Gallbladder Surgery

Wow...............its been such a long time since I have visited the boards.  My life has been super busy and I no longer have internet access at my house so it been really hard to find the time to stop in and say "hello".


I found out I have gallstones.  Not a big deal really.  I have an appointment with a general surgeon on Monday to find out when surgery will be and so on.  Honestly, I am looking forward to taking ten days off work......


I just wondered.................if you have had your gallbladder taken out..................let me know what I can expect.  I have heard that some people gain weight.  My RNY surgeon tells me that is unlikely since I eat so healty but I am concerned about that.  Also, because most of what I eat everyday is fat free dairy (yogurt and cottage cheese and skinny latte's) I have also heard some people become lactose intolerant.  That would be a BIG bummer for me.........................

I guess I will also give an update while I am here.  I am still working out everyday.  I have gained 7 pounds of muscle while losing 3.5% body fat.  When I started this regimen I was 153lbs and 25.5% body fat.  I am now 160lbs at 22% body fat.  It's VERY hard to deal with the scale going upward.......but thank god I can rationalize it by showing my body fat percent is going down.  I had a hard time with it at first.  But you should see me...............my shoulders and back and calves are so muscular.  The rest of me is buried in skin................LOL............but I KNOW there is rock solid muscle under there.  GOD I WISH I COULD AFFORD MY PLASTICS!!!! 
I deal much better with it now than I used to though........and by the way, for those of you who use SPANX...........I use the L'eggs body slimmer now.  Its much better made, it lasts longer, and it's only $6.96 at walmart.  You can buy 4 of these for the price you pay for 1 spanx.  I wear one everyday, ESPECIALLY to work out cause I cant be jigglin all over the treadmill and it makes running so much easier.....................Try them.  You will like them much better.  They don't have the open crotch like the SPANX, but honestly, that open crotch thingy is just a wide open door for error anyway and all it takes is one incident and forget it..........so in my opinion... it s not worth it anyway...............The only problem with them is they need to offer them in smaller sizes.  The smallest they make is a medium and I need a small...........oh well.  AND NOW THEY HAVE THEM IN THE HIGH WAIST CAPRI LENGTH!!!!!
I have been impatiently waiting for that because I need midriff support with pants length for business suits so that above the knee line does not show............so......YAY!!!

I know this was a long post, but its been a while, and i had so much to say to my fellow losers.  Hope everyone is doing fantastic.  HUGS to everyone!

Hi Connie, it's nice to see you posting. I still have my gallbladder and have had no problems so far (knock on wood), but my mom had hers taken out in 1999 and she became lactose intolerant. BUt I'm not sure that it happens with everyone. Good luck! =)

Hey there!

I have not had my WLS surgery yet, but had my gallbladder out in July. The big thing is I can't tolerate any fat anymore (good prep for my WLS) and my portion sizes have to be really small (again, good prep). So, hopefully you may not have any problems at all. I have heard, like Katt says, of people becoming lactose intolerant afterwards, though. Becky makes fun of me, saying that since I already eat like I've had surgery, how am I going to make it after surgery?!

Good luck with your surgery, congrats on the muscle weight gain, I know its hard to see the scale go upwards instead of down, but you have a good head about you and can see it for what it is.

Thanks for the recommendation on the L'eggs, when I get to that point I will most definitely try them!

Hugs back,
Paula K

Gallstones are one othe the side effects of WLS all too often. I have to have mine removed a loong time ago( when they were still opening you up). But I have no problem with dairy but I couldn't tolerate high fat foods (still can't ).
You have done great with you tool!! Congrats!!

HUGS
JOY

Hi,

I had my gallbladder removed four years ago, and before WLS. The removal didn't affect how I could eat at all - but I suppose everyone is different. It would have been quite difficult if I had become lactose intolerant because I love milk, and other dairy products, which is a huge part of my daily diet.

Good luck.

Hi,

Had mine out in 99, way before WLS, and there was no problems that I had at all.  Matter of fact I was so sick before they took it out, it was a blessing when it was gone.  Like I said, no problems after.  They just put little holes in you like WLS and suck the thing out.  Didn't have a problem with surgery except for some extra pain, when my second navel appreared from a stitch the surgeon put in, when that released I was pain free and have been since.

Good luck.

Diane

I had my gallbladder out 4 months after WLS. I have not had any problems from it.

I went in before 6AM and was home by 2PM this same day. The day after surgery I baked 8 pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. I'll admit I was a little bit sore, but fine.

I thought it was a very easy surgery and recovery.

Best wishes to you!

Thanks everyone for your input.  I am not worried about the surgery itselt..........I made it through WLS like a CHAMP, so this should be a breeze.  I was more concerned with weight gain and lactose intolerance but whatever will be will be........................I am really good at adjusting to what life deals out!

Agaim, Thanks and I will update later!

Hi Connie!  I had mine removed back in 1999, many years before my bypass.  I had to watch what I ate for awhile, no fatty stuff, etc.  My body figured out how to handle it after a while..lol  I don't think I ever was lactose intolerent...I send you good wishes.  They had to do my surgery as an open procedure, so I was off for 8 weeks...NICE!!  LOL  Kim

I just had my gallbladder removed last week(9/29), 5 years after wls.  I took 1 week off work. I am still sore at the incision marks and swollen, still cannot get back into my jeans yet.  I have been very tired in the afternoons at work but not in pain.  The first couple of days I felt like there was a bowling ball sitting on my belly button and was very gassy, Thank God for GasX, but all of that has gone away.  I am back to my normal diet and have not had any problems with any food since surgery.  I have 3 very small incisions on my stomach.
Good luck, Lisa