Ok....saw my surgeon today again! So he has agreed that he would remove it......if i really cant cope with the symptoms im having. He said that i dont have typical gallbladder symptoms but said that he has checked everything else and that their is nothing sinister in any of the tests that i have done. That the only thing that has came back postitive is the 2 ultrasounds that i have done which have shown i have significantly thickened gallbladder walls and polyps. He has given me a couple of weeks to think about it and said if i do decide to go ahead with the surgery, their is an 8 week waiting list.Guaranteed they wont go over the 8 week mark. Im kind of worried now as what he said that i dont have the typical gallbladder symptoms.......He said that if i do get it removed, my symptoms may go or stay......im sooo confused now !! My symptoms ares: Digestive problems/ on and off random nausea/ upper abdomen tenderness even where gb is it feels bruised tender when pressed on. Upper back aches/ feeling like a i have a trapped muscle in my right shoulderblade,feeling of tugging/nagging/niggle feelings sensation where gb is/ .generally feeling unwell/fluish and sour upper stomach feelings........it goes on!!! lol Anyone else here have or had a simular story?? Please help! xxx
I am no doctor but those symptoms sound like they could be symptoms of gallbladder to me. If your gallbladder is thickened then it is irritated at the very least, then the question is why? If you have a polyp then maybe that answers the question. I'm guessing that no doctor would be confident of a complete cure with lack of evidence of stones but that doesn't mean to say there aren't any lurking that an ultrasound hasn't picked up. Of course the decision is yours but you've had enough discomfort to have these tests and they have found nothing else. If you have your gallbladder removed then you are at least removing the most likely culprit. Not an easy decision for you but if I was you, I'd have the bugger out. Mines gone and I am glad it is! Good luck x
Yes Lisa.......its all confused me!! Its scary too! I petrified of being put under ect as i dont know what to expect! I have a huge fear of being sick so that doesnt help Can you tell me how yours went/ before and after surgery? xxx
Hi, Vonniexx, sorry to learn you're having these troubles. I think it is rare that someone has the "textbook" symptoms. Drs seem more comfortable when someone fits the map they'be been given in medical school. But every person on this site had somewhat different symptoms. Your gallbladder is showing signs of distress. Did your doctor tell you that gallbladder polyps can become cancerous? There are lots of people on this site who have NHS who have had several operation dates only to see them cancelled. My thinking is that if you have a diseased organ that you can part with without significant distress, it's best to be rid of it. Good Luck, and please let us know how you get on!
I was naturally a bit nervous but I have to say that the op was a doddle for me. I was worried there may be difficulties because my gallbladder was full of stones, very thick and my LFT's didnt resolve in the 7 months I was waiting but it went fine.
It was a very deep sleep. I've had generals before but never seemed to be as knocked out as I was for the gallbladder. I went down at 9.20am, in recovery about 11, back on the ward around 12. There was some pain, mostly where the gallbladder was and it felt a bit like an attack. Not quite as bad as an attack but I could not lay down flat. I'd say the worst of the pain was gone within 24 hours. The incisions weren't painful at all. They'd glued them and covered them in a waterproof glue dressing. There was some bruising underneath I could feel but not too bad. I was home by 4.30 in the afternoon. I was sick only once and that was on the way home but I think it was the car journey. They gave me oramorph but I've used that sparingly because it makes it difficult to pee and makes nausea worse.
It took about a week to get some sort of appetite back. I'm day 12 post op and still have a little discomfort right side but really recovering well considering. Sleep was difficult the first few days mainly due to the gas I think. I used a body pillow and that helped. My appetite is returning to normal now though I get full rather quickly, which is no bad thing for me. I can now eat what I like and I do not appear to have any adverse reaction from the surgery. I have to say, I am totally and utterly relieved to get rid of my gallbladder. I have no regrets whatsoever! If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have been nervous at all.
Thanks Lisa!! You have more guts than me!! Im a big scardy cat lol!! What do they do for prepping you for surgery???
