r/gallbladders

I am 16hrs post op. Getting released from the hospital today. I have a VERY active 1 year old who likes being held.

I am going to ask when I see the surgeon today, but I have been looking at this sub and also google and the range for picking up a 23lb baby seems to be all over the place. Curious what everyone's restrictions were?

Thank you.

I just got my HIDA scan results, and my gallbladder is functioning at 17%. Other than the constant ache in my upper right quadrant, everything else is fine. My ultrasound just shows some sludge, but my bloodwork is perfect. No stones were detected either.

So my question: is there any help for fixing this? Can I possibly increase my gallbladder's function? I saw an alternative medicine doctor out of desperation and he prescribed me an herbal supplement that supposedly should detox my gallbladder. I've also eliminated most fat from my diet, don't drink alcohol, and don't eat junk food.

The frustrating thing is everyone keeps telling me to stop eating fats and fast food, which I pretty much don't do. My diet is super high in fiber, I cook three meals a day, I exercise. I do all the things that the medical world is telling me I'm not doing. So I don't understand why this is happening to me? Why is my gallbladder dying on me?

So please if someone could give me hope that I won't need surgery, provide me with your story. If it truly can't be saved, I know the surgery will be inevitable. And I'll come to terms with it. I just want to know if there's anyone out there that was able to reverse this.

So I had my surgery yesterday to get my gallbladder removed. Everything went pretty textbook where that was concerned. The doctor found two large stones and noted inflammation. Still waiting on the full pathology report.

It was my first surgery under general anesthesia. The only other surgery I had was my c section 6 years ago which was performed with a spinal so I was awake for the whole thing. Apparently, I had a reaction during my surgery yesterday to the anesthesia and broke out in a rash/hives that quickly went away with Benadryl that they gave. It was so transient that when I woke up a few hours later I noticed nothing about my skin. But that's a fun little note I'll need to inform any anesthesiologist in the future.

My doctor also found a small umbilical hernia (1cm) when performing the incision in my belly button. I have had pain around my belly button for years now whenever I would do some more strenuous tasks. I told my PCP about it and he chalked it up to my mild diastasis recti and sent me to PT which did help. But this whole time (since being pregnant) I've had this and likely would have never caught it unless something bad happened if I didn't have my gallbladder surgery! He sewed out the hole that was causing it for me so I guess I got a two-for-one yesterday.

My healing is going great so far. I have some pain in the largest incision and in the space between the three that are around where my gallbladder was. Haven't tried to eat any solids yet but that's today's plan . Because I have had a c section, my body has a good memory of how to move with abdominal pain like this so I've been using my arms and legs a lot to get up and down so it's not all on my core. If any of you are going to have surgery soon I highly suggest you practice lifting yourself off the bed using your arm strength so you can feel what the motion is like.

Anyways wanted to share a little bit of a success story (so far).

Hey again everyone, I need to vent because only you all could understand what I'm going through. I posted a few days ago for advice, but now I just need to vent.

84% HIDA, chronic cholecystitis with possible (suspected) adhesions near duodenum AND liver after talking to my GI doctor and someone here in the forum.

I have a neurological disease that is undefined that has caused ongoing muscle weakness on the left side of my body. I am under no circumstances supposed to get paralytics in general anesthesia. Unfortunately, cholecystectomies require paralytics apparently! No surgeon will operate on me without giving me paralytics.

But what if the general anesthesia will kill me? What if my inflamed gallbladder will kill me? Are they just going to let me die because they are unwilling to try the surgery without paralytics? I am allowed to get TIVA anesthesia with propofol as the primary anesthetic, but my surgeon says that is not enough.

Now, I've done extensive research from around the world finding examples where people managed without paralytics. Most of them involved Regional anesthesia in the spine. Guess what? I'm not allowed to do that either. Why? Because I have tethered spinal cord and a chronic CSF leak. Any anesthetic that goes into my epidural space can pass through the leak and accumulate at concentrations 10 times higher than a human can handle. So that option is out.

I only found one example, I believe in bulgaria, where they injected some nerve blocks around his abdominal wall and successfully kept the muscles relaxed enough to remove his gallbladder. I am going to bring the study to my surgeon, but I highly doubt she's going to go for it.

Right now, it feels like everyone is Keen on just letting me deteriorate and die rather than help me and I am having some very dark thoughts. I am madly in love with my husband who keeps me going in so many ways, but at this point I feel I am just an immense burden with no way out. I am near giving up and I guess I just wanted to vent to the only other humans who understand what it's like.

Side note about how unfair this is: I used to consider myself lucky to be naturally thin with very few cravings and eat super healthy, just because I was raised that way. In December I ate richly due to the holiday season and my husband and I got really into wine and cheese. That was when this all went down :appendicits and cholecystitis simultaneously. Meaning, I stopped eating healthy for 1 entire month and this is what I get. (Appendicits was cured with IV antibiotics.)

Thanks for letting me get this out. I just want to say I love all of you because you help me feel less alone. Thanks for always posting and helping each other out.

