Hi all, I wanted to.ask you all out there. Self.confessed worry wart.and scoured this forum amd it only scared me of stories post surgery. 3 weeks in hospital.due to a blocked bile duct. Jaundice and well it was hell. After the ercp procedure I feel much better but bloating is horrendous. I'm now scheduled to have my gallbladder removed as on the mri was blocked bile duct amd a bag of stones. My intuition says don't remove ( people say diarhea is forever and you live in the toilet) but surgeon says another stone might pop back in the bile duct or gall bladder infection and never ever want to deal.with that pain again. Is post gall bladder removal that bad? Having no pocket for bile and it dripping into the intestine scares.me but any advice would help as I want my.liver healthy . Thanks all!! 👍
Pending gall bladder removal - British Liver Trust
Pending gall bladder removal
Hi contra21,Welcome.. sorry you have been in so much pain, I personally have not been through what you have but my sister has . She had her gallbladder removed 4 years ago due to same as yourself, she was In awful pain , regardless of the bile duct being cleared of stones she still ended up in pain, jaundice and her liver function affected , the procedure went well was only a day operation so she was allowed home the same day ,obviously I was there the first few days to look after her but she's had no issues at all , other than watching what she eats ,especially fats . So don't be worried about what you hear or what you read , good luck
Best wishes linda
Hi,I had my hall bladder removed a few years ago.
Best thing I ever did the pain was horrendous prior to my operation.
In and out the same day and back at work the following week.
I just be careful not to eat rich or fatty foods too often.
I hope all goes well for you
X
Glad your op went well. apart from the pain. What other symptoms did you have. For the last few weeks I've been bloated, nauseous and had flu like symptoms.
My main symptoms were bloating and indigestion. The pain was worse at night. Felt like I was having a heart attackx
Sorry to hear of your issues but I'm sure surgery will help. Out of interest what other symptoms do you have pre op. I'm currently being investigated for blocked ducts. I was fine until two weeks ago but am now bloated and nauseous, flu like aches and pains and so tired. I've also lost weight. Only in the past couple of weeks.
Hi, just been reading your post. I have elevated liver enzymes and bile duct problems which are being investigated. Did you find out what was causing your problems and have you had any other treatment or procedures?
As I replied on the other post, even if you do have post op problems it can be treated and I can assure you theres no need to spend your life in the loo !
I was one of the unfortunate ones who did have terrible post op diarrhoea but now I’m on treatment I have no problems at all and I can eat more or less what I like.
Obviously nodody wants to hear the potential down sides but I believe best to be aware, read up and seek help if needs be.
I had my liver transplant carried out at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, over here in Birmingham. This was back in 2016.
In 2017 the Hospital held a celebration party to commemorate the 5000th Liver Transplant to be carried out by this hospital.
There are seven national liver transplant centres over here in the UK. I would imagine that by now some 40,000+ people have since had a liver transplant carried out. When a liver transplant is carried out, the gallbladder isn’t used. So, there are many people out there walking around the UK today without a gallbladder. If you took this even further and looked at the world average, there must be hundreds of thousands of people who don’t have a gallbladder.
Over my seven years post-transplant, I’ve never suffered from any adverse effects from not having a gallbladder.
It’s really a no-brainer. If you don’t have the procedure carried out, then gallstones can become lodged in the bile duct. This in turn means that the bile is unable to flow and can become backed up and later infected.. This then starts to cause damage to the liver.
If you are being advised to have your gallbladder removed, then your doctors wouldn’t be telling you this if it wasn’t necessary.
Having the gallbladder removed and all leftover stones, will prevent any blockage from happening. Listen to the experts and stop reading so-called horror stories online.
Be strong and go for the Opp.
Best Wishes
Richard
With respect Richard the problems some of us had after surgery are not “so called horror stories” they are very real and not uncommon, we are all different and some do have problems post op. I have known people who have suffered in silence for years because they weren’t aware treatments were available.
My original comments that this poster has picked up on were on another post where I was in conversation to someone else who is having problems. I believe it’s always better to be informed but to remain open minded.
I had my gallbladder out a few years ago and I have been fine. The pain before was absolutely horrendous so to me it is a no brainer.
Hi, Richard has said it allI had a liver transplant nearly 8n years ago I am really well I have no problems living without a gallbladder,
I had a Whipple procedure, eight years ago, took out the gallbladder, plus a whole lot more. I pretty much lead a normal life, can eat mostly what I want, with a very few exceptions. Diarrhoea is certainly not an issue with me. However, I do accept that everyone is different. Hope this helps with your decision.
