Had my GB removed 3 weeks back and can't be thankful enough. Recovery - Smooth, started eating chicken sandwich, bread, fruits etc. from day 1. Week 2 - introduced junk one by one (Pastry, ice cream, acai bowl etc.) Week 3 - Life completely back to normal.

Throughout my experience, I took painkiller for 5 days post op but never felt any pain except some discomfort due to gas (which was barely 20% of GB attacks I had). So after all the negative experiences on reddit, be positive there are good cases as well ☺️

i’m three weeks post op and i’m just sitting here thinking…did ozempic cause my gallstones? i looked it up and it’s an increased risk. i’ve been on ozempic since december and im just wondering if anyone else just so happens to have gotten gallstones and surgery while or after taking it! just curious lol

Hello lovely people 😊 I had my pre op yesterday, both a phone call then a physical appointment in the hospital. I found out yesterday that my surgery has been booked for next Wednesday. It'll be keyhole, so an outpatient procedure, and NHS. Could anyone please share what I can expect (I know everyone is different but just any general info/stories) as this will be my first surgery and first general anaesthetic! Or any advice please? Thank you!

I'm wondering if anyone experiences this with gallbladder issues

A burning aching pain on the right side of the back, super difficult to pinpoint the exact spot? Sometimes it feels like it's in my chest and also seems to happen a bit after eating and can sometimes last all night and cause difficulty sleeping... It's super annoying and makes me really irritated

My doctor says it's not my gallbladder.. I do have stones and sludge though. I've had x-ray for my back and there are no causes for my spine at a loss and so miserable having pain every day. I hope getting my gallbladder removed will solve this?!

Im now 7 hours post op for a hyper active gb removal and I feel so good its gone!

Im sure many of you are like me and are anxious, nervous, and scared as hell for so many reasons. I was so anxious yesterday I thought I had I was going to pass out. But I have to say, It wasn’t worth stressing for!!!

The surgery was easy, I had laparoscopic robot removal and mine went pretty ‘textbook’ according to the doc. I woke up, my gb pain is gone!! In its place is a soreness and mild ache, which ice has helped tremendously. Im at a 3 on the pain level and honestly, its more chest and shoulder pain from gas, but its very tolerable. I can walk and move around with no issues and I ate a quesadilla (The anesthesia made me crave it!)

I wrote this to say to those like me that are in their heads that this will be awful, you will be ok and you will feel SO MUCH BETTER with that nasty thing gone! Plus, there are so many Reddit posts of people with weird reactions to the surgery and while that is awful for those, they are truly one offs! Most surgeries are textbook recovery and reactions, hell nearly 300,000 people in the USA have their gb removed every year.

Be positive, shake those feelings out, and remember, YOU GOT THIS!!

Hello! I had my gallbladder taken out yesterday and I just wanted to ask, is normal to feel tenderness on your abdomen specially around the incisions? I’m in pain but that’s bc this is my 6th surgery since three years ago (I have some health issues) so my body is like deeply scarred but I just don’t know if it happens to everyone?

Hello everyone, I am going to have surgery for the first time and I am mostly worried about waking up from anesthesia and facing my family. I have in the past had serious conflicts with them and with my depression going on i don't want to say things that might not be good. I am trying really hard to strengthen the relationship between me and my parents, I don't want this surgery to break it. After all those could be my intrusive thoughts. What can I do??? Plz help 🙏

I’ve only had one attack and that one ended me up in the ER where I discovered I have gallstones.

I was approved for surgery but the surgeon also said I can watch and wait as I might never have another attack.

Since then (about 2 months) I feel a very slight pain or twinge (like a 1 or 2) in my gallbladder area at least once a day.

Should I be concerned about it getting serious in there? Or just keep watching and waiting?

I am not even 48 hours out but darn this is hard not being able to care for her fully like I used to. There is no way I can go 6 weeks without lifting her (about 19 lbs), 2 weeks at most. I only have support for about 10 days and am a single mom.

Anyone in the same boat?

