not to want my gallbladder removed?

[bezinee]

A few weeks back out of the blue found myself in agonizing pain. Ended up in A&E where the dr said he thought it was biliary colic, and I should have an ultrasound.

Went back to GP, who agreed to refer me (after some persuasion). GP said if the scan found anything I'd have to have surgery..

Have now had scan, turns out I do have one, fairly large, gallstone.

After the first attack, I had one other a fortnight later (after eating some deep fried food). Since then, I've been taking ibuprofen and paracetamol 3x a day, and although I've had the odd twinge, no further problems.

My GP, hospital, everyone I talk to, seems to be saying I should have my gallbladder removed - but I'm not sure that's what I want. I'm now being really careful with my diet, have stopped eating chocolate, biscuits, crisps etc and am losing weight (which I feel should help - and because the first attack happened after a chocolate binge).

AIBU to want to avoid the op?

I had one bad attack previously, which is when I found out I had one large gallstone. Controlled it pretty well until I unexpectedly fell pregnant. It's been agony ever since.
My GP said if you want to keep it that's fine, but don't forget if it suddenly gets problematic and you're abroad, or if ruptures, then it won't be nice keyhole surgery it will be major surgery.
I'm getting mine out after baby arrives.

The pains i had were pretty bad both times, the first time I thought I was having a heart attack (hence ending up in A&E), but they both stopped with pain relief, the first was bearable after an hour, the second (because I knew what it was I took tablets immediately) after about 30 mins. Which was long enough at the time, honestly.

Bowser

If it is simple biliary colic, no infection or blocking of the duct etc, then bloods are usually normal. Whether surgery is offered is not solely dependent on blood results.

It depends on the degree (if any ) of inflammation/if there are signs of infection/size and number of stones/presence of "sludge" in the gallbladder and so on. Presence (and absence) of symptoms is also taken into account- OP is having to use pain killers daily to control her symptoms, which suggests to me she needs to be referred to a surgeon for an opinion on whether she should have an op. As she is having to use analgesia daily, suggesting pain daily (and assuming the pain is due to gallstones and not something else) I think surgery may be offered.

4 years ago I had a terrible bout of gallbladder pain, yes, worst pain ever, sweating and in agony. A scan showed gravelly small stones and I was advised to have the gallbladder removed. I was a bit cowardly and decided to leave it a while...... And I've never had a repeat attack. Probably an unusual case. I've noticed cheese induced minor discomfort so I gave that up and have not had even that. I'm almost phobic about doctors and hospitals and have needle phobia so I was deeply relieved to have no more pain. They used to say the typical person with this problem was fair, fat and forty.

I had my gallbladder removed five years ago after three very painful attacks. I had a normal bmi and had never had a GA before. I too was nervous at the thought of surgery but I found the low fat diet really restrictive basically I couldn't eat outside my home at all. I became paranoid that I would have another attack. I had ongoing pain because my gallbladder had become enlarged and inflamed. For the first few years after the surgery I had some digestive issues, burping indigestion and bouts of diarrhoea but this was causing mild discomfort not the excruciating pain of an attack. My body now seems to have adjusted and I only have these symptoms if I eating lots which really only happens at Christmas! I'd advise that you listen to your surgeon he or she can tell you the best option. Mine told me the only way to ensure my health was to have it removed so that's what I did

I had mine out 3 years ago. I had cholecystitis and I'd had pancreatitis so I didn't have any choice but I'll always regret having to have it removed. I can't eat red meat (I'm ok with a small slice of beef but mince or lamb is a definite no) and I have to be careful with rich, spicy or fatty food and also fruit and veg. Eating out can be difficult as I have to check menus first and ask for things to be adapted. I now have reflux and many meals have a Gaviscon chaser (the sachets are amazing for eating out!).

However, for me the alternative to having it out was having pancreatitis again and possibly dying and they were risks I wasn't prepared to take as I love my family and friends too much. I can't say having my gallbladder out has improved my life as one set of problems has been replaced by another but at least these aren't life threatening!

OP, speak to your GP and, if he refers you to a consultant speak to them and discuss your options. Good luck.