Morning all,

I swear I only use Reddit for medical questions now 😭.

I’m 28F UK and I had an acute flare of my gallbladder on the 31st of March which saw me hospitalised for 5 days for IV antibiotics. My pain has not gone.

I’ve never had issues with my gallbladder in the past so to say it was a shock would be an understatement. I haven’t been able to go back to work since (I work an office job and sitting at my desk for extended periods isn’t working for me). I’m now on SSP and I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to be paying my bills.

I ended up back in hospital this past Saturday with another flare where the consultant told me it’s a 4-8 week wait for removal since “there’s other people who have cancer who are more important” and sent me home with morphine and more antibiotics.

The nurses told me “you can go back to work on Tuesday” which is making me feel crazy for not being well enough to return.

My main question is- has anyone else had persistent gallbladder pain where you have very little to no break between the pain? I feel like I’m going insane because they keep saying “when did it last die down”, “find your food trigger that brings on your pain” and I just respond with there’s been no break ahha.

Thank you for reading!

- the pain is much worse than I thought it would be, but it is getting better. Still have a lot of sharpness when I need to get up or move, but it is better now most of the gas pain has gone. Sleeping propped up helps to make getting of bed easier.

- I have only eaten low fat food so far, but no emergency toilet trips that come on after eating. So far I am eating the following: chicken, rice, pasta, potatoes, bread (with jam), bran flakes, apple, banana, bell pepper, mushrooms, spinach, bbq sauce, 5% fat bacon medallions, decaf coffee and tea. I am introducing new foods a few at a time in case any cause an issue, then hopefully I can identify the trigger more easily. I felt much better once I started to eat protein and more nutritious foods.

- had some issues with reflux, Rennie has helped that a lot!

- mostly regular-ish bowel movements, with some painful diarrhoea today. When I feel like I need to go, I need to go soon, but nowhere near the point of having any close calls.

- feeing less tired/drowsy in the past few days, although had dizziness today which is probably unrelated!

- showering has been fine, I washed my hair for the first time yesterday and it went smoothly (I have long hair that needs 2x shampoo and conditioner, my arms were a bit tired and I just tried to keep the suds away from the incisions while rinsing).

- still not back at work, will likely take a full 2 weeks off. I think the pain from sitting in a chair all day would be waaaay too much right now. Spending most of my time just chilling on the sofa and getting some steps in around the house.

Can it be okay even without surgery? the last usg showed it was pressing liver

I have my surgery coming up in May but my symptoms have just seemed to amplify. I feel like I cant eat anything without pain. Ive been getting bad acid reflux and bloating. I went to the ER because I was scared it was inflamed. Thankfully it wasnt but now Im just awake at 4 am and miserable.

Ive been eating bland soups and mashed potatoes with veggies for the past two weeks. Only new thing I ate was saltine crackers and that seemed to send me into acid reflux and pain.

Hi all, having mine out in 3 days.

I'm a librarian/archivist. I know about the post-op 'no lifting more than 8 pounds', but what about pushing things like a book cart or shopping cart? Also, my bedroom and main bathroom are on the second floor of my house. How quickly were you able to handle stairs post-op?

I think I'm going overboard with the prep. I've got a binder, compression socks, I'm scouring this subreddit for suggestions... Really nervous. Haven't had surgery since my wisdom teeth were removed in high school, and that was.... a while ago.

Hi all! A bit TMI but I’m honestly confused and looking for anyone who’s experienced something similar.

I was diagnosed with gallstones 3 weeks postpartum after a severe attack that sent me to the ER.

At 3 months postpartum, I got my first period… and at the exact same time had back-to-back gallbladder attacks. I ended up in the ER two nights in a row, then hospitalized on day 3 because a stone got stuck in my bile duct. Had an ERCP, then developed pancreatitis and was in the hospital for 3 weeks.

At the time, I assumed my period overlapping was just horrible timing. The pain then was clearly gallbladder-related, and my period cramps were minimal.

Now fast forward to this week (4 months postpartum): my period is back, but this time the pain is… different.

Not classic gallbladder pain

WAY worse than any period cramps I’ve ever had

First night was so bad I thought it was pancreatitis again

Now on day 3, I’ve got lingering soreness, especially on my left side

It feels more like deep abdominal inflammation than cramps

I have a follow-up with my doctor tomorrow and will definitely bring this up, but I wanted to ask here:

Has anyone else had severe, non-typical abdominal pain during their period after gallbladder issues or pancreatitis?

I’m trying to figure out if this is hormone-related, lingering inflammation, or something else entirely.

Would really appreciate hearing if anyone’s gone through something similar 🙏

I had my gallbladder removed in October ..I’m so over it, I can’t stop running to the bathroom, my stools are all over the place.. I ate salad last night and I didn’t digest it well, it came out today in diarrhea and I had red pieces and orange pieces idk if it was undigested food! But I’m so scared it was blood, I may have ate a little of pico yesterday so idk if it was that.. but I’m just so over the diarrhea I have an endocnospy coming up but I have so much health anxiety that I have colon cancer or some other problem!