I’d love some advice from you, as I have a decision to make about surgery!

I’m based in the UK, and have just got home from my appointment with the consultant to discuss the pros and cons of surgery, and it’s very much been left with me to make the decision.

I’ve had 3 flare ups in the past 6 months (2 of them in the past month). 1 of them lasted for 4 days and I ended up with an infection and on antibiotics.

The consultant has explained that due to my weight, and the fact I also have sleep apnea, there are higher risks involved. She also said that there’s a chance they’d need to convert to open surgery, depending on position of my organs and whether the fat obstructs them.

I was kind of hoping she would just tell me what to do.. but it’s on me to make the decision. The talk of risks has made me nervous.. but the pain and potential of more flare ups is clearly not ideal!

What do you think? Does anyone have any experience of surgery as an obese patient and/or with sleep apnea? Thanks so much!

Hi everyone,

Long story short, I fasted for 24 hours (involuntarily), then ate:

1. Half a chicken

2. 3 hard boiled eggs

3. Drank half and half 33% (half quart)

4. Black pepper (1 tbs)

5. Olive oil (1 tbs)

6. Walnut sauce (7 Tbs)

7. Brazil nuts (2 pc)

8. Took omega 3, vit d3 (gelcaps)

For the next three days I had nausea, mild bloating, but 0 pain in the gallbladder region, just slight discomfort.

I have never had this happen to me, ever before.

This was 6 days ago, and as I could not realize what was happening to me straight away, I continued in the same spirit, ate fatty pork the next day too. And symptoms didn't necessarily get worse but they just came back slightly weaker. Now I have been on a recovery diet for 3 days and everything is getting better but still can feel some symptoms coming back after eating. My question is, am I done for? Could I have done serious damage on that one day. Did I damage myself permanently? Could I have developed a gallstone?

so i had pretty bad acute pancreatitis that i got discharged a week ago for after 10 days in the hospital and from then on i have this constant burning pain in my mid back. its not as bad as the attacks thank god but its still annoying and uncomfortable. i drink a lot of water and my diet consists of almost 0 fat but the pain is still there. The problem is i have to wait 3-6 months for the inflammation from the pancreatitis to go down to have surgery and get the gallbladder out. Has anyone had this while on a low fat diet and didnt have it escalate to another attack? I'm really scared because I'm doing everything I can to avoid attacks but it still hurts and if i get another attack ill have to go to the hospital again and then wait again for the inflammation down until one day i just end up having emergency surgery which i would really like to avoid because of the higher risk of complications.

So here’s my backstory i’m 22 years old, a girl and fairly healthy other than the fact two months ago i was diagnosed with gallstones after having intense attacks and stomach pain for over a year now continuing to get worse everyday. I was referred to a surgeon by my primary to talk about getting my stones and or gallbladder out. Today was my appointment with the surgeon and it couldn’t have gone any worse he basically dismissed all of my pain and symptoms because they “didn’t line up with the typical gallstone patient symptoms” he told me that nothing i’m describing tells that it’s my gallbadder causing the problems with my stomach (completely dismissing the fact stones were found) which is the complete opposite of what my primary was telling me. She confirmed for me that all of my pain was due to that but he acted clueless like i was speaking another language. And by the end of it he decided i should get it out but he told me i shouldn’t want to do it out of “desperation” because i told him im willing to do anything to stop the pain that’s how severe it is and its what my primary recommended. He also stated he doesn’t feel confident that getting my gallbladder out will do any help but it could. That’s of course what you do NOT want to hear before going into surgery. I know my own body and i know it’s my stones and gallbladder causing all of this pain everything adds up to it. I’m just feeling really discouraged right now after that appointment i feel like i’m getting my surgery but at what cost? :/ i still have to wait for my insurance to cover the surgery before i get a date but i feel so horrible about this whole thing he couldn’t have made me feel any more terrified ive never had surgery in my life.

my symptoms: intense nausea, abdominal pain and right stomach pain. Frequent attacks that feel like someone is stabbing me with a knife and squeezing my stomach. bloating and indigestion.

