Advice for newbies with gallbladders

Hi guys, so if you are getting a DS soon or are less than 6 months out make sure you take your prescribed Actigall for at least 6 months. For some reason I thought I only had to take it for two months and wasn't very consistent during those two months. I ended up having to have emergency gallbladder surgery yesterday.

On Wednesday evening I ate dinner and starting have what seemed like really bad gas pain. It was horrible stabbing all over and I even felt it in my shoulders chest and back. It felt like the gaspain right after the DS. I vomited several times but only foam and mucus came up. I thought it was a bad reaction to some new vitamins I started taking. It felt slightly better after a hot bath and I fell asleep around 10:30 I woke up with more vomitting at 1:30am and knew I had to go to the ER. I called my surgeons office and they told me to go to the ER where I had the surgery. After blood tests, ultrasound and MRI it showed that I had several gallstones and sludge in the GB. They said I needed it out right away and around 5:30pm I was wheeled into surgery.

Now I am home but in a lot of pain and back on the pain meds. Have to go back to soft foods for awhile and my vacation to California in a week is in jeopardy. So, Please learn from my mistake and be compliant with the Actigall. Save yourself from this pain.

Why they didn't take your gallbladder out when you had the ds ?

Some surgeons don't take out a healthy gallbladder at the time of the WLS. Mine just took my appendix but left my gallbladder. Knocking on wood, no trouble yet.

--g
 

I'm sorry you went through all that. I hope you feel better quickly. Good advice about the gallbladder meds. 

--gina

Hi, I would like to be clear on what I think you are saying.  Are you saying ds patients are all sent home with Actigall when they go home from the hospital after their surgery, or were you already taking it for some other reason? 

After the surgery my surgeon sent me home with Actigall because I still had my gall bladder. All patients who still had their gallbladder were sent home with it. I don't know if all surgeons do that or not. I will repeat that my surgeon said that 35% of ds patients who still have their gallbladder will develope gallstones within the first six months during the rapis loss stage. Taking the Actigall which is a bile salt brings the percentage down to zero. I misuderstood and didn't take it often enough or for a long enough time and I was one of the 35%. Just giving a heads up.

Mine wasn't removed during surgery and my surgeon didn't send me home with the Actigall...so not every surgeon is on the same page.

Oh, and my gallbladder surgery was 6 months after my DS.

Liz

 Many of us go home missing the GB and appendix altogether.   Some surgeons have decided to leave a healthy GB inside the body, and way too many wind up with a second surgery as a result.  

 Yep, my appendix was taken but my gallbladder was healthy at the time. When losing weight quickly there is a 35 percent chance of developing gall stones the actigall knocks it done to zero when taken during the rapid weight loss Phase. I'm just giving a little heads up to those who may be wondering if the actigall is really important. For me it was. Live and learn. 

 Many on Actigall still had to get their GB removed, so it's still a crap shoot.
Glad you're on the mend.  Hopefully, you can still enjoy your vacation