SURGERY TOMORROW.... HOPEFULLY

Hello My January buddies - tomorrow is the day..... I finally have my gall bladder removed. I was wondering, for those of you who have already had theirs removed, is it really that painful of a recovery. I was told it is worse that RNY, honestly my bypass was a breeze, so now I'm getting nervous..... I hate pain. It seems as I get older I can't take pain as well. Would love to hear other experiences.... thanks - Marta

I had my gall bladder removed - laprascopically before my RNY. It was not bad at all. I had a quicker recovery than after the RNY and of course you don't have the whole - eating issues. If you are as bad off as I was with the gall bladder issues you will feel much, much better. Best of luck, Marilyn

thanks Marilyn - I'm actually at the point where I can't wait to get it removed. I have daily attacks and have been living on percocet for awhile now. the attacks are so bad I was starting to get scared. i even don't want to eat anymore, cause i never know what is going to trigger an attack. i can't wait to feel better. Marta

Could one of you lovely ladies clue me into how an attack feels? I had some strange tummy pain last night that I'd rather not repeat...but I have a sinking feeling that it could be the GB :o(. ~Suz

Hey Suz, I started having gall bladder attacks while I was pregnant with my first child...of course, they didn't diagnose it then becuase when you're pregnant, anything can hurt and feel weird! Anyway, during my attacks I would have intense pain on my ride side, just under the rib cage...I would feel nauseous, I would sweat profusely and no matter what position I was in, sitting, standing, lying down...nothing would ease the pain. Usually I would just lay down in front of a fan and after about 30 minutes or so it would pass and then I wouldn't feel anything. My biggest attack happened 3 months after the birth of my child. I was washing dishes and I had this horrible pain in my stomach, like a really bad upset stomach, and I thought I had an upset stomach. So I go to the bathroom and end up vomiting, but the pain wouldn't stop. It was like super intense menstrual cramps, only in my stomach area. The pain got worse, then radiated to my back and shoulders....I couldn't breathe, I seriously thought I was having a heart attack. Turned out to be a severe gall bladder attack. A week later I had it taken out. Attacks usually come on soon after eating, but not always. Hope this helps you some and I hope the gall bladder is not your problem! Marta, I had virtually no pain after my surgery, just some soreness....but I had just had a c-section 3 months before so the gb surgery was nothing to me!

Thanks, Barbara...that sounds like what I had, except that the pain was almost in the center of my chest...my husband asked me if I thought it might be a heart attack. I looked up symptoms and found that the pain can be on the right side or the center....I thought that I might have been safe since it was mainly in the center. The pain came immediately after eating a cheese stick. Weird...I just hope that it doesn't come back for a while...that was a scary kind of pain!

I would agree that the pain tends to localize in the rib cage area. My worst attack prior to diagnosis felt like someone was tightening a belt right under my breast area. I was at work and the pain went all through my chest and down my back. I had my boss take me to the ER because I thought it was a heart attack. After finding out that it was my gall bladder I then knew that all the other smaller "attacks" were from the same thing, I just didn't know it at the time. I would experience discomfort after eating. Laying down was miserable, it felt like I could not breath. A lot of times there would be nausea and the cold sweats. I hope that it not your problem, but we know that it is common after RNY. A quick ultrasound will show if you have gall stones. When a stone dislodges from the gallbladder and travels through the bile ducts is what causes the pain, as it tries to move through your system, the larger the stone the more intense pain. It might be worth getting checked out rather than waiting for "the big one". It is not fun.

Thank you, Marilyn... I didn't lay down because it was so uncomfortable that all I could do was sit upright and rock back and forth for an hour! But, I had nausea and vomiting that came out of nowhere...that really shocked me because I knew that it couldn't have been the piece of cheese that I ate, I was too careful eating it to have overeaten or not chewed well enough. Besides, I seem to have a pouch of steel now, so to feel nauseated and to actually vomit was way out of character for me...that in addition to the sudden pain was scary. I think that I will make an appointment soon...but I know myself...so I'll probably end up waiting for it to happen again like an idiot .

Marta- Mine was a piece of cake- I was pregnant with quads at the time- they waited til after the first trimester. You will feel soooo much better- the pain associated with that was just terrible. I wish you the best... Holly