Wouldn't advise it. My mum nearly died last year without any pain fromgallstones. They knew she had one but there were no symptoms. However, out of the blue she got ill, thought it was a uti, got worse, got admitted to hospital and stayed there for a week with what turned out to be biliary sepsis. Had she gone a day or two longer before she went to hospital then the outcome would have been very different. She went from fine to seriously ill in 2 days with no gallbladder pain. She had itnout a few months later (she had to wait for the infection to clear) and is fine now, even cured her permanent indigestion. Wouldn't risk if if I were you

Wouldn't advise it. My mum nearly died last year without any pain fromgallstones. They knew she had one but there were no symptoms. However, out of the blue she got ill, thought it was a uti, got worse, got admitted to hospital and stayed there for a week with what turned out to be biliary sepsis. Had she gone a day or two longer before she went to hospital then the outcome would have been very different. She went from fine to seriously ill in 2 days with no gallbladder pain. She had itnout a few months later (she had to wait for the infection to clear) and is fine now, even cured her permanent indigestion. Wouldn't risk if if I were you

Pre-op meds are no longer given routinely, and sickness after anaesthetic is also less likely. Some people take longer to wake up than others, it's quite individual.

I had mine removed as an emergency procedure three days before Christmas. Gangrene had set in and the pain was pretty horrible and wouldn't go away. The first batch of painkillers that they gave me worked, but after they wore off nothing worked and I was in hideous pain for 24 hours. I was given liquid morphine but unfortunately I just threw it up.

I was discharged the day after the operation and was sore for about a week. I'm feeling great now and am very glad I got the operation, even though when first admitted I was adament I wanted to go home and manage it through diet. (then the painkillers wore off and I was SO glad I wasn't going anywhere!)

I remember the surgeon looking at my x-ray (it was 20 odd years ago!) when I said I did not want surgery and pointing to the stone and saying - well, you can't wish that away! - like you I had one large stone. It was the days before keyhole surgery and if that had been available I would not have been worried. Grab your chance at this simple surgery and avoid all the subsequent complications that can arise. A bigger op like I had is not joke!

Get it out! I suffered for years not knowing what those attacks were - very frightening but had useless GP. I was skinny and ate/eat fairly healthily - it honestly made no difference in my case, the 'sludge' in the gallbladder was there and also causing low-level aches quite often.

There really was no connection with diet in my case - once diagnosed, I was looking out for it, but it seemed random.

I scared myself before surgery by googling it all - don't do that. The surgery was absolutely fine and I feel a million times better now.
A colleague nearly died from infected gallbladder so please don't ignore.

Colleague was told the gallbladder cancer can be caused by untreated gallstones by her doctor, which is why she agreed to the surgery. Not sure if that's 100% true thiugh.

Op you are reading too much online nonsense!! (Ironic since we're posting on mumsnet too but anyway)

Had mine out best thing ever easiest op I've ever had and nothing is any different, your diet will not need to change after op that is a massive load of crap that you've read. I have also had my appendix out and my tonsils, feel only AMAZING missing all these bits of mt body. Also when i had my gallbladder out my BMI was 38!! Makes no difference. Get it out, stop overthinking and get on with your life without worrying about the next attack!

I had my gallbladder removed 4 months ago, now I have dry burning eyes, dry skin on backs of legs and arms, not digesting essential fats, hoping this will improve with time but it's very worrying, GP is useless,
can't tolerate any fatty foods or meat gravies, if I do it's run to the bathroom, liquid poos and smelly gas,

it's not as easy as they make out, not sure I should have had it removed at all but it's too late for thinking about it now anyway. this is really getting me down.

I had mine removed in 2013 - I had no symptoms apart from issues swallowing (not typical at all) and only knew my gallbladder was full of stones & diseased from an ultrasound trying to investigate the swallowing problem.

I was very, very reluctant to have it removed since I'd had no pain and the swallowing issue was minor. I met with the consultant surgeon who said he wanted to fast-track my surgery and whip it out ASAP.

I said I'd think about it. I met with my GP to discuss it with her, thinking I could find a way of curing my gallbladder without the need for surgery. She said "put it this way, it's just a matter of time before it gets much worse and if it was me, I'd have it out tomorrow."

