Gallbladder Advice

[mcmel]

I’ve been having (what is believed to be) gallbladder issues. Surgery is scheduled a month away and I’m just trying to decide if I want to go through with it.

It started in May- a very achey spot in my mid-back just to the right of my spine. I thought I slept on it funny so I did stretches to try to loosen it up. I nearly forget about it during the day- almost no issues- it’s nighttime when the big aches really hit.

So June and July I have “attacks” lasting about an hour each. Stabbing pain 9/10 in the same spot that the aches have been occurring, but also radiates up to that shoulder. I have also experienced big BIG offbeat heartbeats during these attacks. So loud I feel like you could have seen my heart beating through my chest.

I go to urgent care and follow up with my PCP. They originally think it could be kidneys, I take steroids and antibiotics but the attacks are here again a week later.

Three different times I’ve eaten things and almost immediately had diarrhea.

I haven’t had a stabbing attack since July 31st.

I feel bloated and full a lot of the time- even when I haven’t eaten.

An ultrasound showed a 1.8 cm gallstone.

I’m worried that I’ll have surgery and will condemn myself to a lifetime of having diarrhea after every single meal. I have little intention on changing my diet anytime soon- I’m sorry I just know what headspace I have to be in for that and i’m not currently in it nor do I see myself being in it for the foreseeable future.

So do I live a little uncomfortable now with random episodes of diarrhea and stabbing back pain or have the surgery and have the possibility that I have diarrhea for the rest of my life?

I also worry that maybe it’s not my gallbladder at all and I have the surgery for nothing.

Please weigh in with any and all advice, including if you are glad you got the surgery or not. Thank you in advance.

[cjcouple]

Unfortunately if you're unwilling to change your diet, things will not improve. You can try to avoid the surgery and eat low fat and see if that helps but even after the surgery, you'll need to change your diet to feel better.

I had my gallbladder out and until i changed my diet I felt lousy. I now eat very low fat and avoid dairy, eggs, fried, greasy foods, red meat and any meats lower than 93% lean, etc. I feel completely fine with my new diet and do not have diarrhea.

If you do not have the surgery and do not change your eating habits it will worsen and cause further health complications.

[melmo1122]

I had mine out in 2002. I can’t eat fried food without immediately running to the restroom. I usually feel the worst in the morning so I’ll eat something Carby to fill up my stomach. I also graze throughout the day to fend off feeling nauseated. I can’t go out to dinner then a movie and when I do go out to dinner I have to research the menu to make sure there is something ‘safe’ for me to eat. All that said I would 100% have the surgery again because the pain of the attacks was the worst pain I’ve ever had. Gall bladder disease runs in my family (mom and 2 of my 3 sisters ). My mom just also had an attack last week and had blockages removed after having hers out 40+ years ago so I have that to look forward to !

[stemmie]

The risks of doing nothing is worth discussing with your doctor. They can include infection, involving the pancreas and an elevated risk of cancer.

My dad had to modify his diet but after some time, he was able to reintroduce some trigger foods in moderate amounts as occasional treats. YMMV.

[stemmie]

melmo1122,

Your poor mom.

My dad had his gallbladder out years ago. He went on to develop dementia and used to always complain about his ribs being sore. When I moved him closer to me and established care with a new PCP, the doc ordered a baseline chest X-ray. I saw the report on the patient portal and was shocked that he had stones and quite a bit of the gallbladder left.

We ended up taking him to a new gasto who explained that in the olden days, especially if the surgery was done in an acute phase of the disease, it was difficult to remove everything. This is less likely now, especially with the procedure done laproscopically.

You may avoid this yourself.

[winemaker06]

I had several people talk about how they regret having their gallbladder removed because of stomach problems forever after.

This was not helpful when I had an attack that landed me in the ER and they removed it that day, so it wasn't much of a choice.

That said, recovery took a short time, but I have zero lingering issues.

A coworker had hers removed in March of this year, and figured out some foods cause problems when eaten at a certain time of day, like first thing in the morning. And is also otherwise back to normal.

I do think things were different years ago! And it will be worth it to not have that pain, that was the worst.

[gottadobe]

I had mine out and didn't change my diet - no issues.
Unfortunately, this is one of those situations where everybody is different and you won't know until you have it removed.

[cleo29]

I have an u/s tomorrow morning to figure out the state of affairs with my gallbladder. Several years ago I had one and since there were no stones, they told me it was fine. That was not the issue. But my new GI doc knows that it is not just stones that cause the issue. My Gram had hers out.

[sarahsays]

I had my gallbladder removed about 10 years ago. I may just be extremely lucky in this regard, but I've been able to eat pretty much whatever I want with no issue since shortly after the surgery.

