Gallbladder Removed? Why?

[NotQuiteCockney]

I gather, through the grapevine, that an exish sort of friend has had her gallbladder removed. Maybe. Why would they do that? Or is this more likely to be a gallstone?

My MIL had her gall bladder removed because she had gallstones - it's a pretty common way of dealing with them.

Because if you don't get it removed you can develop pancreatitis which is very dangerous.

Ah, fair enough. I didn't know this friend had gallstones. I guess she has a bit of a high-fat diet (loves cheese) but isn't heavy at all.

hey sorry to beg to differ with you wharfrat but family of HS folk too and i think you are confusing the spleen and the gallbladder...it's the spleen that's sometimes removed in HS not the gallbladder. Removing the gallbladder doesnt put you at increased risk of infection (removing spleen does). Most folk who need GB removed do so because of stones.

NQC, I developed gallstones after my pregnancies. I was 34 when I had my gallbladder removed. I'm petite, btw.

Ah, maybe pregnancies do it, then. My friendish sort of person has got three kids, all in pretty close succession, and is in her early 40s now I think.

one of the biggest risk factors in developing gallstones, is sudden loss of weight. I don't know if pregnancy would qualify in that - I guess we all have a sudden loss of weight when the baby comes out!