Gallbladder removal

[outofmydepth31]

Hi, I'm due to have my gallbladder removed next week it's been over a year waiting due to repeated postponed admissions (them not me)

I've had cholecystitis twice and pancreatitis caused by gallstones although these were all well over a year ago during my last pregnancy. Since my baby was born I've had no complications of the gallbladder aside from obviously the usual discomfort with a few more painful attacks occasionally. No jaundice or signs of illness.

So here's my dilemma, I have a situation at home which is taking everything I've got in me to manage day to day (severely SEN child with worsening needs and extreme challenging behaviour, currently unable to attend school and completely reliant on me) and some huge long awaited appointments have come up in the few days after this planned surgery. One hugely important one the day after!
The situation with my child has caused me to start having panic attacks and high levels of anxiety on top which isn't helping
I'm also concerned about the anaesthetic as I have gained a lot of weight recently

If I was to cancel my op I've been told I will have to start the referral process again which is understandable. My question is has anyone left the gallbladder in and it been ok? Not sure what to do!

Thanks for reading sorry for the essay

No i haven't yet, I was thinking it would just sort itself out but it's just getting worse, this last one has been 5 hours before it's even started to ease off.

I'm thinking I need to ring someone to find out if this is normal or not but not sure who, is 111 the best option? Is it too late to ring the ward I was on as it's been a week?

Please do something now.

Go straight to the hospital insisting you are seen. When I was a little girl I was diagnosed with urethra problems. When I was pregnant I was closely observed in case of possible problems. Fortunately nothing happened.

Call the NHS non emergency number 111 for assistance immediately. Make sure that you have your questions answered as well. Don’t hesitate. If it makes you feel better please telephone the doctor or ward.

Keep us posted.

I had my gallbladder out last year and whilst some people I know got over it quickly, it took me a good couple of weeks. Especially in the first 10 days it was very very painful. One thing I will mention is that after my gallbladder removal I found out that codeine triggers extreme pain in the gallbladder area. So I would stick to regular paracetamol and hot water bottles! I am so so glad i had mine removed - Wishing you a speedy recovery :)

I'm just trying to get the kids sorted and to bed, poor things have had nothing done for them until the last half an hour when I could move again

I'm not taking any regular painkillers as I don't need them, it's such a strange thing as I'm completely fine in between these "attacks". Not even sore or tired.

Yesterday I woke up around 5 like it, it finally eased off around 9.30 and then I felt completely normal and happy until it happened again around 2.30. That eased off at about 5 and I was again fine afterwards.

I didn't then have another one until 7.30 this morning (2 hours after getting up) which went on until around 9.30 then again was completely normal and fine until 2pm which was the worst one I've had. I'd even been to a 2 hour meeting this morning with no problems and showed off how good I feel just to walk through the door to home and it happen again.

Does this sound similar to your experience?

It does sound very much like gallbladder pain which is odd. If you have the number ring the ward, you might get a more definite answer from them. Please let us know how you get on.

Wonder if some remnants of a big stone (or the gravel like small ones) are lodged in a bile duct? The duct is cut but clipped with a titanium clip - they carefully flush the ducts through when the gallbladder is removed, but a small piece getting left behind does happen, I believe.

Definitely worth a call to the hospital or surgeon if you haven't already been discharged. There is a surgeon on MN who does these ops every day for a living, but I'm afraid I've forgotten her name so I can't tag her!

Hi everyone, just to update in the last couple of days I have made a miraculous recovery pain is virtually nonexistent now and my digestive system seems to be coping pretty well with it. So relieved!

Glad you're feeling better OP. I had mine out last Monday and I only started feeling back to normal yesterday.

To amuse myself during my bedbound days, I've watched all the Lap-Chole videos on Youtube. I reckon that - given the right tools - I would now be proficient in taking out all bar the moste complicated of gallbladders on my kitchen table, thereby saving the NHS masses in skilled staff and hospital stays.

Cups of tea and comfy recliner will be provided post-operatively, along with Tesco's finest sticky buns and access to Amazon Prime.

Happy to help

Great news! So glad to hear it.

So so glad you are feeling better!

Ha sticky buns and amazon prime sounds like a much better recovery!

Thanks everyone now I just need to keep the weight loss going and all will be well with the world.

@outofmydepth31, Amazon Prime has been fab for me this week - I've really enjoyed watching boxsets.

I'm with you on the weightloss thing too, I've lost 2.5kg this week and still don't have much appetite. Just another lotsofkgs to go.

Well I've just managed to wolf down a Chinese so i think we can safely say my appetite has returned! Although there's some worrying noises coming from my stomach now I almost hope I suffer for it as that will reign me back in!

I'm planning to pretend to myself that I still can't eat cheese and some of the other foods that I've avoided for months. It's a slippery slope to be able to eat pizza and lasagne again!