# Tell me about your Gall Bladder problems **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 30, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-gall-bladder-problems/306096 "2005-05-30T15:41:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-gall-bladder-problems/306096/21 "2005-05-31T16:38:18Z")
I had mine out when I was about 22. I’d been on Jenny Craig for several months, went to visit a friend, went off the diet and had just about everything I ate dipped in butter. I ended up getting an ambulance to the ER because my diaphragm started spasming from the pain and I was having trouble breathing. The doc diagnosed gallstones, and I was sent home with instructions to get ahold of my regular (military, as my dad is retired military and I was still covered by his plan) doc and get it taken out. Got it done laproscopically. These days, I can tell if I’m eating less fat in my diet, because I get a lot more bile in my bowel movements. Other than that, I’m good. Oh, and I found out a couple of years ago that there was a class action lawsuit filed against Jenny Craig because so many of its customers had gallstone problems after going off their diet. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-gall-bladder-problems/306096/22 "2005-06-01T05:42:33Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > So point 1, gall stones can give you Pancreatitis if you are unlucky. > Point 2, you don’t want pancreatitis. No. No, you don’t. I’m lucky enough to have chronic pancreatitis (that’s why I had my GB out - they thought it might be the cause. It wasn’t). I just spent six months not eating food. Fun stuff. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-gall-bladder-problems/306096/23 "2005-06-01T20:33:44Z")
> [@ltfire](#): > > Had mine out some 30 years ago, long before a laproscope was even invented. 14 day hospital stay, an incision that started 4 inches above my naval, on a downward course, ending on my side, for a total of 12 inches. The removal of the appendix was standard while the surgeon was in there…they are close together…but the surgeon told me afterwards that my gall bladder was so diseased, he just took that, and got the hell out of there. > > I have two of the stones in a bottle, that are the size of jawbreakers. Perfectly round balls of calcium. I think that’s what I was told. > > Oh yeah, and much pain before, and much pain during recuperation. I was out of work for 5 weeks. Major stuff back in the day. My wife just reminded me of the REST of the story. The date was Feb. 12, 1972…so it’s been 33 years. While I was on the surgical floor having the gall bladder removed, my wife was on the maternity floor, giving birth to my son. True story. We have a picture of me in a hospital gown, in a wheel chair, trying to smile for the camera with my new born on my lap. I wasn’t successful. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-gall-bladder-problems/306096/24 "2005-06-01T21:42:14Z")
Just a note Gallstones are not Calcium (Kindney stones are commonly calcium) gall stones are about 85% cholesterol. ---
**Author:** ![beckwall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-gall-bladder-problems/306096/25 "2005-06-02T04:29:40Z")
I had one attack, then didn’t have another for about 10 years. Then they kept coming and coming, regardless of what or if I ate anything. I couldn’t find a comfortable position - walking would help for awhile, laying flat was horrible, I curled up on the floor a lot. It took awhile for my POS HMO to approve it, but eventually (after 3 ER visits, and an attack that lasted about 6 hours!) I was able to have it removed laparoscopically. The surgeon said there was considerable scar tissue involved, and if I had waited any longer it may have ended up being an “open” procedure with a large incision and even larger bill to pay. Luckily, I was at the hospital for less than 6 hours, including pre-op and surgery and recovery, and I felt great soon thereafter. Best thing I ever did. Minimal discomfort and great relief for me, YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![meara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@meara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meara)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-gall-bladder-problems/306096/26 "2005-06-02T07:58:48Z")
I had attacks for several years and they were awful – 4 to 8 hours of agony. The only thing that helped at all was having someone rub my back constantly to distract me. At first, the clinic I went to told me it was GERD (acid reflux), but Prevacid didn’t help at all. Two years later, I went to a new doctor and he immediately pinned it on my GB and sent me in for an ultrasound to confirm. The next day, he called, told me I needed to have it removed, and referred me to the surgeon who had operated on him and hs wife. Unfortunately, I went online and read enough horror stories to scare myself out of scheduling the surgery. I imagined everything from gas bubbles in my shoulders to lacerated bile ducts to ending up needing the open surgery. One thing I was paranoid about was that extra weight was going to cause complications. (Turns out that it’s no big deal and that most people who have this surgery are overweight, so the statistics already account for that.) The pain got worse and worse and finally I gave in and had it done (laproscopic, outpatient, no hospital stay). Took about a week of not moving much to recover and a month or two to get back to normal energy levels. After that, it’s mostly the digestive issues that others have mentioned, but that lessens over time. My biggest issue 2 years later is stomach cramps if I skip breakfast. Good luck! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-gall-bladder-problems/306096.md?page=1)