So I went through with it - and I've honestly never had any complications or any issues whatsoever. I eat whatever I like with absolutely no restrictions. I haven't even noticed it's gone in 6 years!

Thing is, it won't get better. Especially if your attacks have already started. I've heard the pain can be unbearable.

What I'm trying to say is just because you're not in excruciating pain or having big symptoms doesn't mean it's okay to leave it. Mine was pretty awful but with minimal symptoms.

So if surgery is recommended, then do it.

Not to worry - Zombie thread! Wonder how OP got on...

I have a BMI of 36 and weigh 14 and a half stone - I had mine out a year ago, the surgeon was completely unfazed by my weight.

I also don't cope too well with drugs - I refused the pre-op sedative and begged them not to give me morphine at all. I maxed out on anti-emetics and unfortunately the cyclizine was my downfall - I wasn't sick but felt like death and could barely move for 8 hours, they had to virtually frogmarch me out as I was a day case.

But you cannot dissolve gallstones, and even though you could manage for years without another attack, eventually it'll cause a problem and it will be a much bigger deal than if they whip it out with keyhole now. 90% of people having the op have no further problems, and I've been fine, so statistically it is likely you'll never look back. There are a couple of MNers who have had long term problems after it though, there's no guarantee of course.

Oh FFS it's a zombie, I would've noticed if I'd been on the bloody app.

Sorry, as you were.

I had my gall bladder out many years ago. I got the first attack when I was pregnant and because I was young it was nearly three years of pain before it was finally diagnosed and removed.

I could never predict what was going to cause an attack and no dietary changes helped long term. I would recommend having the surgery, it can get worse (my gallbladder actually split during the op as it was so full of stones). Since the op I've had over two decades blissfully pain free.

.Bloody hell, didn't notice it was a zombie

I ended up with pancreatitis after some years of dealing with intermittent pain from gallstones.
The pancreatitis was so excrutiating painful and I ended up in hospital for ten days, initially in HDU. I honestly thought I may die, I was that ill.
I had the gall bladder removed about six months later and have no side effects at all and eat what I want. It's great not having the acid indigestion that I'd suffered with for years.

Honestly - 100% would say get it removed. I lost about 7st in a year and it only exacerbated it - at the time of my operation my BMI still put me in the 'morbidly obese' category (because BMIs are silly) and my operation was complication free.
I was having excruciating pain on a near daily basis over 6 months (as they had no idea what was wrong with me! I am not your typical gallstone patient I guess) as my small gallstones kept getting stuck in the bile ducts, which if left untreated could've led to jaundice/further complications. I'm not sure how old you are but I am fairly young and I was told it will just get worse as I get older. You're doing the right thing by eating a good diet etc and this might not make it worse, but it's not going to make it go away! I was shit scared of the anesthetic, but I told them this before and I was allowed someone to come as far as the theatre with me, and it calmed me down. I had mine done via keyhole surgery and whilst the pain after was uncomfortable, it was over within the two weeks I was signed off for and back at work. I can have a fairly varied diet now with no complications - and no more attacks.I was home within the day, and the back at work in the two weeks. No problems 4+ years later, and I've put a bit of weight back on too. I would massively say just go for it!

I was age 40 and was morbidly obese when I fell prey to gallstones. To start with the attacks were very infrequent and never showed any signs of a pattern. They were only occasional .I was so scared of being anesthetized whilst being so overweight and terrified of complications plus my own humiliation of undergoing the op I put it off. After a year or so the attacks became more frequent and I realised I had to do something after being admitted to A&E in so much pain. Once it had died off I still tried to put it off but my family encouraged me to get it over with. I won't deny I was terrified crying on the nurses that I was going to die because of my size. But boy am I glad I listened and went ahead . Done dusted and home within hours , barely any pain , tiny scars, and no side effects what so ever . Nothing affects me , I can eat whatever with no problems . It's such a relief to know every time I feel a twinge that it's not going to develop into that pain! . Everyone's experience is different but as a very overweight lady I say for me it was the best decision ever to get those little buggers out !

Well my mum nearly died from pancreatitis thanks to her gall bladder poisoning it. You need your gall bladder a lot less than you need your pancreas.