Has anyone had their gallbladder removed?

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So, I had to undergo a myriad of different tests the other day (sometimes I'm sluggish..get pains in my abdomen..didn't seem right for a 22 year old) and it turns out that I have an under performing gallbladder. I pretty much have two choices - I can either learn to manage it (identify which foods trigger the pain/sluggishness) or have my gallbladder removed. Anyone have any experience with this?

I've heard that the surgery itself is very easy but I'm not sold on the lifestyle changes that I might have to make. I'm just not sure what to do.

Any help/experience/opinions would be much appreciated.
 
My daughter had hers removed last summer (she's 4) and they said she would be fine but to just watch some foods that might trigger her to feel sick or sluggish. I've heard some have to stay away from real fatty foods like bacon or fried foods and others have issues with real sweet foods like donuts or candy. So far, she eats anything and everything and hasn't complained about anything. If anything, she's eating more now!
 
I was told several years ago that I may need mine removed some day. I had the same symptoms but I was 50 something years old. Age doesn't seem to be important though because I have a niece who had hers removed at age 25 for the same reasons. When I talked to the doctor about it he said no more carbonated beverages, period, none, and the problems went away after I stopped drinking them. If I break that rule on a weekend and have a coke or a beer then the next day I wake up with a pain there and feel weak all over. It is not hard to avoid carbonation totally but some day I may need to have it out if it really becomes a pain again. I have heard that you could have problems digesting fats without a gall bladder but nothing major and that your body adjusts to it.
 
Well, I don't drink soda at all but the whole no beer thing would get ugly for me, haha.
 
My girlfriend had her's removed a couple years ago. No big deal. You just will find that you have less of an appetite (she eats 1/3 less than she used to) and that really fatty foods and alchohol will upset your stomach a bit more.
 
It's pretty simple. They knock you out, make a few tiny incisions, pluck it out, put you in recovery, and you're home in time for dinner.

I say remove it because it probably won't improve and it could get worse. If it starts to cause pain you'll be banging down the surgeon's door to get on the table. It's unbelievably painful when gal bladders go sour. My wife had hers out and she has no issues and no more pain.
 
It's pretty simple. They knock you out, make a few tiny incisions, pluck it out, put you in recovery, and you're home in time for dinner.

I say remove it because it probably won't improve and it could get worse. If it starts to cause pain you'll be banging down the surgeon's door to get on the table. It's unbelievably painful when gal bladders go sour. My wife had hers out and she has no issues and no more pain.


My wife had hers out last year and it was almost exactly the same as Griffs note here. Got to the hospital at 6AM, and I had her at home by 1 PM. They remove it laproscopically if they can (small incisions).

Fatty food and dairy would trigger gall bladder attacks in her. There are some digestive side effects while your body gets used to it not being there, but she is so happy she had it removed versus constantly fearing the next attack.
 
My daughter had hers removed last summer (she's 4) and they said she would be fine but to just watch some foods that might trigger her to feel sick or sluggish. I've heard some have to stay away from real fatty foods like bacon or fried foods and others have issues with real sweet foods like donuts or candy. So far, she eats anything and everything and hasn't complained about anything. If anything, she's eating more now!
I'm sorry for your daughter, but I have to say the bolded part would really suck.
 
Had mine removed a couple years ago due to gallstones. If you're wondering about whether to get it removed, you've got a mild case.
For me, I would wake up feeling like someone had a handful of my intestines and was twisting. First pain I'd had that made me vomit, and I've blown out a knee and had some spectacular gout attacks in the past.
Fatty / fried foods would set me off, I recall fish and chips from a local place were a guaraunteed trigger. Wound up in the hospital a couple times before I had the surgery.

The surgery itself was no big deal. Laparoscopic surgery for me. Day surgery, out in a few hours, although they do put you under. 4 small incisions, they don't open you up.
They might need to do a traditional open surgery on you, but that's case by case.

The results are fine for me, with limits. I can now eat anything without fearing (and that IS the correct word) another attack...but excessively greasy / fatty foods can have more explosive repercussions than before. No abdominal pain. You can still digest anything, just less efficiently, fats being the big change (gallbladder stores bile, helps break down fats). The possible side effect I was warned of was persistent diarrhea, which I've so far avoided by being half sensible with my diet. 3 sliders a day will still bring on the trots.
 
She still eats it! And turkey bacon to boot!
Turkey bacon isn't real bacon. But that's for another thread, hehe.
 
I had mined removed and I eat whatever I want and feel healthy as a stallion on steroids. I think they told me to watch milk products, fried foods, etc. however I have no problems with any of that. I was a seriously sick puppy as I had a gall stone stuck in my pancreatic duct and could have suffered serious consequences. The arthroscopic surgery they do now days is a piece of cake.
 
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My girlfriend loves cheese and bacon and sometimes it upsets her stomach but she powers through it.
 
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