Get rid of it.
I had a horrible stone attack in Feb. 2008, tried to hold off on surgery with a low fat diet, but then the stone attacks came back with a vengeance earlier this year. Oh, how I wished I’d gotten the little bastid taken out when the problem first made itself known.
I was miserable for the first few days after surgery, but then improved every day and was able to go back to work in about 7 to 10 days.
OK, I’m going to get it out. It was very good to hear the personal stories to help me mull things over. I think at this point, “better safe than sorry” is the best route.
Off to call the surgeon . . .
Dumb question.
Why can’t they just take the stones out? Why must the whole thing go?
For 1 thing the stones will likely come back so there is not really a point in taking just the stones out.
I had mine yanked in 2006. Went into surgery on Tuesday, went back to work the following Monday. I’ve known some people that couldn’t eat certain things afterwards, but I’m not one of them.
If you’ve already met your deductible - heck yeah! Do it! Stones in the bile duct are very dangerous - may as well take a few days now to see that it never happens.
BTW: Hi neighbor 
They can take the stones out, but it’s a more complicated procedure than removing the gallbladder, and it leaves the gallbladder scarred, which can lead to problems. And it doesn’t solve the problem, as stones will recur. It’s quicker, easier, safer, and more effective to remove the gallbladder.
My dog has some gunk in her gallbladder so I am treating her with medicine. I guess they might eventually take it out but right now she is doing fine. Of course I control her diet so that helps .
My sister is better off without her gall bladder, but do make sure your surgeon is experienced, appropriately confident and doesn’t have the shakes. They started the keyhole surgery on my sister… and sliced straight into her aorta. She just barely survived thanks to another surgeon being nearby, scrubbed and a fucking genius-saint, and huge amounts of blood transfusions. And of course they had to rip her right open there and then, leaving her with a dramatic scar right down the middle of her abdomen from her breastbone to her navel. Then she had to go back and have the gall bladder out after several months of trying to recover with it still in (stitching up the aorta put the gall bladder out of the picture the first time), and they had to do it the old-fashioned way, opening the scar again. It was a bad time; but she does feel a lot better for not having it.
Having told that lovely tale, I occasionally have gall bladder attacks, and I can tell you that if they were more frequent (I haven’t had one for a long while now, years, thanks to my diet etc) I would so have it out. There’s nothing like the pain.
That sounds truly horrific! I’m lucky - this surgeon seems really experienced - he graduated from Columbia and taught surgery at Tufts for 10 years, and two unrelated local docs recommended him. Much better than, “it’s 10 pm and your appendix might burst - you get the surgeon on call!”
My husband’s surgeon is a very experienced surgeon, and he was in awe of his gallstone. For what that’s worth. 
I think Jimbo’s only lingering after effect is that when he has to have a bowel movement, he has to have one RIGHT NOW. As in, drop everything and run to the can. I think he’s fairly regular though, so can plan accordingly (I don’t quiz him too much on his bathroom business). Oh yeah, there’s the pain and numbness in the incision area that is still lingering too - hopefully that will eventually work itself out.
I had my gall bladder out about 21 years ago after my first (and only) horrific attack. I had already had kidney stones, and remember thinking “this feels like kidney stones, but in the wrong place”. It was agonizing!
By the time they could squeeze me into the surgery rotation (four days later), my gall bladder had distended so badly that it had partially adhered to my rib cage, and I ended up having to be cut wide open (about a 9" incision). So I’d strongly recommend doing it now.
I’m really glad you’re feeling better, and intend no snark here at all, but as far as the body continuing to produce gall stones, but in the liver, cite? As I said, I had my gall bladder out over 20 years ago, and as far as I know, my liver is just fine (and yes, I’ve had it checked recently).
The problem with my gall bladder occurred almost 10 years ago; needless to say I no longer have the bookmarks to the sites I checked. However, I just searched now and found this site.
This one does not mention them forming (post surgery) in the liver but in the bile ducts.
Herbal therapy worked for me.
I just had my gall bladder out a couple months ago. I’d been having symptoms for years and ended up having to make a middle-of-the-night run to the ER. I didn’t have to have surgery that night, so I was able to schedule it with a doctor I liked. They did a single-incision laparoscopic surgery, so they went in through the belly button but didn’t do the little incision under the ribs. I went in on a Thursday at about 6:30 am and was home by 3 pm. I took the pain meds that day and the next and I was up and about, taking the kids to swim practice, by Monday. I’ve been able to eat a totally normal diet since.
I think you’ll be happy you had it done. If, for whatever reason, your preferred surgeon doesn’t work out, PM me and I’ll give you the name of my doctor. I would definitely recommend him.
Besides gallstones and gallstone attacks, untreated gallstones can lead to other problems. These include:
Jaundice. Jaundice develops when a stone passes from the gallbladder through the cystic duct into the bile duct and blocks the bile duct. Patients present with a yellowish discoloration of their skin associated with severe itchiness. An emergency procedure by a gastroenterologist is often required to remove the stones from the bile duct.
