Gall Bladder - stay or go?

[TwinkleTwinkle]

Can anyone tell me what purpose the gall bladder serves & is there any price to pay for having it removed. I have only become aware of this problem due to this forum & not at the time I saw the surgeon or I would have asked him. It wasn't mentioned by him either although I did have a scan earlier this year as I has severe pain in my side & the doctor thought it may be gall bladder related - it wasn't & the scan was fine (but did show my liver was fatty ) it turned out to be food poisoning from my birthday treat at a lovely (but deadly) restaurant. So the surgeon had a record of this scan & wondered if this is why it was not mentioned. Can you request it to be removed to save later problems? What do you all think?

 

[Josiegirl]

I think it is an excellent idea, and he can only say no can't he? I would be asking for this myself but think it is too late as my op is on Monday. I just had a phone call from Spire Yale making sure I was going to be there for 7.30am gulp!

I would go ahead and ask if I were in your shoes love

 

[Wendy1]

Good luck for Monday Josie, you will soon be a slim Josie xx

 

[TwinkleTwinkle]

Thanks Josie, It is my pre assessment on the 19th so I will ask & as you say, they can always say no, but wondered if there was a drawback to being gall bladderless.
Good luck for Monday, sweetie, will be thinking of you xxx

 

[Josiegirl]

Thank you very much Swinging between absolute calm one minute to jitters the next at the moment

 

[blueeyes]

One can live perfectly without a gallbladder. I know lots of people who had theirs removed (not as part of WLS). One can also live perfectly WITH gallstones though, provided they don't cause much trouble. I have had gallstones for over 20 years and never had them or the gallbladder removed. They used to give me grief but for the last 10 years or so I only ever have pain about once a year, sometimes less than that. Not worth the surgery. But if you get persistent trouble and gallbladder pain (which is absolutely horrific) then I suggest having it removed.

I asked my surgeon if he would be prepared to remove it whilst he did my bypass and I was advised that the tools are not placed ideally to do this and it prolongs surgery time, hence increasing the risk for the patient. He didn't think that was a good idea and it would be better to come back 6 months down the line once I'd lost weight.

I doubt they would remove it if you didn't have gallstones yet previously. But let us know what they say at your assessment.

 

[TwinkleTwinkle]

Will do, BD ... thank you for that x

 

[liggielass]

i had my gall bladder out approx 10 years ago and after that i started to gain weight also i developed ibs but; the pain was so bad that i had to have it out ,,,good luck for monday josie,

 

[flowerofshona]

Was glad to see the back of mine after 3 years of shear hell !! ended up on pethadin at home and having infections in my pancreas.
So my advice is if you can get rid of it !!

 

[Magsy]

I have had my gall bladder out, i used to get frequent attacks and i can honestly say the pain was on a par with childbirth, They do say that you can get problems with your gall bladder after surgery due to the change in diet. Having mine removed was a positive thing for me hun but of course that is just my opinion x

 

[TwinkleTwinkle]

Thanks everyone ... you all came through for me yet again