My mom has been dealing with gallstones for the past 2 weeks or so. Seeing her in pain is hurting us all to see. Today she returned to the hospital and the doctor said her Gallbladder is inflamed. But they don't want to remove because the stones are in a "dangerous place" and her life is at risk if they go in to remove it. I'm not not sure what to think. Has anyone experienced this before? My mom wants to be safe and they them do what they can.

hello, i recently had an ultrasound and blood tests for gallbladder issues which both came back normal. however, im still having persistent right side pain under my rib which moves towards my flank and sometimes my back. as well as lots of stomach rumbling in that one specific spot under my rib after eating. the ultrasound for gallbladder was normal as were the blood tests. she’s now ordering h. pylori testing, and is going the G.I. route, even referring me to a gastroenterologist. i guess i’m just a bit worried because i expected to get a HIDA scan. although my pain has been on both sides of my abdomen and i’ve been experiencing more burping than usual, the pain is still persistently on my right side. i have a trip at the end of may, and i want to make sure that i don’t have a failing gallbladder in a foreign country. are there ways to get HIDA scans outside of your doctor? or should i be able to convince my gastroenterologist to schedule a HIDA before my trip?

I've seen a surgeon and planning on trying keyhole surgery privately but if the adhesions from previous surgery are too much they will need to stop the operation and I will need to consider taking meds and / or waiting for an open surgery on the NHS.

Feeling a bit stressed about it. Apparently on the positive side, my surface scars are below the belly button rather than higher up.

They usually do a belly button site for the keyhole but with me can do one a bit higher up to stay away from the previous scar.

I'm really hoping the surgery works as it will be a bigger surgery otherwise (might take several hours and need 2 surgeons apparently) and he did say the meds sometimes don't work and need taken for a really long time.

Anyone else been in a similar position with previous surgery? How did it go? Thanks

Alright, so I had robotic laparoscopic surgery on 4/16. I had to be at the hospital at 6 AM and surgery started at 8. I woke up around 10:45 and was walking out to my car by noon on the dot.

I was honestly shocked to find out I had 5 incisions because I was under the impression it would only be 3 or 4. Overall though, I felt pretty good leaving. I was able to walk out of recovery and I didn’t have any food restrictions, which surprised me. I literally ordered mac and cheese and a chicken bowl on the way home and ate the whole thing 😅

The only real restriction I was given was no lifting. The pain was different and it definitely sucked. The first 3 days were the worst. Moving, especially trying to lay down or get up, was brutal. The gas pain has been the worst part by far and I am still dealing with that a bit.

For pain management, I stayed on a rotation of Tylenol and ibuprofen and it did a pretty good job as long as I stayed on top of it. That is a big one, do not fall behind on your meds.

I kept myself fairly active but also listened to my body when I needed rest. I took a lot of naps in the sunshine ☀️ and that honestly helped so much.

For work reference, I run an in home daycare with kids ranging from 1.5 to 4 years old. I took off Thursday, Friday, and the weekend, and ended up taking Monday off too, but I probably could have gone back then if I needed to. I have been fighting a little cough from the tube down the throat and that’s not been fun.

As of today, I actually feel really good. I have had zero food issues since surgery and no bowel changes yet, but I am feeling optimistic. More than anything, I am just so happy to not be in the pain I was dealing with before surgery.

I will say I do have a pretty high pain tolerance and even then parts of this recovery were rough, but overall it has been very manageable and completely worth it so far.

Hi

I'm a consultant physician working in the NHS. I will be getting a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This is the first time I'm getting a GA. I wondered if there are people here with similar occupation who underwent this procedure to give me an idea of how long it took them to recover and be well enough to return back to work - mostly involved ward rounds, clinics and sometimes on calls attending to more acutely unwell patients.

Thank you

I am up and ready to go to hospital shortly. Even though my brain is saying its fine, my body is betraying me.

Does anyone know if there is an anti nausea/anxiety injection I can be given prior to the anesthetic? I'm in the UK, going to a private hospital. I'm worried I'm going to start retching by time I get there.

(I know its daft because I want this gallbladder out more than ever, but my anxiety wont listen).

Thanks

This is a bit TMI, and I would only ever post it here.

For the first several months I had near daily diarrhea. Was miserable but I lost a lot of excess weight so silver linings yay! Eventually it was more loose stool than diarrhea, so yay again! Especially as I continued to lose weight slowly. But today I realized that I haven't had even loose stools for a couple weeks, my movements are fully normal. Yay!

I honestly thought I was going to have diarrhea and/or loose stools for the rest of my life.

Not much of anything has changed in my diet in the last 2 months, although I quit putting half-n-half in my daily coffee. Dinner last night was pizza, this morning everything is hunky dory in my guts.

Geeze I hope this is a permanent change, and I don't slide into constant constipation.