What is life like after gallbladder removal?

I had my gallbladder removed about 10 years ago. I was only 18 at the time and I had been experiencing severe abdominal pain a few years prior.  It felt like someone was squeezing something just above my stomach.  Finally, after a couple of horrible attacks in the early morning one week, I decided to go back to the doctors and demand more tests.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

A few useless prescriptions later, my GP finally scheduled me for an ultrasound.  Well, once the tech saw my gallbladder, she told me what I had.  Two days later, I was in surgery.

Looking back, I wish someone would have told me all the pros and cons of having the surgery, but everyone seemed in such a panic about it - I guess I just went along with it.

I don't remember having much pain after the surgery. I think I was up and about by the third day. But the issues I've had after the surgery... well, it looks like it's going to be a life-long struggle.

A few tips that I've picked up:

1. Fatty/greasy foods are going to upset your stomach and give you diarrhea.

2. Rich/creamy foods do the same. I stay away from pies, cakes and fudge at all costs.

3. Dairy/Milk is a big question mark for me. Sometimes it has no effect. Sometimes I'm in the bathroom within 15 minutes of eating or drinking it.

4. I don't know if this is just me, but I've noticed that after the surgery, nuts seem to give me gas and I tend to bloat as well.

5. I stay away from carbonated drinks, too. I don't have a firm idea on what they do to me exactly, but I just know that paired with food, it never helps the situation.

6. I try to eat several little meals throughout the day now. Also, take your time. If you eat too fast, then it's straight to the bathroom.

7. I drink coffee from time to time and I know that it helps if I have a little something in my stomach before drinking it.

8. One last thing that may help: Keep Imodium AD with you.  This can be a life saver sometimes if the attack is really bad. Just be careful, don't take too much because then you can become constipated for days - and that is just as bad in my opinion.  Start out with 1/2 a pill and if you are still having cramps and the urgency to go to the bathroom, take the other 1/2. For me, if I take a full pill, I will be back to "normal" the next day. Any more than that, my system gets all messed up and it takes longer to get back to my regular schedule. Also - please use them sparingly. I think it would do more harm than good if you used this solution often.

There you go. I hope my experience has helped you in some way and good luck!

 

Hi Jshirene! I just had my gallbladder removed yesterday! And I still have a lot of gas and some nausea. Reading your post made me feel a little better!! I have read so many different posts on this and I guess I was hoping that I was among those who felt better immediately after GB removal. My gallbladder was inflamed, I had multiple stones and it was fully encased by my liver! I am a large woman as well and have lost some weight. I'm hoping I feel better soon!! Your post inspired me and gave me hope!!

Please note this is not true for everyone. I'm six months post surgery and I have no problems at all. I can eat whatever I want although I usually don't eat much fat. But even if I do, I do not have any sudden trips to the bathroom. Usually if you're having these problems post surgery there is an additional problem that should be checked out by a gastroenterologist. I can't imagine living on Imodium! And it's a shame that you have to live like this.

I had my gallbladder (gb) removed last Oct (2011). Kept having a stomach ache and so after all the elimination of Chemo, acid reflux and a few others I won't take time to list, they decided that the little gallstone which was 31/2 cm was the cause and they would remove it. Now mind you, I had no real Pain with this, so the doctors weren't too concerned until they tried to do the removal by Laparoscopic surgery. There was a problem and they couldn't figure it out, so they opened me up to find what they thought was a gallstone was actually what they call a 'sludge' in the middle of the gallstone. The gallstone was so large it had outgrown my gb and had caused adhesions to my stomach, lower intestines and a vein by the liver. So they couldn't even remove the whole gb without possibly doing damage. The surgeon told me if they hadn't operated when they did, within 2 weeks it would have gone completely through the gb and I would have probably died before the found what what wrong. But since the surgery I have had no problems whatsoever - other than my cancer. On that note I would like to add that 9 out of 10 times if you have gallstones you have a very 'overworked' and 'congested' liver and/or kidneys and that is why the gb problems. The Chines people believe if you keep your liver, gallbladder and kidneys clean, your body will be in good health. I'm not Chinese, but I truly believe what they say. I have been a health food nut since I was about 14, so mine was a 'fluke' and I wonder if that is why I had no pain other than what seemed like a stomach ache for over 2 years? I still eat what I've always eaten and it hasn't affected me with any type of fever, nausea or that sort of thing. So I have been very blessed and thankful. I just posted this so that you know not everyone has problems after gb surgery and not all stomach pain is acid reflux like they kept saying mine was! I hope all went well with your surgery and that you are doing ok.

