Gallbladder surgery

[Cherrypie1313]

I have been recommended for gall bladder surgery.

My scan showed a 12mm gallstone and I have been experiencing mild to medium pain for a year now on my front right side but the worst is in my back. Over the past month the pain has become pretty much constant as the day has progressed.

I have never had a severe attack like some people experience but have had a handful of attacks where I have been up all night as the pain was so bad.

I am reluctant to have surgery though as I have never had any kind of procedure before and I'm worried about any possible post op issues that could occur.

My other issue is that I initially treated the back pain as a pulled muscle and received physiotherapy for this. It didn't really have much impact but I'm worried my back pain is muscular and that surgery is not going to rid me of my back pain because it was never gallstone related in the first place. I will have been through the surgery for an issue which I could possibly have kept under control myself as the front abdominal pain I experience is relatively mild but I will say I think it's slowly increasing in severity.

The back pain is in the middle of my right hand side and can go up to my shoulder blade. Occasionally, I'll have a twinge which stops me in my tracks so perhaps there are two issues with my back - one being muscular and the other gallbladder pain.

I'm just so unsure of what to do. If anyone has any experience of having back pain with gallstones and what it felt like I'd really appreciate any shared experience and advice.

If you’ve had physio for it and it’s not made any impact, it does sound like it’s coming from your gallbladder. You are fortune not to have had any major attacks however, the longer you leave it, that may very well happen. Surgery to remove it is straightforward and by keyhole. I was in overnight but I have another health condition meaning after a GA I need to be monitored. I think most people are in and out in a day. I can only go with my own experience though.

Gallbladder attacks definitely do present with pain in the back and shoulder. Mine definitely did and reading posts about it on here, so do many others.

What post op issues are you thinking? I’ve had none. It really was amazing going home and never wondering when the next attack would be. They are awful.

@moreoutsidespace I think I'm most worried I'll end up with bowel issues as some people report experiencing diarrhoea frequently post op.

Also, imagine having surgery and it turns out you just had a bad back all along. But as you say, I've already tried physio and that did little to improve it. In fact it's far worse now than before.

Does it depend what you eat OP?

I have a gallstone apparently, never been told how big it is but am on a waiting list of 66 weeks to see a consultant about it

I had a trip to A+E one evening with it.

Im in two minds about what to do, is it best to remove or not. I admit I dont watch my diet in respect of it, I have quite a high fat diet. It grumbles from time to time

I take digestive enzymes from Solgar to try to support it, they taste awful and I think make my silent reflux worse but they seem to settle it down. I only take them when Im in discomfort. I dont know if this is psychological but at the moment it seems effective.

Im slightly worried about having it out because sods law I would be the one in a million who gets side effects from not having a gall bladder

Side effects are very rare. If you eat a lot of fatty rich food in your diet that may not agree with you. But it doesn't with gallbladder issues anyway.

Whereas if you don't have it removed it will get worse and may become very urgent surgery because of complications.

I had mine out last year, following an infection that was that caused the worst pain I have ever felt.

Afterwards I felt wonderful. I hadn't realised how much having the stones had been affecting me all along.

@soupfiend I do keep to a low fat diet but I still get a dull ache in my side which is constant by the afternoon/evening. It is my back that is the most painful though.

I think I'm becoming more aware just how much the constant pain drags me down. Is that enough of a reason to get surgery? And is it best to take it out before I get to the point of needing a trip to A&E like some people experience?

I think my worry is how I would stick to a low fat diet after any procedure, because its not how I eat

But even my little twinges, which are really minor compared to the night I went to A+E drag me down, they take my breath away. Even the night I went to A+E is not like some people experience and I know this because Ive had kidney stones before and the pain is indescribable/excrutiating and I would imagine its the same but in the gall bladder, so I dont want that creeping up on me

So to live with it every day must be so draining

Soupfiend, don’t stick to a low fat diet at all since having mine out. I carry on as normal. The only thing I say I am slightly resistant to is a lot of alcohol. I have cut back a lot as I just can’t tolerate the next day. That could be my age as well though. I definitely don’t do low fat all the time.

My consultant advised removal, as if they move down to your bile duct you are in trouble. You don't want a blockage or pancreatitis. I had several small stones.

I never had any post op issues at all. Actually I used to be very constipated, now perfect! (Sorry TMI).

I did also get terrible episodes of pain and vomiting if I ate too much fat. That was the trigger for me to get it sorted.

I’m due to have mine out on 4th April and am so nervous!! X

I had my gallbladder taken out and other than watching that I don’t eat anything fatty, there haven’t been any problems since. And your back pain may or may not be related, but regardless, I’d still have the surgery. Sounds like you’re understandably anxious but it’s a relatively quick recovery.

I had my gall bladder removed and was home same day. No pain after the op and no ill effects. No special diet. It can be very dangerous to delay and leave it too long. Scars have disappeared too.

