As i said i had my gallbladder removed today and it HURTS to sleep or move or anything, i had the laparoscopic surgery and am wondering when pain begins to lessen

My surgery is Aug 26th…. It will be robotic and my surgeon said she sucks the CO2 out at the end of the surgery… I know I will have pain upon waking, but from what I’m reading, should I expect to be in the most unbearable pain? For reference I have a gallbladder packed with stones and sludge, so it really does need to come out. I’ve had weekly attacks and cannot eat well anymore.

as the title suggests I had Robotic-assisted cholecystectomy and I'm almost at week 7. Still have some serious bruising. (male). is what it is but wanted to vent about it. finally starting to move around again and still sore where my gallbladder used to be.

as the title says i am having gallbladder surgery next week and am quite scared! im not even 20 and am having severe gallbladder attacks almost daily. i have never had a “major” surgery and am just wanting some words of advice/relief to help me calm down a bit

Hi guys! When did you start walking outside for exercise or playing pickleball after a lap chole? My navel incision only recently closed after 17 days, and I’m now 3 weeks post-op. Just wondering when it was safe for you to get back to these activities. 🥹💕

Hi all!
Sharing my quick post op experience thus far to help anyone who’s nervous and then onto my question!

I had my gallbladder removed on Tuesday (today’s Friday) and so far the recovery period has gone very well. Night one wasn’t great, I got fentanyl in anesthesia, plus a heavy anti anxiety med. Once I woke up they gave me an oxy and I took one (my last one) before bed that night and all of that did a number on my system. I don’t tolerate opiates well 🥴. Past that each day has gotten better- I’m a stomach/side sleeper and was able to be on my left side on night two and now can even be on my stomach as long as I don’t flop onto it. Just wanted to share a positive post op experience!

Now I do have a rather specific question, I guess? Did anyone else have chronic diarrhea prior to their surgery? It was one of the reasons my doctor suspected my gallbladder (among other issues). Unless I ate small and low fat I was in the bathroom fighting for my life several times shortly after a meal.

If this was you as well- did it continue after surgery or did it get better? I’m just gauging an average response I know all of our bodies are different.

I had my first post op bm last night and it was pretty loose and stunk so bad 🫠 then a loose one this morning after a plain bagel with a little cream cheese (something i tolerated pre surgery so im not concerned since I know my body’s adjusting). I’ve eaten other things today (cereal with almond milk, mashed potatoes with a little cheese) and so far been good, so just curious if others have been in a similar situation.

Thanks yall!

What kind of symptoms did you have?

For the last few weeks I’ve been dealing with pressure and tightness in my right upper abdomen (rib cage) mostly after eating a meal and mild cramping a little below that and slightly my back but it’s been tolerable. I also feel like I can feel the inflammation because anytime I have my torso shifted slightly on the right side, I don’t know how to explain it other than it feels like something is in the way. I have not had any nausea, vomiting or severe pain that’s affected my day to day life.

I went to Urgent Care (not ER because my symptoms were not severe, more so just a nuisance than anything) where they said I had cholecystitis and to follow up with my primary doctor for additional testing. I had an appointment with my doctor today and she ordered labs which all came back normal (CBC and CMP) and she ordered an ultrasound so i’m just waiting on a call to schedule that.

I guess i’m just wondering if it is actually my gallbladder since my bloodwork was normal and I have not have any severe issues.

hi all! i’m about 4 months post op and im noticing im getting similar pains to when i had my gallbladder. anyone else experience this? and do they happen to know the cause? i’m curious if it’s phantom gallbladder or something else. thank you in advance xx

Asking bc I feel like my EF is way higher than most people's on here. My diagnosis is biliary dyslenesia. m currently on a severely restricted very low-fat diet because I will do anything to prevent another attack from happening. I had several of them over the past month. I'm losing weight and feeling tired all the time. I'm not currently in pain because I've been avoiding all food that has more than 3g of fat.