I had my gallbladder removed July 3, 2012. I initially didn't have any bowel movements for 4-5 days after surgery, but since I've had a bowel movement on the daily basis. Prior to surgery I had a bowel movement once a week. I knew I wasn't functioning normal but didn't know what it was. The only thing that has concerned me lately is that I feel soreness inside where my surgery scar is. I believe it may be the healing process. Does anyone else have the same symptom?

I had a normal life until June 2012.  I woke up one morning and had no appetite at all, food looked disgusting and I had intense pain on my left size about 2-3 inches from my belly button.  I have a high pain tolerance and am stubborn.  I refused to see the doctor even though I was losing a lot of weight, 20-25 pounds in 1 month.  Finally after almost 3 months I was finally taken to the doctor where they did blood work and xray.  Nothing showed up in the xray but all my reading were high and I mean on everything!  The doctor then ordered a ultrasound which showed a small amount of sludge in my gall bladder.  He referred me to a surgeon to have my gall bladder removed but the surgeon was not convinced that was what my problem was since I had absolutely NO PAIN on the right side.  He ordered a hidascan which showed the gall bladder worked fine.  The only problem I had was the injection they gave me to imitate a meal, almost made me come off the table.  I then went to see a GI doctor.  I explained to him that I had a high pain tolerance and dealt with the pain most of the time but when it got the best of me I had to take 1500mg vicadin to make me so out of it I didn't care.  Even with that kind of dose I was only getting 2-3 hours sleep a night and had to be up early to get kids off to school and go to work.  He told me straight up it wasn't my gall bladder and made jokes which I found very irritating.  He ordered a barium test, endoscopy, colonoscopy, and ct scan.  Only thing that showed was a few lesions on the spleen, and a hiatle hernia.  He said none of that would cause the pain I was experiencing and said maybe I should have the gall bladder taken out, after all what could it hurt?  I then went to a GI's doctor doctor.  He also told me it isn't my gall bladder and referred me to a surgeon to do exploratory surgery.  Instead the surgeon suggested to put a stint in the duct because he thought I was dealing with backwash.  Unfortunately, he didn't do that and referred me back to the dr that referred me to him!  After contacting the dr again he said he did not recommend that surgery as I had a 25% chance of coming down pancreatitis.  Even though they both do not feel it is my gallbladder causing the issues they say take it out because they can't find an answer.  I asked today about the exploratory surgery and possibility of adhesions and was told that if they did the surgery and found nothing that they would take the gall bladder out at that time.  If I didn't allow them to do that then they wouldn't do the exploratory.  What the HELL!!!  My hair is falling out and breaking, my nails are breaking off, I've lost 30 pounds in almost 6 months(the only reason I haven't lost more is because I am forcing myself to eat 1 meal a day and drinking protein shakes), I'm depressed and I've told the dr. I can't keep going on like this.  The pain is constant and gets worse whenever I drink or eat.  I look like death warmed over.  I asked him what happens if they take it out and it does nothing or makes it worse and the reply I got was that is a chance I'd have to take.  If I end up worse I will end things.  I don't know what to do and hope someone may be able to help me.  I'm trying homeopathic stuff as a last resort.

Perhaps you should reconsider your doctors and go to a different one for a third opinion. Sometimes you just have to go to one who not only hears you but listens. I think no one knows you better than yourself. I was told for three years I had acid reflux and to just keep taking medication. I decided to keep a daily log, looking for patterns or triggers. The third year I was getting the pain every two months and was on medication each time for six weeks. One would think that the repeated cycle of pain would clue the docs to seek another reason for my pain, not. I too have high pain tolerance but there was other symptoms that didn't make sense to me such as the lack of bowel movements and the morning nausea. One day while in pain my mother saw me for the first time. She who had her gallbladder removed told me I need it to bring it up to my doctor, sure enough. They discovered I had many gallstones and the gallbladder was not functioning. Good luck to you!!

I have seen 4 drs so far and the last one is from Stanford which is suppose to have all the latest and greatest technology at their command. I also looked up reviews and checked him out before I went to see him. This dr is good and does listen to his patients and loves difficult cases but he is completely stumped by me. I could see the frustration on his face. He told me the other day he ruled out all other possible things it could be. I even brought up parasites and poisoning as I am grasping at straws, and he said I didnt have symptoms of those. I have looked for patterns and so forth. so far nothing. The pain is constant 24 hours a day and no matter what I eat or drink the pain gets worse. I bloat up and it looks like I have a melon coming out of the side of me I get so bad. Then once the bloating goes down I feel like Ive been kicked in the gut by a horse. Ive had several abdominal surgeries so it is possible I have adhesions.