For me, not having it removed was not an option as it was causing issues with my pancreas and the pain became unbearable.

[mommin]

Gallbladders are jerks and should be removed. I had mine out about three years ago and I haven’t had a single problem since. I don’t have any foods that give me issues even though they warned about this as a possibility.

[cherry1111]

Another one who had my gall bladder out about 1.5 years ago. I had diarrhea after my first couple of fatty meals then I have been fine since.

The pain I had during my one and only gall bladder attack that lasted all night was enough to make the surgery worth having. I have never been so miserable as I was during that attack.

[mich1]

What you described is how my gallbladder attacks started out. Always at night, always resolved in less than an hour. Always after I had a particularly heavy meal at night.

Then things changed. I spent 4 hours doubled over in pain, first thing in the morning having eaten nothing. Got through that attack. It happened the next morning…..and the next. After 6 hours doubled over, I had DH take me to the ER, and 3 hours later I was having surgery. I really do not recommend this method of resolving gall bladder issues, as I had surgery in a really crappy hospital and had to wait in the hospital 4 days for a GI doc come in and do an ERCP to remove the remaining stones in my bile duct. According to my surgeon, I was lucky I avoided pancreatitis. I also had to do battle with my insurance company to get them to pay for an emergency surgery what is normally elective. The timing really did suck for me job wise. Had I done it not on an emergency basis, I could have been out a few days,instead, it was over a week.

I really wish I had done it differently. However, 10 years later I pretty much eat what I want with no problems.

[missmissy234]

No issues and I've had mine out for almost 10 years. I would never want to go through that pain of the gallstones again!

[Vespasia]

I had mine out several years ago. I was having issues for ages but didn't realize that was the issue (I was diagnosed with heartburn/acid reflux instead). It got so bad that I had to go to the ER and ended up hospitalized for a week with pancreatitis. I would definitely have it out sooner than later. 

I have not really changed my diet and had few issues. If I really go crazy with fatty food (around the holidays for example) I might have a few unpleasant days afterwards but it resolves once I start eating normally again. I know a few other people who have had it removed and none of them have to be particularly careful. Obviously this varies though and there's no guarantee. 

[followyourarrow]

I got mine taken out a year ago. Wonderful decision for me, I feel so much better! I took it pretty easy on what I ate the first few months, but now I can eat whatever and have no problems.

[fuckyourcouch]

I had mine out in 2010, 2 months before my wedding.
I was super worried about having some kind of side effects and also not being able to eat anything ever again or whatever. I also had complications during surgery, it was completely full of stones, etc. I don’t say that to scare you, more to convey I didn’t even have a standard removal and still have no problems.
I have zero regrets and have literally never had any problems from it eating whatever I want (after the initial post surgery bland period). The benefit of getting rid of the horrible, unpredictable pain (mine was not dietary so there was never any pattern or warning) far outweighed whatever worries I had before.

[sparkythelawyer]

I had mine out when I was pregnant and it was easy peasy.
There is no need to keep feeling like crap.
Sadly, the best way to avoid the "I have no more galbladder" spontaneous poops is a super low fat diet.

[achi]

I had mine out in 2012. I had loose bowels for about 6 months after and if I eat something really greasy or too much sugar I do end up with an urgent diarrhea-like BM. But it’s few and far between.

10 out of 10 would have the surgery again.

Just take an Imodium tablet before you go out to dinner or have a fatty meal for the first while and you’ll be set.

[mcmel]

Thanks everyone. I’ll continue with the surgery.

I’ll research it but did anyone have any particular foods they recommend after surgery? I’m assuming it’s not ice cream like after tonsil surgery 😞

[Deleted]

Aug 26, 2021 15:56:52 GMT -5 mcmel said:

Thanks everyone. I’ll continue with the surgery.

I’ll research it but did anyone have any particular foods they recommend after surgery? I’m assuming it’s not ice cream like after tonsil surgery 😞

Low fat is best

I see you made your decision already, but I was going to comment that the pain was not something I wanted to live with and by not having the surgery you run the risk of constant stones and probably life long pain in different degrees.

I also want to mention that I still eat my same diet and yes, I get loose stool often but it's not like I shit my pants. I just need to use the restroom before continuing an activity, if that makes sense.

[Deleted]

Also, the urge to poop comes pretty quickly after a meal so I just keep that in mind before I eat fatty/greasy foods. It's not like I eat a burger and then 4 hours later I poop my pants without warning.

[Roc A Bee]

My friend’s gallstone ended up moving to a duct in her pancreas and causing pancreatitis while she was waiting for surgery. That was a much bigger deal, so I would continue with the surgery.