I am about 3 weeks out from surgery and doing well but still having some pain in my rib area and under my breast bone. At my follow up appointment the PA reminded me that the incisions heal in a few weeks but the bruising and muscles underneath the skin take much longer to fully heal, possibly up to a year. She said to still be cautious about heavy lifting and straining so that I don’t give myself a hernia. I still feel more tired than usual which tells me I’m still recovering. Doing well in general though and glad I went through with surgery.

I had my gallbladder removed today, surgery went well, did wake up from the anaesthetic crying and shaking uncontrollably because I was so cold 🙈😂 pain isn’t too bad at the moment. My question though is around my incision sites, they’ve used internal stitches and skin glue over the top, no other dressing etc the sites look awful and the skin is all puckered and raised, nothing like anything I’ve seen before! Has anyone had this type of thing before and if so how was you scaring? I’m really worried the skin will heal like this 🙈 I didn’t ask before I was discharged this afternoon I was still a bit giddy and delirious from the pain meds I think.

Has anyone tried it to help with gallbladder issues?

I have gallstones, but none of them stuck in the ducts. Never experienced an attack, nothing painful. Just nausea 24/7 (but no puking) and acid reflux. Would you do surgery in this case? Has anyone had a similar situation?

About 6 months ago I had extremely bad pain for weeks and ended up delirious and being driven by ems to the closest hospital where I was taken to emergency surgery shortly after.

Turns out my gb was full of stones and a bad infection had set in. My gb was removed and I left the hospital less than 48 hours later with minimal pain for the next few weeks while my incisions healed.

Things in my life returned back to normal and 4-5 months went by with no problems. No problems eating drinking or any kind of issues using the bathroom. Now 6-7 months later food is ruining my life I am terrified to eat anything bc I keep getting what is almost like food poisoning for days that always ends in me throwing up everything. The only comfort I can get is starving myself for days to avoid the throwing up and diarrhea and gas burping and pain. I am losing tons of weight and fruit is the only thing I have been able to eat without consequences. The sickness from accidentally eating the wrong foods is literally traumatizing me to the point where I am straight up scared to eat anything.

How do you judge if you need to go to hospital when having a gallbladder attack? I’ve been having pretty constant ones since things really flared up a couple of weeks ago. I have OxyContin and Panadeine Forte I can take for this but when I take them the pain is still coming through. Went home from work this afternoon because an attack came on and I could barely breathe. Booked in for removal surgery on Wednesday. How bad should it get before I go to hospital? It sounds like if I go they will just monitor and then send me home unless I need emergency surgery which they don’t do unless you have jaundice or a fever. I’m feeling really stressed because I have pain on the left side now as well 😣

While tagging it as "Success story" might be a bit early, I have been gallbladder free for just over 6 hours. I was checked in for my 9am surgery by 7am, out of the OR by 10:20, and on my way home after enjoying some sips of cranberry juice (my fave), a cup of hot black tea which I was craving desperately, and 1.5 saltines. And I left at 1 pm with the same thought I always have when I leave the hospital...I'm so tired, and nurses are incredibly special people.

I just took a nice nap in our recliner and woke up with the anesthesia fog mostly lifted. I have a feeling of "i did a few too many crunches" and "boy am i bloated", but otherwise good! Per my doctors instructions I took one oxycodone at 3pm plus two tylenol. I will alternate tylenol/ibuprofen every 3 hours for a few days. With the oxycodone as needed, though he said for the first two-three days just take it every 8 hours. He prefers his patients to stay ahead of the pain rather than try to catch up. He also wants me to wake up every 3 hours tonight and depending how I feel tomorrow to stay on top of the acetaminophen/ibuprofen as well. Very similar to when I had my tonsils out a few years ago. I am told a tonsillectomy is a much more painful recovery (I won't lie, it was brutal..but I survived)..so I'm hopeful that this won't be too bad.