Well I had two pre ops because I had to change hospitals but they were more or less the same. They did height, weight, blood pressure, medical history, blood tests and MRSA swabs. First hospital gave me an ECG. That was it. When I was admitted, they were very thorough checking through everything again several times. I felt very safe. The second hospital I would choose over the big general one. I can get anxious, especially with lots of people and noise. It was a 35 bed private hospital that takes NHS under choose and book for certain procedures. The surgeons were all contracted for the general hospital anyway! It was so calm, I had my own room, it was quiet and it was perfect for my nerves! I almost wished I could have stayed :-D They actively encouraged my husband to stay with me the whole time which was a big difference from the large general hospital where all visitors had to be left at the door. So I wouldn't say I was brave, I just felt calm and looked after. :-)
Hi,
Your symptoms and diagnosis is/was the same as mine. They removed my gallbladder 3 years ago now. Problem is I still get the pain just sometime not as bad. Doctors have ran tests and don't know why 😟
Good luck
I just posted this as its own topic and hopefully it helps you too. I was having attacks off and on for years. My girlfriend researched the symptoms and guessed it was my gallbladder. I had a really bad attack, throwing up, high fever, jaundice, skin looked almost orange. I went to the doctor. He said yes, it's your gallbladder and we're going to remove it. I said not until I do some more research and see if diet can make any difference. The doctor was incredulous and said the gallstones were really big and "I wouldn't last a week." That was about 3 1/2 years ago and I've still got my gallbladder. I still eat eggs, coffee, and other 'trigger foods'. Here's how. My girlfriend noticed the common denominator in my attacks wasn't fat. It was wheat. A bagel, bread, a muffin, and I'd be throwing up. So we changed my diet. Gluten free. No wheat. She makes pizzas, cheese plates, turkey burgers with gluten free buns, no problems at all. I've had one mild attack maybe every six months but here's the interesting thing. It's always after I've had wheat. I'm traveling and hungry and can't find the right foods so I grab a sandwich with white bread, something like this. I can get away with doing it once or twice but beyond that, I'll have an attack. So, I ONLY have attacks after consuming wheat and NEVER if I don't. In 3 1/2 years. I can even sort of feel like I'm getting to the threshold of having an attack after eating wheat and avoid it at all costs then, though I'm really pretty good about that anyway. Now, I haven't read anything medical tying gallbladder problems to wheat/gluten consumption but this has absolutely worked for me. I eat rice bread instead and we've found substitutes for basically every 'wheat product'. It probably has no bearing but maybe worth incidentally mentioning, I don't eat pork or red meat, just poultry and seafood, but that's just a personal preference. Again, I'm not in the health field, just a person with a gallbladder problem who thought passing along my personal experience might help. I signed up to this forum years ago looking for something that could help me. And yes, my girlfriend is the real rock star in all of this. Wishing you all good health! Cheers!
Hi Vonniexx,
I believe I am going through something similar, It's been going on for nearly 2 years now. I have an array of symptoms. I have or get bloating, pressure, nausea, sometimes vomiting, a horrible headache, and when I am in the midst of the attack the only position I am comfortable is lying flat on my back or standing. if I lay on my sides it reproduces the nausea intensly, more so on the right than left. I can push on my abdomen on the right side and it is tender and sometimes can reproduce the pressure in my head. The place it hurts the most is on my rt. side below the rib cage. If I push it reproduces the nausea. I know I sound like a crazy woman. What baffles me is that this came on suddenly 2 years ago. Lasted for several months, all tests came back negative other than a Hiatal Hernia, GERD and an ulcer. I use to work out regularly too. The only thing that helped was giving up gluten and I began to get better. A couple months ago I started eating yogurt again for a few weeks and then bam, attack 2 came on and I am having another one now. Having the symptoms I described above and just feeling sick.
With my attack a month ago went to see GI's NP and she said that GI issues can be difficult to diagnose because the symptomes relate to so many issues. When all tests are negative its generally IBS. A month ago I believed her, but now with this attack I still feel its my gallbladder. Oh, I gave up dairy a month ago.
Through talking with friends I have heard of 3 cases where 1 woman was sick for 2 years, kept having attacks people were saying it was in her head and then finally they caught it in a flareup and it was her appendix. The second case a woman went through years of feeling sick, Md's said it was aniety and Psychotic episodes, they eventually took out her gallbladder and everything cleared up and she was fine. The last case was a man sick for 2 years they couldn't find anything then turned out to be his gallbladder and is fine now.
Then you come on these discussions and see sometimes the people are sometimes worse after having their gallbladder out so what do you do? I wish I had the answer.
When I am in the midst of an attack I just want to go beg to take out my gallbladder. Right now I am day 5 of being sick and my husband want me to go to MD or ER again and I say why so they can run a bunch of tests and tell me nothings wrong.
I am considering going to an endocrineologist as I am approaching 45 and wondering what affect the hormones have on the GI tract.
I know what is going on is not anxiety, I feel its not IBS. Iknow there is something going on it just needs to get caught. I know my body and who I am and things just don't make sense.
I am not an MD but I feel that I would want to be sure its my gallbladder before having it removed. Have you gone for a second opinion?
Hi, Tish, sorry to learn you're having these difficulties. Everyone on this site had somewhat different symptoms. I think that what you're searching for, a definitive answer, may not be possible. Because the digestive system is so interrelated, the presence or absence of one or more components can affect everything else. What I decided was that because my gallbladder was diseased, it needed to be removed. Keeping any diseased organ that can be safely removed, strains your entire body. Gallbladders can become infected and cancerous. Obtaining a second opinion is a good idea, but I don't think that any doctor would be willing state that they were 100% sure about anything. Best of luck to you!