Gallbladder surgery too & ?'s

Hi,
I have read some to the post and some mentioned that they have had their gallbladders removed. Well, I am having my removed when I have my hysterectomy Jan 9th because of gallstones. How did you feel before you had yours removed? I have had so much discomfort and can't tell if it is a combination of my female problems or the gallbladder. What were your symptoms? I feel like there is a rubber band around my waist all the time. I first thought I had constipation problems, but I got that taken care of (eating more fiber) and I would still have so much discomfort and my stomach looks like it did when I was pregnant.

Please any input would be appreciated. I have found out alot of info about my hysterectomy, but about my gallbladder, I haven't. I know that is not what this board is about, but since I saw that some of you have had that surgery, I thought you might give me some information on that too.

Thanks,
Stacy

Stacy,

Welcome to the wonderful land of the sisters! I had my gallbladder removed 11/00 and I feel great without it. My symptoms were "asymptomatic" - I just love that term, lol. Anyway I was experiencing severe, for lack of any better analogy, "chest pain" that would come on suddenly and disappear just as quickly. That's right, no warning whatsoever. It would start on the right side where your ribs begin to split apart and then it would move up through the center of my upper torso--it felt like it was directly in the center of me! I could feel it hurting in between my shoulder blades, oh and let's not forget the pain that also radiated to the right and felt like it was in the center of my breast. Excruciating! It would hurt so bad I wouldn't want to even breath--and many times I just held my breath and sat straight up trying to ease it. It would strike at any time, any place. My first ultrasound revealed alot of "sludge" but no gallstones. My surgeon ran a test (commonly referred to as an uptake)to measure how much of the gallbladder was working and it was less than 20%. I think 25% is the low side of normal. By the time my surgery was scheduled I was belching everything I ate and drank including water! Uck! Not to mention the bouts of pain attacks. Hint.....I was taking calcium pills at the time and once I quit taking them it did ease up a bit. I had another ultrasound a week before surgery. My surgeon called the day before my surgery and told me the g.b. looked fine! No sludge, no stones, no nothing. I told him TOO BAD; I'd see him in the morning because I couldn't live like this! Sure enough, it was on it's way out! He found alot of adhesions, alot of adhesions where my g.b. had actually been attaching itself to the inner lining of the abdomen and pulling itself back away. Ouch! When the g.b. was opened up he found it was crystallized--gall stones were on their way it was just a matter of time. I was up and walking, very slowly, later that day and went home the next. Two weeks recovery, the second of which I worked from home...definitely want loose fitting comfy clothes and your elbows will be very sore. Rolling out of bed is a definite art form! LOL. I too searched for as much info as I could find on g.b. surgery and it wasn't much.

I hope this helps and good luck! Feel free to e-mail me with questions as I know how much it helps to hear it from someone who's been there done that! (stonesriverband@aol.com)

Brenda

s Stacy!
I am not sure if the 'rubber band' feeling is the gallstones or not! I believe they 'present' themselves in different ways. Mine only was painful during an attack (whenever I ate any foods with fat). It would start with a pain under my right rib cage and move to the middle and upper back. It would be constant for about 4-5 hours and very painful. When they were really bad, I would also vomit. Hmmmm, sounds pleasant huh? Well, having the gallbladder removed was almost as relieving as the hyst!. Good Luck to you and I hope you feel better very soon!

Hi, I had my GB removed. Docs never found stones, I just had horrific attacks, right side under ribs. The attacks left me un able to breath, It was as if someone had a knife in my rib cage turning and stabbing. Didn't matter what I ate they would just come on for no reason. Had then tests, they said I had a Hot/Diseased Gall bladder. When it came out docs couldn't ever tell me the real problem with it other then to say it didn't work. Now4 years later they think I have endo ant that might have been what was wrong with it. I will tell ya that I still have the "Attacks" but more of a constant aching in the same spot where GB was. I had the lap surgery to remove GB. Was very easy recovoery. I was cooking easter dinner for husbands family 3 days latter.
Good luck.
Kim

I had my GB removed this past June. I also had that rubber band feeling and it goes once the gall bladder goes. I only had one "severe" attack which put me in ER a 10/10 pain which I fully admit is worse than natural childbirth. That was last Jan and I only had intolerance to MOST foods, lol (lost alot of weight)
My surgeon said I may have developed the stones from losing too much weight too fast (60 lbs in 6 months) then the additional 20 from the gall attacks.
I had my fibroid problem and was supposed to be dealing with that but ended up dealing first with the gallbladder, no one mentioned to me about doiing both together!!
For post op the worst was absorbing the gas which happens with all laproscopic surgeries.
With your hysterectomy too, you will be sore from your chest to your butt! But you will be feeling so much better soon!!!!
By the way I still sometimes get pain where the gallbladder used to be, like a "phantom" attack which is normal too.