I had my gall bladder removed a few months ago, my stomach is bad but I have AIH and just been diagnosed with cancer. At least I don’t have any more nausea. I was told I had gall bladder polyps, after biopsy turned out it was scarred due to previous infection, glad it’s gone.
Hello. I had my gallbladder removed in July last year. I had it done while on holidays out in the Philippines. I've had no adverse eh from its removed I can eat anything I like without a problem.I had the same as you a stone blocking the bile duct which made me quite ill.
I wouldn't worry too much about it. The pain of the gallstones is far worse than anything after the removal of the gallbladder brings.
Good luck. Jx
My 60 year old wife had hers removed in 1988 and has never had a problem since. She's had two children and said her gallstone pain was worse than childbirth.
I had my gall bladder removed 9 months ago as it was full of sludge and niggling away. Have a terrible family history of gall stone issues so decided removal was better than waiting for the inevitable acute emergency.
Had keyhole surgery and was home the same day. It took a few days for the gas to disappear and then I felt more comfortable. Was able to take my post op recovery at a steady pace, tiredness was an issue at the beginning!
I had quite a few niggling twinges post op, but put that down to my body getting over the trauma of the surgery and then having to get used to having no gall bladder. I haven’t changed my diet at all and so far have had no adverse effects.
The hardest thing was not lifting my grand daughter as you are advised to not lift too much weight for six weeks post op!!!
Me too my niece . I'm 5 weeks post off was ok now the trapped wind pain is back tong that sent me to the er in scared
Hope everything is OK and it was just some trapped wind x
honestly hun you’ll be fine. I’ve had mine out and the only thing that makes me race to the loo is fresh cream! I know loads that have removed their gall bladder removed and been fine.
Like you say the pain of stones is horrendous and you’ll never have it again!
Good luck 😊
I still have my gall bladder and cream does that to me anyway
Hello ,
I am in the same situation ! I have had 3 episodes of pancreatitis due to gall stones in the past 6 months . I have been seen by a surgeon who feels I need my gallbladder removed . As I also have cirrhosis due to none alcoholic fatty liver disease I have been referred to my local liver unit 30 miles from home .
I’m not looking forward to any type of surgery key hole or open but anything to avoid the horrendous pain of pancreatitis again . The pain is so unpredictable as I’m unable to identify my main triggers .
Having spoken to friends family and colleagues when have has gallbladder removal , their lives have improved dramatically with no significant long term problems.
I am waiting fora CT scan report to be seen by my surgeon to decide what the best /safest approach to take .
Try not to worry too much ,
Good luck
Had my gallbladder removed 20 years never had problems with eating etc like you I had a stone stuck in my bile duct pain was the worst I've ever had, no way would I ever want to be at risk of that again, I had some post op issues due to a surgical mistake but gallbladder removal is such a common operation now very really do mistakes happen. Both my mum and dad also had gallbladder removal and never had any issues afterwards.Hilary
Hi. I had my gallbladder removed a few years ago, keyhole. I had a 2cm gallstone removed! Surgeon said one of the largest he had seen and plonked it in a container at the end of my hospital bed lol.
It’s not a major op.
Yes, it can cause loose stools and yes it’s wise to watch what you eat after because you have no filter. However not major..avoid fruit with pips, seeds, high fat (limit),
I was diagnosed with Bile Malabsorption 2 years after. It is calmed, get flare ups, but tbh I have a completely different, more healthy diet now and know what to avoid.
Avoiding this op could cause you harm, aside of pain. It’s very serious when gallstones get stuck in the bile duct. I don’t believe any surgeon would perform the of if wasn’t felt necessary.
Your body adjusts anyway.
Gallstones can be a tiny as a grain of sand or collected, like mine, to a large ball.
Wish you well x
5 weeks post op I'm getting the same pain I got pre operation. Trapped wind pain. I was fine and now is back. Takes days to dissipate and worried. Happened after I ate a banana, used to get the pain pre to. Thought I was healed and now it's back. Worried
Hi,
5 weeks post op is very little time tbh. It can can take many months for all to settle.
It’s really important to be careful what you eat after gall bladder removal, something generally Dr)s do not seem to warn of.
Bananas are very indigestible so may of played up, remember a gallbladder is a filter which you no longer have.
I find fatty food, anything with seeds or pips in, some dairy food, beef and more messes me up. I’m years since surgery and eat a low fat, healthy, natural as possible diet. Note I also got diagnosed with Bile Malabsorption due to removal of gallbladder so even more careful which helps a lot.
Maybe trial and error differently for all.
