Question:
Have Your Gall Bladder Post Op? How long did you take Actigal after surgery?
How long did any of you take actigal after surgery? My nutritionist says I can come off of it and I'm 6 months post op. Did anyone have gallstones after coming off after 6 months???? thanks — Susan M. (posted on April 23, 2003)
April 23, 2003
Had my LAP RNY on 04-09-03, intact gall bladder. After my first week
checkup with the surgeon, he said he'll be putting me on Actigal in 3 weeks
(when I start eating real (albeit pureed)food. He said I would be on it
for 6 months only. It would be nice to know if anyone develops gallstones
after....I'll await other responses
— Amy A.
April 23, 2003
My doctor said I will be on Actigall for 6 moths also.
— jerzeygirl71
April 23, 2003
I was supposed to start Actigal at 3 months post op and take it for 6
months. When I took it I got extremely nauseated and couldn't keep
anything down. My surgeon allowed me to stop it after 1 week. Now I am 7
months post op and I have had no issues related to my gallbladder. The
medication only has a 20% success rate according to my Dr. so he said that
I shouldn't worry about stopping it and I haven't. Good luck to you. Wendi
Open RNY 9/19/02 down 117lbs
— lovemonterey
April 23, 2003
I meant I started at 1 month post op not 3 months oops......Wendi
— lovemonterey
April 23, 2003
My surgeon gave me a prescription for Actigall, but I never got it filled
after I had read that the drug was only effective about 50% of the time. I
am at 9 months and (knock on wood) no gallstones...JR
— John Rushton
April 23, 2003
My doc doesn't routinely prescribe actigal after surgery. My gallbladder
is fine of course, I am only three months post-op. I did have another
bypass op twenty years ago and had my gallbladder all those years with no
problems. Maybe I am one of the lucky ones.
— Delores S.
April 23, 2003
I read this on "What to Expect from WLS"...I thought you might
want to see the effectiveness figures: "Gallstones: Rapid weight loss
by any method is associated with an increased risk of gallstones. After
WLS, this incidence is approximately 25 percent. In the past few years, a
drug, ursodiol (Actigal), has become available which can reduce the risk to
less than 5 percent." Personally, I think the odds are pretty good
that if you can decrease your risk from 25% to 5%, you have a chance of
keeping your gall bladder as time progresses.
— Amy A.
April 24, 2003
My doctor prescribed actigull for me when I left the hospital and I am
suppose to take it for the next 6 months.
I am now 13 weeks post-op. I know of someone who had the surgery back in
August and recently developed gallstones and had to have her gallbladder
removed just about a month ago, so yes it can still happen after the 6
month mark, everyone's different though. hopes this helps.
— Melodee S.
April 24, 2003
As a standard practice, my doctor removes the gall bladder automatically
when doing the open RNY. This way, it eliminates ANY gall bladder problems
afterwards, which is common.
— Kim L.
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