Update on me (for those of you who helped with my health issues)

So- you were all right. It is, in fact, my gall bladder. After several more attacks and a stint in the ER, I had a HIDA scan with CCK last Wednesday. When I was having the scan done the girl was telling me that after they inject the CCK part, the gallbladder should eject at least 35% of the liquid that builds up (bile?) within a half hour. Instead of doing that, mine decided to just do nothing and FILL UP some more . It is completely akinetic. So- I have an appointment with a surgeon on Wednesday and it will ultimately be removed.

Those of you who have had this done, would you be so kind as to FM me with your experience? Thank you!

Re: Update on me (for those of you who helped with my health issues)

Ugh - sucky, but at least you have some answers!

Re: Update on me (for those of you who helped with my health issues)

I developed gall bladder issues when I was seven months pregnant. The surgeon wanted me to wait about two months after I gave birth to have it removed so that way my body had a little bit of time to go back to normal. Well on Easter Sunday about three weeks after I gave birth to DD I had a horrible attack and had to have it removed. They wouldn't remove my gall bladder until after I had and ERCP (don't remember what it stood for). For this they went in with a balloon and had to flush the stones from my bile duct. This procedure also expanded my bile duct so that way if I developed any more stones before I had my gall bladder removed they wouldn't get stuck...they would pass through. After this surgery they let me recover for a day and then I had the surgery to have my gall bladder removed. It will be five months since I have had it removed and I have not had any pain since. I've noticed that if I eat fatty foods I have bad stomach pains...don't know if this is due to my gall bladder being removed or not.

I had the surgery done at South Nassau Hospital and they were absolutely wonderful.

Good luck with your surgery!

Re: Update on me (for those of you who helped with my health issues)

Re: Update on me (for those of you who helped with my health issues)

Had mine taken out on July 2nd. I am doing great now. FM me any questions that you may have. I had mine taken out at SB.

Re: Update on me (for those of you who helped with my health issues)

Jen- you sound so smart with those medical terms!! lol

As you know, I have no advice- but I can watch Lexi for you when you have it done! (And on Wed if you need me to)

Re: Update on me (for those of you who helped with my health issues)

I had my gallbladder removed in December. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I had been having massive back pains for months, I thought I was getting fat(ter) or something

Anyway, I had gallstones in my bile duct and a non-functioning gallbladder. I had 2 emergency surgeries. The first was the ERCP to remove the stones from the bile duct. They knock you out and remove the stones without any external incisions. They put a tube in your nose and your throat. The stones are removed and the worst part is maybe a nose bleed when you wake up.

The second surgery was to remove the gallbladder. This one was slightly tougher.They make 4 small incisions across your belly, including one in the belly button. When I woke up, I had a drainage tube in my belly which is common if you have a lot of inflammation / fluid. My ab muscles were sore and it hurt to move until they removed the tube a few days later. Once the tubing was out, it really wasn't THAT bad. You have to monitor the amount of fluid that drains out daily which is kind of yucky but no major deal.

Apparently the recovery can't be TOO bad because I was doing the deed two weeks later and I am 9 months pregnant right now

Good luck and FM if you have any questions!

Re: Update on me (for those of you who helped with my health issues)

Thanks for the responses so far!

Bumping for the day crew!

Oh, and if you could tell me if there was a hospital stay for the surgery and what your recovery time was like. Thanks!

Re: Update on me (for those of you who helped with my health issues)

I'm so glad you have some answers. Hope you feel better soon

Re: Update on me (for those of you who helped with my health issues)

I stayed in SB overnight because my surgery was the last one of the day and I was having a hard time with nausea. I was admitted to my room at 1am. I was not feeling great until around 5pm the next day but then I felt fine.

Re: Update on me (for those of you who helped with my health issues)

I had mine taken out in May. I had been having attacks on and off for the past 6 years...I didn't know it was my gallbladder until recently when I started getting attacks back to back and went to the doctor for an ulstrasound. Deciding to take it out was the best decision ever. The pain from the attacks was unbearable.... Recovery was a little rough...worse than my csection but now I feel great and it was totally worth it. FM me if you need more details. I did an outpatient procedure.

I must note that although I feel much better I have been experiencing diarrhea a lot more often...sorry for the TMI. Apparently that can be a side effect of the surgery.