Surgery? No surgery? Gallbladder.

[EscapeRoomToTheSun]

Sorry probably not my most interesting thread.

Taken into hospital yesterday with severe pain which the doctors think are from gallstones. They want to take my gallbladder out. Has anyone had this done? It seems very sudden to me because this is the first time it's happened. Maybe I'm just scared of surgery!

If anyone has any experience of living with gallstones or having that the surgery I would be very grateful. Thank you.

@EscapeRoomToTheSun Hi OP, I was you 7 months ago. I was diagnosed with gall stones in February this year (5 weeks after giving birth) and am 3 months post surgery to remove it. Like you I was absolutely terrified of having surgery but I can honestly say it was the best decision I made to have it removed. My first attack was 30 seconds of pain and progressed to hours/days of pain after eating an ice lolly in just those short few months. I must’ve been in a bad way to get a summer surgery date given the length of the NHS waiting list but after another trip to A&E I had surgery within days. Didn’t even give me time to think about it too much. Apart from four little scars on my abdomen (and a tighter belly button 😂) you wouldn’t know I’d had any surgery. I can now live my life eating and drinking what I want without the fear and anxiety of a pending attack.

Definitely do it! I had gallstones when I was pregnant and not long afterwards one got stuck in my bile duct and caused acute pancreatitis which is serious and excruciating. Worse than gallbladder pain unfortunately. Then 6 weeks later it happened again and I had my gallbladder out as an emergency. I know so many people who have waited ages for an op so I'd say go for it. I had keyhole surgery and didn't really need any recovery time at all.

At my lowest I even considered paying for private surgery. Not sure where I would’ve found £5500 from but I didn’t think I could stand the wait thinking it could be years. Luckily I had surgery a couple of weeks after that.

Get it removed. Gallstones were the single most painful experience of my life, I highly do not recommend them. I was lucky enough to be covered by my works private health care plan, so only had 4 episodes prior to surgery, but 4 was enough to convince I didn't want gallstones anymore!

Gallstones can cause pancreatis. That can be life threatening and BOY does that make you very ill. I am pretty gob-smacked to have survived. Crawled ino A&E on my hands and knees telling them I was sure I was dying. I was ill enough for immediate admittance to HDU with a surgical team wanting me in ICU. Not recommended complication thanks to gallstones. Had to have a larger surgical incision but the pain after surgery was nothing compared to before. Severe pancreatitis - recovered but I still have to keep to a low fat diet or my pancreas makes it presence felt.

Get it done! The surgery and recovery will be annoying but it’s nothing compared to managing the condition long term. I’m a week on from a similar laparoscopic surgery and while I’m still tired and only at the pottering stage, it’s not bad and the actual pain from surgery only lasted a few days. Though as a PP says, I also thought they were the meanest people ever sending me home the same day 😂

I believe it's one of the most routinely carried out/ common surgeries in the Western world if that's any comfort. I'd go for it personally asap. Repeated attacks not a great experience

Sorry to hear this was so awful @MumsHairnet but it made me feel better.

I had terrible pain and vomitting a few weeks ago and NHS111 called an ambulance for me. A&E doctor thinks it's gallstones (I'm awaiting a scan) but having read your account, I'm sure it's not.

When I had cracked ribs, I would gladly have had euthanasia to make the pain go away, and the supposed gallstone pain was nowhere near as bad as my ribs!

Op I had mine for 10yrs for various reasons I had to cancel the surgery twice
In the day I would have done it myself with a blunt spoon.

When it really kicks off its constant throwing up and agony for 2/3 days was for me anyway. Have the surgery you'll be glad you did lovely

I was in & out in under 6 hours for mine, went in for 1.00pm, theatre at 2.00pm, back in bed by 3.30pm & home by 7.00pm sat watching soaps, I drove the next afternoon, had worse trips to dentist. Get it done ASAP I waited 2 months from being referred & my gall bladder was stuck to my liver. I had a couple of attacks not long after having ds & then nothing until after having hysterectomy when it came from nowhere & was having regular attacks at least every 3 days. Have you had anything that alters hormones like having a baby or gynae surgery?

