish is consumed. That nurse avoided me during the extra 3 days I was kept in.
I know this is long but I still have nightmares about gallstone pain. I dreamt of those kids for years and had flashbacks of that nurse.
During one visit I was accused of faking my symptoms in order to obtain pethidine or morphine. The doctor made me look into his eyes while he pretty much punched me in the abdomen. The patient prior to me had been smoking in the toilet and while I was sat on the toilet having an extreme bout of diarrhoea while simultaneously vomiting into a bedpan the door was ripped open by a nurse who accused me of smoking. I couldn't even answer as I was busy throwing up. He marched off leaving the door open. The door was closed by a shocked visitor who witnessed the whole thing. Everytime I was admitted it meant more time away from my newborn baby. The whole thing was so horrid and terrifying. I sobbed as they were taking me to theatre. When I came round I had the worst pain in my shoulder. I asked if I had been dropped while I was under it was that bad. However my stomach was completely pain free. It did take me a very long time to trust food again. I went from 23 stone to 18 stone in 2 months. My hair was falling out in clumps and I felt like death warmed up. That coupled with my breast milk drying up and missing my baby I was near suicidal. If you are suffering please seek help as it only gets worse. Sorry this was an epic post.