I’m in the hospital. Went to ER yesterday with abdominal pain, and after ultrasound and blood work, have a gallbladder stone and some inflammation and mild infection. Two IV antibiotics overnight with fluids, and fasted in case of surgery.
Surgical team showed up at 6:30 this morning, assessed pain (at 0 to less than 1 when pressed really hard in the right place). Right now, haven’t seen the surgeon himself, but 6 people were in my room. Never been hospitalized before, this is all really weird. My caffeine withdrawal headache is the most uncomfortable right now!
Resident who did most of the talking and re-examined me with the team, said it’s still a 50/50 chance the surgeon will want to go ahead with gallbladder and stone removal today. Some prefer to do it right away, and some, especially with my positive response overnight, will wait and see for 6 weeks. Of course, it’s up to me. I could ask to go ahead with it today, apparently they have room in the schedule.
I’ve never had gallbladder pain or anything before yesterday. No history of problems whatsoever. But it seems if it happens once, it will probably happen again, plus there is for sure a stone. So surgery seems inevitable anyway.
Tell me about your gallbladder issues! I’m so hungry.
I’m of ZERO help on your questions, but I’m so sorry you ended up in the hospital! I hope you get lots of good advice so you can make a decision one way or another, and get the heck out of there.
Get it done. I missed out, due to mis-diagnosis, and because it was then not considered urgent it would no longer be free, so I declined. I have suffered multiple attacks since, some incredibly painful.
I haven’t had one in about six years, but they could happen at any time. They probably aren’t dangerous for me, but if you suffered an actual infection then I think that’s enough of a reason to get it seen to now, when the opportunity is right there.
Go for it. Gallbladder attacks are officially not fun. The stone is not going to go away, it’s just going to get worse. It’s a relatively minor surgery these days.
I would wait until next year, so it all contributes to the same out-of-pocket maximum. This is because I’m currently waiting on a similar medical procedure until after January 1st. If you live in a place where you don’t pay for healthcare, or if cost is not a factor, do it now.
Go for it. I had mine out a year ago. I’d had multiple attacks I’d just suffered through never knowing the source of the pain. Finally Christmas Eve I had an attack and was in enough pain I went to the ER. The ER couldn’t do a proper ultrasound but was pretty confident the pain was my gallbladder. Spent Christmas day drugged up and had an ultrasound the next day. They sent me to the ER to expedite me getting to surgery.
Stayed in the hospital over night and had it removed the next day. Stayed overnight again and the sent me on my way. Took about a week to recover, and was told to avoid heavy lifting for a month.
The stone was large enough that my gallbladder had already been effectively useless. I stuck with the recommended low fat diet well beyond the months time they recommend probably 6 months. I’m down 40 pounds because of it.
Given the pain it can cause you and the minor surgery to prevent it I see no reason to wait.
I had one attack, and if I could have taken it out myself to stop the pain, I would have. I had it out within the week.
So, for me, taking it out was the answer. I had to have the full cut, so the recovery was longer than it would have been otherwise, and a couple of common digestive issues for a couple of weeks, but since then, absolutely no problems at all.
Eeep! Since I only have my phone, it’s tough to quote and stuff, so thanks for all your input! I have a Blue Cross HMO which has done right by me for 10 years so far. Pretty sure this stay will put me out $300.
After talking with yous guys, the parental units, a couple of friends, and my bosses, I’m going ahead with the surgery. My time off will be covered, and I’ll just be putting off the inevitable if I skip it today. Plus, only a few days of diet restriction this way, as opposed to more diet restriction for as long as it takes to reschedule the surgery.
Good luck, and another (belated) vote for “do it now.” I didn’t get mine done right away (partly because I was young and didn’t recognize the symptoms for what they were). By the time I got it diagnosed, the gall bladder had started to disintegrate, and what would have been a minor surgery turned into a several-day ordeal with antibiotic drips, abdominal drains, and the most uncomfortable IV site I can ever recall.
Best of luck with the surgery! I think you’re making the right decision - my husband knew he had gallstones, waited to get them out, and when he did finally have to get them out (had a massive attack), they had to go with the big incision rather than the laparoscopy because his stone was so big (it’s about the size of a black olive). Sooner rather than later seems like a good idea to me if you’re going to have them out one day anyway.
I didn’t post from the ER. I posted at 7 the morning after I was admitted, well rested, already consulted with the surgical team, and with 5 hours to kill before I had to make my final decision to pull out, and too early to start calling people at work or family or friends. Just curious about what other people have experienced. Taking my mind off being so hungry and this caffeine withdrawal headache.
I’m so hungry. And watching Mario Batalli cooking something delicious on The Chew. And anticipating a trip to Eataly in my near future. It just opened Monday!
You’re getting that new-fangled laparoscopy surgery, right? I’ve heard that pretty much makes it minor surgery, except for the general anesthesia part. Wishing you luck.
Oh, and this isn’t going to affect your decision, but it’s usually not just one stone. One stone would only cause trouble if it got stuck in the duct, and that would be an attack that wouldn’t go away. If you’ getting an attack, there’s more than one. But you’ll soon be rid of all of them.