I am 17 years old and had my gall bladder removed in September, I am glad I did it because I was having attacks nearly every second night since about early March, yeah I admit it sucks to have diarrhea sometimes but it's mainly when I eat anything really greasy like a greasy burger from the local fish and chip shop, I do sometimes feel a bit sick but I haven't vommitted or had to go back to Hospital because of pain because I haven't had any, It was the best choice to have mine removed, I had to go through my Deb in a bit of pain because of my gall stones and I could barely eat anything on my camp because they might have set them off. It's good that I can be a teenager again without having to worry about having pains or having to go to the hospital.

Hi i know its been a long while since you posted this but this sounds exactly what I'm going through now. I was curious if you could tell me what they figured out with you..if anything? I'm desperate for any help i can get!

are you referring to my post or someone elses? You need to click on reply to this post button under the one you want to respond to.

Hi!, I was 16 when I had my GB removed, I had bad pains for 2 years prior and found out I had 12 stones(Genetically). After about a week or two my surgery was scheduled, I went in at 7 AM, had the surgery at 8AM and stayed there for about 13 hours, I went home, it was hard moving around, and at nights it hurt when I slept sideways, and it did hurt when I inhaled too hard (Since I had four incisions) After about 2 weeks I was pretty much healed, I didn't take the pills the doctors gave me, since I felt it wouldn't make such a big difference, and yeah after that, I've never really had any problems, I'm never depressed, hell, I don't even notice anything was ever wrong with me, I feel better because I'm not scared i'll ever have stomach problems again(unless gas) After about the third week I used my surgery as an excuse and stayed home for a month instead of going to school, haha.

It's been about 2 years since I got it removed, I think the only problem I've ever had is a burning sensation on my right shoulder blade, but, it's not hurting, it's more of an annoying pain which goes away in about a minute, I'm not sure if it's a side effect, or just my posture since all I do is sit on a computer all day :P

 

But, yeah, no problems, it's fast, just bear with it for 3 weeks, eat healthy food, don't eat/drink dairy products, eat fruit, etc.

(I'm just gonna let this out there, 3 days after my surgery I had a greasy Cheezepizza! and ate a lot soups)

 

Also, I'd like to mention I was about 140 before the surgery, and a couple of months later my weight changed to 117 pounds, right now after 2 years I'm 130. 

Hi! Just wanted to share my experience, as most of the posts here are people that have had problems. I might not be of much help, because I've never really experienced life WITH a gallbladder, but I can tell you my life is fairly normal. I had mine removed around the age of 2, when I had liver cancer. Paet of my liver was removed (but of course, it grows back) along with my gallbladder, as a precaution. I never had a problem with dairy when I was young, and only just recently started getting acid reflux when I have milk or cheese because I was vegan for a long time, and my body got used to it. My one problem is with spicy foods--I can deal with a couple red pepper flakes on my pasta or something, but I can't even consider using tabasco on anything. I've learned to just stay away, and I'm happy I did. People who eat a lot of spicy foods have very dulled tastebuds, and I can better taste little nuances and accent flavors in my food. My body also doesn't respond well to greasy food, and I get  abnormally lethargic and sluggish. I don't know if that's really because of my missing gallbladder, though.

Hope I helped!

:-@

Hi, I am sixteen and waiting to be schedualed for gallbladder removal surgery. The doctor says that my gallbladder is not emptying out the enzimes it makes to help your stomach digest food and so it is building up a slush in the bottem of my gallbladder. I have not been able to eat a full meal for three weeks now. I am in constant pain to the point where most days I spend my time curled up in a ball praying that God would take my pain away. This is deffinatly a bad thing considering that I let a guy break my hand when I was thirteen because I did not want to loose a sparing match. My pain tolerance is through the roof but still I am rendered useless by this. I have been reading all these posts and I have to say you adoults are scaring me silly about this up coming surgery. Does any one have a positive experience? Do you think I will be good enough to take a road trip with my high school concert band three weeks after surgery? I really don't want to miss compation do to some stupid misbehaving gallbladder. Thank you very much those of you who post positive things. I mean I understand those posting the negative experiences and I mean no disrespect its just that you guys are really scaring me this is my first surgery and well I sort of have a fear of hospitals

You'll be fine. And you should make your trip. The first week is tough but the second week you'll be feeling better.