X
How do you know ofnit bile malabsorbtion? I've been so dozzy anxious low bp too with I didn't take it out but was so sick
Bile malabsorption ..basically you get serious, frequent, urgent loose stools. It’s quite debilitating as have to be near a loo when flares up..cuts your freedom down.
Not everyone suffers this after gallbladder removal. It’s basically because the gallbladder is a filter and when it’s removed you have no filter so waste /bile is dumping rather than slowly filtering. This clearly isn’t a medical description! 😊😊
What did you forget to take out?
Be patient, watch what you eat, trial and error so early. Took a year for my removal to be largely settled. Everyone is different but 5 weeks is defo too soon to have normality.
Hope that helps. Don’t worry.
I had mine removed 15 years ago, it was the best thing I ever did. I’m not sure where you read about ‘living in the toilet’ but certainly not my experience. Gall stones are dangerous things to live with, and really uncomfortable. It’s key-hole surgery, and you won’t even have a scar from it, as they go through your navel.
There's a charity for patients with bile acid diarrhoea bad-uk.org. It has a facebook group where many of the people have had their gallbladders removed; they would be good people to discuss the pros and cons. Most people who have bile acid malabsorption/diarrhoea also have fatty liver disease so there's a significant overlap between the patients here and in that group. Many of the discussions there are about taking bile acid binders (colesevelam etc) and weight loss drugs (liraglutide) to deal with the diarrhoea.
I take the binder Colestyramine and it’s been a life saver, I literally couldn’t eat anything but bread and yoghurt post op, lost shed loads of weight so became underweight.
Seems people don’t want to hear about the very common problems that can happen 🤷♀️
Because of pain? I was fine and now the pain ( trapped wind) I used to get pre surgery I got past. 5 weeks later I was great and boom, thought it was gone. Can't eat, pain takes days to go away
No never had pain before or after, my op was because of a suspicious polyp not stones.
Maybe you have a blocked duct again, also a common problem.
Mine is our,ey down to revival of gallsbladder, haven’t any of the other things you mentioned. It is know to be be a possible after effect of gallbladder remove for a percentage of people. It can also calm down over time or get word, particularly if converting diets is ignored.
Hi I had a liver transplant 6 months ago and just been for a scan and they mentioned I didn’t have a gallbladder. Obviously did not pay attention to that bit of of information about the liver transplant. So up until today I didn’t know. Toilet habit is not the strict routine it used to be but I haven’t had any issues. Hope you get sorted
You didn't know you had no gallbladder?
think I was so focused on my liver and that I needed a transplant I mustn’t have paid attention!
Did they remove it,? Wow a transplant how are you feeling? That's life changing 🙌
yes it’s standard when you have a transplant. I feel great thanks for asking
Hi there, I'm 3 weeks post op and a few days ago nearly fainted. Ever since I have felt so dizzy , and told my glucose was high eh pre diabetec. My endocrinologist said I'm ok but o camt help worry as I never felt like this ore surgery. Never had glucose issues. Does gall bladder removal cause problems
Hi I had my gallbladder removed a few years ago and I basically eat as before, tho I make sure not to eat too much rich food . In moderation I’m fine . If I overdo rich or acidic I get nauseous, but as that food isn’t good for anyone in excess it’s fine . Hope all works well for you , personally I’m glad I had my gallbladder removed, as u found it can be really painful
Hi my wife had the blocked bile duct problem from a gall stone and my wife had her gallbladder removed when she had her liver transplant and did not even know it had been taken she only found out when she went in for something else
But she has had no problems at all with it being removed and they do not remove the bile duct so you will not be swiming round in bile
Dave
Hi there. Just read your post and all the responses to your question. I too had my gallbladder removed a number of years ago. The Surgeon also removed a gallstone which was the size of a large "Golf Ball" which I can't remember swallowing - just joking. I experienced no problems and have no regrets whatsoever in having it removed. Brilliant NHS service. Take care.
I had my gallbladder removed 5 years ago, I had two large stones, but no pain. Operation went well, but I caught an infection, unfortunately I was unable to go to toilet properly for some weeks, but after that I was okay. What I am saying is not everyone has long term problems, and I eat what I want, so try not to worry too much.
I had my gallbladder out 5 years ago after pancreatitis caused by stones. I did have diarrhoea afterwards but I am now on sachets of Questran. I only need one sachet a day, although some people need more. There are apparently tablets you can take, which would probably be better than the sachets but I'm used to them now. Anything is better than the pain though! I was probably just unlucky as my Mum and Niece had no problems after their gallbladders were removed. Please don't worry too much. The majority of people have no after effects. And taking the Questran means I can more or less eat what I want now.
gallbladder removal
Anxious wait for Liver Biopsy
Jaundice - unexplained