There must be a medical reason why surgery is being recommended. Having gall stones alone is not one and nor is an occasional brief attack. Is your gall bladder chronically infected? in that case it won't get better and you will feel better for it being removed.If I were in your shoes I would take the surgeon's advice and ask them your questions.All surgeries carry risk so are only suggested if the benefits outweigh the risks.

I was 33. No surgery before but getting my gall bladder out after 18 months was the best thing.

Mine was keyhole. My incisions are barely noticeable now.

Hubby didn't get help and a gallstone perforated his gallbladder. He needed open surgery and had a lot more issues than I did.

I had mine out last year, NHS referred to a private hospital by the patient choice thing. Never had any operation or GA before. I felt groggy on the day, I was in hospital about 6/7 hours. I felt woozy and sick for a few days after until I realised it was the painkillers (dihydrocodeine) stopped taking them and it was fine. I was back at the gym after 2.5 weeks, albeit cardio rather than any heavy lifting. I have no ongoing digestive issues, had some moderately loose bowel movements for the first few days but nothing terrible. I had just one giant gall stone admit the size of those small bouncy balls. I actually feel more energetic now and my doctor said fatigue can be a symptom.

Also my key hole scars are tinier than a staple one below my bra line one to the side and the third is inside my belly button

Everyone I now who's had there gallbladder out (which turned out to be a lot more than I thought, it's clearly v popular!) was absolutely fine.

I'd say 99% had no diet problems after and the 1% was 'if I eat anything really fatty I get indigestion'.

But given that most of us were overweight to start with, having to avoid trifle was maybe a good thing.

I’ve got to have mine out because of a polllop on mine x

I had mine out 18 months ago. I had loads of stones. The surgeon who removed it said they started counting them but lost count at 200 😂

I found the surgery relaively straightforward. I'm very overweight and because of this I had to go on a vlcd for 2 weeks before....800 calories of Slimfast basically. This was to shrink the liver as many overweight people have non alcoholic fatty livers. The liver and gallbladder sit next to each other and its easier to perform if the liver has shrunk. That was the most difficult part of the procedure. I know I'm a fat cow but I found Slimfast very difficult. After a few days I had to beg them yo let me have a few salad veg as I was very constipated.

The surgery itself was OK. It was by keyhole and under GA but i was home the same day. I was signed off for 2 weeks but tbh could have gone back after about 7-10 days. I was sick a lot on day 1 due to the GA and felt battered and bruised for a few days but fine after that and so pleased i no longer have the pain of gallstones attacks!

It's a very common operation and as a result the surgeons are very experienced in it.

Good luck! Gallstones pain is horrible x

I had mine out after recurring attacks. Mine presented as a very tight band around my diaphragm with severe pain behind my right shoulder and back. Went in at 7.30 in the morning, had op at 10.30 and was home at 7.00 that evening. Had keyhole so three small incisions. Took it easy for a few days. Advised to eat a low fat diet for two weeks. Four years later the only thing I find problem eating is whipped cream. I didn't realise how unwell I was feeling constantly or how dragged down I was until I had recovered. Completely recovered within ten days. Went to gp after five days to get incisions checked. Never regretted having op

I didn't realise how poorly mine was making me until after it was gone, I felt great afterwards!
The only ongoing symptom I have is heartburn, which I never had before.
My sister gets stomach ache when she eats rich meals.
My dad has too many other issues to know if it has caused any other symptoms (but keeping his gallbladder too long cost him his pancreas and almost his life).
I'm definitely in favour of removal!

gallbladder disease is progressive, the only treatment is removal.
i had one attack in may 2021 having never had any symptoms or issues prior. And then I didn’t have anything for months and months and like you, was thinking surgery wasn’t an issue.
but then I got more and more symptoms and by the time my surgery date rolled around my diet was SO limited and I was begging them to remove it.
surgery was an absolute breeze and no issues with it following other than perhaps being mindful of eating too much fried food!

Thank you so much everyone. Your posts have helped enormously and I'm really grateful to hear your experiences pre and post op. It has made me feel a lot better.

A lot of your posts resonate with my own experiences but particularly @Nutsabouttopic 's as yours sounds very much like mine.

As far as I know, the reason for surgery is just the gallstone and the related pain. The surgeon is very keen to whip it out though.

I am overweight so I have 2 months to drop some lbs in readiness.

If anyone has any post op recovery tips or any items I can purchase in advance which make things more comfortable, please do share.

Sending best wishes to those that are due their ops soon.

Ice packs were massively helpful just over the incision points the first few days. Take the pain relief. Pillow for the drive home!
for the first two nights I found it easier to sleep propped up as I’ve got quite a big belly and I found it hurt too much to lay on my side
within a week I was out and about as normal

Can anyone let me know the symptoms they were having before they had them out? I’m suffering terrible with diarrhea and nausea and stomach cramps today I’m currently in bed I feel so unwell!