Acute pancreatitis. In some patients passage of the stone from the gallbladder into the bile duct is associated with injury to the pancreas. Pancreatitis is one of the most severe complications of gallstones. Of all patients that develop pancreatitis, 85% of the patients get better very quickly however in 15% the attack can be severe and lead to hospitalization that may extend for many days to weeks in an intensive care unit. Pancreatitis develops with severe pain in the abdomen and back that is associated wit nausea, vomiting, and fevers.
Cancer of the gallbladder. In some patients when gallstones are present over many years (usually more than 15 years) there is an increase risk of cancer in the gallbladder.
(From this web site: http://www.surgery.usc.edu/divisions/tumor/pancreasdiseases/web%20pages/BILIARY%20SYSTEM/LAP%20CHOLE-GALLSTONES.html)
I believe there is also a correlation between chronic gallbladder problems and Pancreatic cancer…or so my surgeon told me.
I had mine out in an outpatient clinic. I was uncomfortable for a day or so. Within a few days I was back at my normal activities
I had mine out this past August 25th. The same day they came out with the results that Michael Jackson died from an overdose or Propofol. I remember because it was being reported on the TV and the nurse casually said, “Oh, Propofol, that’s what they are going to give you in surgery.” My poor husband the worry wart, who was already convinced that something terrible was going to happen, had eyes as big as dinner plates.
It was nothing. I have four small incisions. My surgery was scheduled for 10, I was home by 3. The pain was nothing. The best part is that I never have to have those attacks again. I have been in labor for 19 hours and two c-sections. Gallbladder attacks are still the worst pain I have ever felt.
When I get my camera tomorrow, I’ll post some pictures of my incisions. That may give you an idea of what you will be dealing with. The most uncomfortable incision right after surgery was the one in my bellybutton, and even now, my mother and my husband have commented on how much smaller it is now. It’s like he sewed it shut.
From that site (bolding mine):
From this quote, it seems to me that the body forming gall stones after the gall bladder is removed is not unheard of, but relatively rare. The reason I had asked in the first place is, I was thinking if this was common, you’d hear more about it. I mean, a lot of people get their gall bladders removed these days, especially since it can be done laparascopically now.
At any rate, I really am glad you’re feeling better, and have found a therapy that works for you!
Sounds like your mind’s made up, UC, but I’ll throw in my 2 cents anyway to add to the chorus saying you’re doing the right thing to get it yanked now.
My attacks came mostly at night, which meant a lot of lost sleep, with pain so bad it would literally make me throw up.
By the time I got around to having it removed last summer, I had a single stone nearly the size of a golf ball. (Fortunately, unlike Cat Whisperer’s hubby, I was able to have it done laproscopically.) Recovery was quick and easy, and I’ve noticed zero change in my body’s digestive habits.
Just by chance, I had the surgery on my 45th birthday. Whenever someone said something like, “what a terrible way to spend your birthday,” I’d say, on the contrary: getting this thing outta me was the best present I could have hoped for.
The doctors do tell me that loose or more frequent stools are a possibility after surgery, and that most people who get that find it gets better over time.
Since my main symptom now is diarrhea with violent, gut-ripping intestinal cramps, sweating, and generally feeling like I’m going to die, I don’t think loose stools are a reason to avoid surgery! And ever since I was oh, 12 or so, I’ve noticed that I can’t eat a ton of fat (like fast food for two meals in a row) without getting diarrhea. So it’s not like I’ll have to radically change my lifestyle. In fact, I wonder if I’ve been working on stones for a few decades, since I’ve always had this symptom after eating a lot of fat - it’s just that lately it has started happening even when I eat pretty normally.
I really appreciate everyone sharing. It has helped me a lot!
You might find yourself with the opposite situation–the worst constipation of your entire life–for a couple days post-op due to the anesthesia and not being permitted oral fluids for quite some time either (they don’t want ice chips or lots of fluid intake to stimulate the gut too much when it’s just starting to recover).
I PM’d you, BTW.
IME, post-op constipation (and believe me, when it comes to post-op, I have a lot of experience, having had more than a 15 procedures/surgeries that required general anesthesia), is most often the result of the post-op narcotics. That doesn’t mean you should eschew the narcotics (heaven forbid! 
), but you should be aware that it’s a possibility that you might get constipated, and keep a stool softener (not a laxative, a stool softener) on hand. Here’s a recipe for a good home-made one:
1C prune juice
1C all-bran flakes
1C applesauce
Cinnamon and honey to make it more palatable
Mix together and allow it to get “mushy”, which should happen pretty quickly. Take 2TBSP at bedtime, and your bowels will love you in the morning. 
Also (again, IME), they usually let you have at least ice chips pretty soon post-op, often in the recovery room (it helps if you start bugging them as soon as you can ). The only exception to this has been when I had my weight-loss surgery three years ago, and I wasn’t allowed to have anything for 24 hours. Other abdominal surgeries, they’ve been pretty quick to at least allow me ice chips, once they ascertained I wasn’t nauseated.