I think I suffered from the diseased gall bladder for at least a year before it got bad enough for me to go to the doctor with it. I had the severe pain in the middle of my chest for a long time then it went more to the right side and through to my right shoulder blade. I also had a lot of nausea and migraines. Everything gives me a migraine, though. The nausea was a real problem because of trying to go on working and living. It is hard to get to work on time when you have to stop on the side of the road to puke!

The ultrasound showed nothing but the test to see how much it was functioning showed it was not working much (I think it was 17%). I also heard it was due to weight loss. I lost 70 lbs. in 6 months the year before the gall bladder quit, but I think it was messed up before that. My sister just went through the gall bladder mess last year and she has never really had a weight problem or lost a lot at one time. Who knows?

Anyway, I have had mine out since 5/99 and I can eat whatever I want. It messed with me for a while as far as greasy foods, but I don't eat them much now anyway. I don't regret getting rid of it.

Good Luck!

I had my gallbladder out in July 2001 and the my LAVH/BSO on December 20, 2001. The hysterectomy surgery has so far been easier than the gallbladder. I got real sick right after my gallbladder surgery. My gallbladder was diseased . . . it didnt' work. I had no gallstones. I expected to feel real good right away and to be able to eat what I wanted right away. That didn't happen. I still have to watch what I eat. I heard it takes awhile for all that even after the gallbladder comes out.

I'm still in the early days of my hyst. recovery.

Good luck . . it will be worth it in the long run.

I had my gallbladder removed laproscopically about 5 yrs. ago. Ironically, when the surgeon used the scope to look around at my innards, he found the fibroids! He told me then that I'd probably want to do something about them before long, before they got too big to remove either lapriscopically or vaginally. Did I listen? NO! <ggg>

My gallbladder attacks began with nausea and gas and then progressed to incredible pain over about a year. The pain was like someone would turn a switch on and off - it began and ended that abruptly. It was by far the worse pain I've ever had. It was triggered by eating anything with any fat in it. The only way I could avoid it was a total vegan diet - no meat, no dairy, no eggs, no fat, no taste! At the end, I was living on dry toast, lettuce, and plain, steamed veggies.

The worst bout of pain I ever had was on the night of the 4th Of July one year. We had been to a picnic and I was absolutely starving and had a small piece of steak and a bite of baked potato with sour cream. About 2:00 am, I woke up in such agonizing pain that my DH was convinced I was having a heart attack and he literally picked me up and put me in the car and drove me to the local ER because I wouldn't let him call the paramedics! The ER dr. put an IV in and gave me anti-spasmodics, antibiotics, and tried everything to dull the pain. Finally, Demerol did the trick and I quit writhing in agony. I made an appointment the next morning to see a surgeon.

I've never had any children, but a woman I knew who had 6 children, told me that gallbladder pain is MUCH worse than childbirth pain. A dr. told me that only kidney stone pain is worse. I've never missed my gallbladder and the only thing I've noticed is that sometimes your stool is a bit greenish from the bile that pours directly into the intestine once it's gone.

When I had mine out, it was done on a Thursday morning and I was riding my Harley on Saturday afternoon. I was just a bit sore and I did have the shoulder pain from the gas they use to inflate your abdomen, but it passed in about 24 hrs.

Compared to a gallbladder attack, a hysterectomy is a piece of cake! Lucky you if they're going to spare you one more surgery and remove it at the same time.

Arebella

The other good thing about having your gallbladder out with your hysterectomy is that sometimes taking HRT can cause gallbladder problems. In some women. HRT tends to raise your cholestral levels and that's what gallstones are made of. So it's very common for women on HRT (from either natural or surgical menopause) to develop gallbladder problems. You won't have to worry about that! YAY!

Arebella
(who doesn't miss either my gallbladder or my fibroid-filled uterus one bit!)

I had my bad gallbladder attack 2 weeks after my c-section in 1988, and it felt almost as bad as labor! (though I had an epidural for labor!) I didn't know that it's common for women to have gallbladder problems after childbirth because their cholesterol level is elevated during pregnancy (normal), and then when they lose weight after childbirth it triggers gallbladder attacks. Anyway, I had my gallbladder out 4 weeks later and it wasn't too bad (a major incision, not laparoscopic), though it hurt to have baby laying on top of it to breastfeed! For me, a TAH was worse, and certainly took much longer for recovery. But both surgeries were a great improvement in my health and now I feel great. Best wishes for a smooth surgery and recovery!
Ruthie