Get it out! I had my one and only attack last summer six weeks after giving birth. I started being sick, called 111, told to go to hospital, got to the hospital and collapsed. Not only had I passed a large gallstone I'd developed severe pancreatitis so much so that they wanted to send me to the ICU. I lost ten kg in four days and spent three weeks on hospital due to complications from the pancreatitis. Don't hesitate just get rid.

Go for it. Have it removed.
I wouldn't want to live with the fear of another biliary colic attack.
Surgery was a doddle compared to the pain of each attack.

I had my gallbladder out a year ago. Once you've had one attack, you're more likely to have more. I've not had kids so can't compare it to that-but the only pain I've had worse was a broken shoulder. The surgery is relatively simple and is done via keyhole. I was out the same day and while I was sore for a few days it was easy to recover from, and I don't regret it for a second.

i had mine removed, pain went away, Glad its done

Many years ago my dear mum had cholecystitis but refused to have gall bladder removed. It rumbled on for decades before she had no choice in the matter. Two days later she died from complications which were a direct result of delay

10 years later I developed gall stones, as I worked with the surgeon at the time of my mums op I knew his opinion. Had mine removed 2 weeks later

Mums sister developed acute pancreatitis and spent 2 weeks in intensive care because a stone passed through the duct, she only just survived

moral of the story, don’t piss around with gall bladders. First sign of trouble get it out because if you delay these things can and do happen

Had mine out about a month ago after waiting nearly 2 years. Really pleased I did too, as there were complications and things would have got worse. I felt rough for a couple of days after but since then things have got better.

I had my 1st attack 6 months post partum, I have no idea how I survived the three days before I gave in and drove to a&e! I was admitted! One of the stones had moved and was blocking my liver, I was very jaundice and my poo had turned white!!!
I spent 1 week in hospital, had 2 ERCP's (camera into stomach and out other side to try and move blockage) then had gall bladder out a few months later!
I have no regrets and i only notice now that I get stomach trouble after fajitas and riper bananas?!?

Yes get it out as soon as you can. It's a dreadful pain and you end up living life in fear of another attack. I left hospital six hours after surgery and was fine after a couple of weeks.

Can I ask if any of you experience your pain in the centre of your abdomen? I was told 11 years ago that my gallbladder is almost completely full with gallstones. It was an incidental finding when I was being scanned for something else as I had never had any symptoms. Five years ago I had what seemed to be a classic gallbladder attack pain in upper right abdomen, going through to back etc. Nothing else since then until last night when I was in a lot of pain in the centre of my abdomen, I felt nauseous and today my tummy is very tender to touch. I'm not sure whether this was a gallbladder attack or something else.

I would guarantee it's your gallbladder.

I had the 'classic' attacks with shoulder tip pain (although it took me ages to put 2 and 2 together) but also more with what felt like trapped wind in the centre of my stomach. I and my GP were convinced it was an ulcer but the OGD was normal and my ultrasound showed up the stones.

Spaghettisquash yes that definitely sounds like gallstones pain, ask for a choose & book referral to your nearest private hospital, the NHS pays, I got mine done within 2 months of my first attack.

Let them whip it out, you’re in & out in ( I was home by 2pm) back to work in a week.

Ooh! Finally, someone else who had open surgery.

Definitely get it out asap. I ended up in hospital with cholecystitis, having had no previous issues and then had to wait three months for surgery (pre-Covid). By that time my gallbladder was severely infected (and with one 5cm stone!!) meaning I was switched from keyhole to open surgery mid operation. Recovery was awful.Get it gone if you're offered now.

I had mine out a few years ago. No further problems. My mum had hers out about 30 years ago, also no further problems. I know quite a lot of people who have.

The pain of an attack is excruciating and debilitating. It can cause pancreatitis and end up as an emergency - my friend was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. It's a total no-brainer to have it out imo. I too went on a fat-free diet while I waited 8 months for the surgery. It was miserable. Fat-free isn't even good for you - you need some good fats! Eating even 10g of fat at one sitting used to trigger mine.

I had mine out in August, and feel much better for it. I had a few attacks before getting an infection and then waited months for "urgent" surgery. It was only afterwards when I felt great that I realised how crappy I had been feeling for ages.