I had mine out in 2012, and although I do deal with an increase urge to go sometimes, it’s 100% worth it. I can eat whatever I want.

[mich1]

Aug 26, 2021 15:56:52 GMT -5 mcmel said:

Thanks everyone. I’ll continue with the surgery.

I’ll research it but did anyone have any particular foods they recommend after surgery? I’m assuming it’s not ice cream like after tonsil surgery 😞

LOL!  By the time I finally got out of the hospital, I was so freaking hungry that I had a very high fat meal.  That’s what happens when you get NPO’ed for 4 days!  I don’t recommend a burger and fries, but it was incredibly good at the time.

[cjcouple]

Aug 26, 2021 15:56:52 GMT -5 mcmel said:

Thanks everyone. I’ll continue with the surgery.

I’ll research it but did anyone have any particular foods they recommend after surgery? I’m assuming it’s not ice cream like after tonsil surgery 😞

I grabbed a turkey sub and it was fine. :-)

[mcmel]

Aug 26, 2021 17:45:05 GMT -5 mich1 said:

Aug 26, 2021 15:56:52 GMT -5 mcmel said:

Thanks everyone. I’ll continue with the surgery.

I’ll research it but did anyone have any particular foods they recommend after surgery? I’m assuming it’s not ice cream like after tonsil surgery 😞

LOL!  By the time I finally got out of the hospital, I was so freaking hungry that I had a very high fat meal.  That’s what happens when you get NPO’ed for 4 days!  I don’t recommend a burger and fries, but it was incredibly good at the time.

Aug 26, 2021 17:51:56 GMT -5 cjcouple said:

Aug 26, 2021 15:56:52 GMT -5 mcmel said:

Thanks everyone. I’ll continue with the surgery.

I’ll research it but did anyone have any particular foods they recommend after surgery? I’m assuming it’s not ice cream like after tonsil surgery 😞

I grabbed a turkey sub and it was fine. :-)

Oh so we’re talking actual meals here? Nice. For some reason I thought it would be like liquids only or something.

[childofhiphop]

Aug 26, 2021 13:36:13 GMT -5 gottadobe said:

I had mine out and didn't change my diet - no issues.
Unfortunately, this is one of those situations where everybody is different and you won't know until you have it removed.

Exactly this. I had mine out 17 years ago. No diet changes. No issues.

It was very bad. The last episode before emergency surgery was especially bad. I thought I was going to die from heartburn because I ate bad yogurt. Come to find out a rather large gallstone had lodged in the duct of my pancreas.

I ate pork chops two days after the surgery and haven’t had a single issue since - if that helps you at all.

[Deleted]

Aug 26, 2021 18:21:35 GMT -5 mcmel said:

Aug 26, 2021 17:45:05 GMT -5 mich1 said:

LOL!  By the time I finally got out of the hospital, I was so freaking hungry that I had a very high fat meal.  That’s what happens when you get NPO’ed for 4 days!  I don’t recommend a burger and fries, but it was incredibly good at the time.

Aug 26, 2021 17:51:56 GMT -5 cjcouple said:

I grabbed a turkey sub and it was fine. :-)

Oh so we’re talking actual meals here? Nice. For some reason I thought it would be like liquids only or something.

It's an outpatient surgery, at least it was for me.

[cjcouple]

Aug 26, 2021 18:21:35 GMT -5 mcmel said:

Aug 26, 2021 17:45:05 GMT -5 mich1 said:

LOL!  By the time I finally got out of the hospital, I was so freaking hungry that I had a very high fat meal.  That’s what happens when you get NPO’ed for 4 days!  I don’t recommend a burger and fries, but it was incredibly good at the time.

Aug 26, 2021 17:51:56 GMT -5 cjcouple said:

I grabbed a turkey sub and it was fine. :-)

Oh so we’re talking actual meals here? Nice. For some reason I thought it would be like liquids only or something.

yup. As soon as your anesthesia wears off and you feel like eating, you can have real food. I just kept it plain/simple.

[followyourarrow]

I followed the BRAT diet for a day or two right after surgery. After that I just stuck with low fat for a few months. Fruit snacks were my favorite treat.

[statgirl]

I had mine out in 2015. For the first year, I kept extra underwear with me. For the next two, I was cautious but fine. These last three, I eat what I want.

Even the first year (where I was getting used to my limits) was better than the attacks. I had the most issues with sugary foods, not fatty. Salad was also a trigger. Now, I eat what I want but coffee can do me in if I drink it at certain times. I still drink a cup a day, but I can tell when to back off and I don’t do Starbucks frappucinnos (my one remaining trigger).

(I also was lactose intolerant before removal…or so I thought. I can drink milk now.)