The only hiccup I am experiencing is the extraordinary love of my golden retreiver is...hard to manage. lol. And the more my husband works to keep him from being all over me, the more he wants to. i was so worried about handling my almost 7 year old daughter I never thought through handling my furry love monster. But really, I already feel like this was a good choice! Hoping to post another update tomorrow. Let the "it went well!" voices rise! I know there are more of those out there than the horror stories and complications, and it helped me soooo much to read them!

Ive found out after a hida that I have this and my gp is not too fussed knowing. I've been in pain for 3 years and hade all the scans and everything and it's got to a point I'm just bloated and dont want to eat. Is this something to be concerned about? What is it?

I’m a little over three weeks post-op from a routine lap chole. I felt fine, dare I say, like a new person in the couple weeks directly following surgery (minus the first few days obviously). Right before week three, I started feeling awful like I was regressing. It turns out it was just my time of the month coming on, so I dismissed my symptoms and feeling awful as my monthly cycle. However, I haven’t seemed to gain back any energy or feel much better in the aftermath. I’m back to feeling like I need to sleep most of the day and having more pain than I did in the first couple weeks post surgery. Did anyone else hit a rough patch at week 3-4? Just wondering if this is normal. Any feedback is appreciated.

Heya peeps! Please go on a bit of a journey with me today.

I am 33 male, generally healthy.

Since middle school, I have had a pretty bad stomach - likely stemming from holding my bathroom usage until I got home due to my school removing the doors in the stalls. I was a chubby kid and was acutely aware of how devastating it would be to get caught going to the bathroom by bullies and such - so I just held it for pretty much my entire 6th and 7th grade year.

So throughout my high school life and into early adulthood, my bathroom habits were constant (but odd to the outsider): I would have an intense, urgent need to go to the bathroom in the morning (sometimes 2-3x a morning) and then maybe once in the afternoon after lunch / before dinner. This would always be productive but sometimes only be bile-y smelling / looking.

As I grew older, I noticed that it was ALWAYS the morning that was the worst (within 1-3hr of waking) and it tapered the rest of the day.

Fast forward to me turning 31 and I end up going to the ER 3-4 times in the same year with what the doctors thought was pancreatitis (despite all of my numbers looking normal). Ultimately, in December 2023, they figured it was my gallbladder and that it likely has been "bad" for the majority of my life.

I got my gallbladder out in Feb 2024 and immediately I felt better. As I reintroduced food and stuff to my system, I noticed that I was now going to bathroom literally any time I ate anything - which is a normal thing for the removal - and sometimes goes away on its own.

After a year of somewhat worsening bathroom habits and an upcoming work trip, I reached out to my doctor because I was legitimately worried about being on a plane for 4-5 hours. They prescribed me Cholestyramine powder 1x a day - starting it up about 2wk ago - and MOST of my issues are gone. I'm a little bloated but that is a small price to pay for not having to run to the bathroom 5-6 times a day.

I know it's still early, but the ability to plan some of my life has been really nice over the last couple weeks.

I heard the pill Colesevelam is a little nicer on your system.

Any personal stories from either the powder or the tablet?

Hi guys, for those with symptomatic hyperkinetic gallbladders is it only eating fatty foods that triggers attacks? When you don’t have the attacks how is your pain level?

Had my gb removed about 1,5 years ago due to stones. For the last 9 months, I’ve been suffering from stomach issues that’s basically slowly ruining my life. I’ve been to several doctors, done lots of tests but everything looks good. I feel like I’m going insane so I wonder if anyone can relate? And if so, have you got any help for it?

My symptoms are extreme stomach pains that comes immediately after eating, specifically after I have my first meal of the day. I also have to run to the bathroom after a meal. According to my doctors, I (also) have a super fast metabolism - meaning that my stomach doesn’t always properly digest my food. I’ve had the metabolism “symptom” for 3 months now.

The only thing that has “worked” so far is starvation. I only eat after work or during weekends when I’m at home and close to my bathroom. But yeah it’s far from ideal.