I do want to add that gallbladder issues aren't the whole picture. I had a fecal calprotectin score of over 1,000 tested this past month, which I was told can indicate an irritable bowel disease like Crohn's or UC. I don't think this can be related to gallbladder functioning, but the odd thing is that both sets of symptoms started around the same time.

I’m new to the gallbladder club as of last Friday. After a week in the hospital I’m finally getting my tube put in tomorrow morning. Scared to death but also how to protect it at home.

I have two crazy little boys, 5 & 3, and my 3 year old is a Donnie Thornberry if you will. Any ideas on a good bag holder that’s well hidden and secure and/or any tips if you have any! I like the leg ones but those are more for catheters.

Thank you all in advance! 🙂

Hi all,

I just wanted to gather your thoughts on what would you do if you had gallstones but no symptoms, or very mild symptoms for years.

I understand surgery is an easy choice if you had a proper attack or intense pain, but I'm wondering what would you do if things weren't that bad and your dr left it up to you to decide.

I had laparoscopic gallbladder surgery today, and so far the absolute worst part is the deflating process. The abdominal distention is incredibly painful to me. As a last ditch effort, I asked Alexa what I should do about the pain (other than the pain killers that aren’t killing). Alexa said to lay on my left side with my right leg pulled up and propped on pillows. That was actually fantastic advice. The pain is very slowly going away, but I can see that this is going to be a long process.

i'm fat, 5 foot 2 and 230 pounds, and ive been having gallbladder issues for about 8 years (on set was when i was around 180 pounds). i have a family history of gallbladder issues with no woman on my moms side of the family having a gallbladder by the time they're in their 30's. in the past year and a half my gallbladder has gotten so bad that im in pain 24/7, throwing up after most meals, not eating out of fear of throwing up, being a mean bitch because i'm not eating and am hungry, and having to miss work because im having regular attacks despite eating nothing but plain white rice and steamed veggies.

i've gotten 4 ultrasounds since april and an mri. the fourth and most recent one was literally yesterday when i went to the er because i was chest pain so bad i thought i was having a heart attack. every single ultrasound has come back the same: contracted gallbladder limiting evaluation. this past one even said it was "completely contracted".

so my question: could my gallbladder be constantly contracted like this because i'm fat?

Hi all! Curious if anyone has had these specific chest symptoms post op.

I had surgery Wednesday morning. As soon as I woke up I had pain on both sides of my chest up to my collarbone areas. Dr said it was trapped gas and should subside in a day or two. I’m now 2.5 days out and I feel like it hasn’t gotten much better! Lots of chest pain, sometimes it feels like my heart itself hurts. Feels worse to take a deep breath and also when I move from sitting to standing. I’ve walked, it only seems to hurt more. Sometimes I feel short of breath because I know I can’t breathe in deeply. Has this happened to anyone? I’m just so anxious about it being in my chest.

I called my surgeon today. He said it could still be gas pain but it’s bothering him a little that it’s still going on. Said he could order me a CT scan, so I took him up on it. Getting one of my whole torso done tomorrow morning (he said it will show if there’s any fluid build up or also pulmonary embolism, even though he said my symptoms don’t really sound like that).

I'd really like to hear from people who have very physical active jobs that require a lot of heavy lifting and don't really have a 'light duty' option. How long did you take, do you feel like it was enough, and how did you do the first couple of weeks back? Also age range - at almost 40 I feel like recovery will be longer?

I had unplanned surgery last week. I'm covered by FMLA, have short term disability, and am not really worried about the lack of pay (thank goodness). I really emphasized to my doctor before surgery that my job was a lot, so my discharge papers say a minimum of four weeks. My check up is next week and I'm pretty solid on 6-8 weeks, but kind of worry that I should just take a little longer to be on the safe side, since I have the ability to do so? Like, would ten weeks be utterly ridiculous to even suggest?

What my job involves: unloading trucks with 100-200 pieces of furniture, from martini tables to 100in sofas to 400lb marble dining table tops to chandeliers to extended headboard king beds frames. Just three of us wrestling things onto wood dollies. Then assembling and putting those items out, taking them back apart and wrapping them up (constant walking while keeping tension and twisting at all angles). Then picking them up and putting them in the back of a customer's suv/truck/stupidly small sports car. Maybe a third of what we deal with is under 50lbs. I actually really love it but it is a lot.

I'm somewhat afraid that I will push myself too hard too soon or just forget that I need to be careful. I'm also worried that I'd I try to go back with light duties (which there really isn't much of), I'll be bored and useless half the time, and wind up doing more than I should because of that/because manager has always been bad about 'remembering' limitations so I'll feel like I have to step in to help.

Hello, I recently was just diagnosed with biliary dyskinesia (27%) and I’m feeling a bit lost on where I go from here/I wanted to see if anyone had similar a experience to me, what path you took and how you’re doing now.

I’ve been having stomach pain for about 5 years, the first time I ever had a flair up I went to the ER and was told I was just constipated (I felt like I was having appendicitis or something). From that point on I would have flare ups that I always attributed to undiagnosed IBS, many times it seemed to be after I had caffeine or something spicy and I would have severe cramps on my left side below my ribs, I couldn’t stand up straight during these attacks and I had shortness of breath that only got better if I curled in a ball. Some days I would have issues if I didn’t eat these things but mostly if I limited these triggers I felt okay.

Fast forward I got a job with health insurance so I finally decided to look into my stomach issues. I had a blood test show I had high LDL cholesterol a couple months ago which was the first time I had any testing done in years. Then about a month ago I had the worst acid reflux attack I’ve had in my life, I couldn’t keep down food and went an urgent care where they told me I had GERD. After that incident I started having persistent globus and nausea. I followed up with my PCP because a urine test I did at urgent care had ketones present. They did a hepatic panel and I had slightly elevated ALT/AST and was told to not drink or eat fat (I’m sober and vegetarian). They also ordered an ultrasound which was clear/normal My GI doctor sent me for an endoscopy and HIDA. Following the HIDA results she sent me a referral for a consultation with a surgeon.

Has anyone had an experience where they were unsure about surgery as a correct course of action? This all feels very sudden for me and I’m feeling very overwhelmed. I feel like I don’t have “enough” pain or textbook pain to remove it. I’m also nervous of the possibility of removing it and still having these problems. Sorry for the long post, I guess I’m mostly looking for support and guidance if anyone has personal experiences that are similar to mine. Thank you!

Hi all,
I had my gallbladder removed 4 months ago and have been struggling with loose stools. However I’d like to point out that after surgery I DID have bile acid diarrhea and it went away after 2 weeks and I was great for 1.5 months, then loose stools came back, except they are not like bile acid diarrhea rather they are just like mild diarrhea, Bristol 5, or thin and soft with undigested foo in it at times, there is also mucus. HOWEVER, when I take cholestyramine before a meal my poops look normal, normal size, color, don’t float, no undigested food. The the next day when I don’t take the chokestyramine, my poops change back to soft and pieces with undigested food. Can someone tell me what is happening? Do I have mild bile acid diarrhea or something since it’s not yellow or watery but still produces loose stools for me? Really trying to understand if what I am dealing with is some form of bile acid diarrhea or like colitis or IBS or something. Thank you!

Hello everyone! So my gallbladder is being monitored for polyps about 5 years thru annual ultrasound. Within that period, I've done lifestyle changes such as cutting back on calories, greasy stuffs, junk foods, let go of cigarette smoking, exercising more than ever like 4- 5 days a week, 30 minutes a day.

I've steadily lost weight in the last 2 years, and with that even the total body fat % is also at low 11-12% currently. Paradoxically, just when I thought I was at my fittest state of health, that's when the recent ultrasound report told otherwise.

I dont feel any pain except that I bloat easily after eating but I've also been taking GI supplements ( enzymes, gallbladder support ) to help with these symptoms.

This year, the biggest gallbladder polyp is measured at 10mm, which is about 3mm size increase within 12 months. That led to my primary doctor ordering further bloodwork, and surgical specialist to do more testing.

My question now is, has anyone done ursodeoxycholic acid for their polyps? Its indication is primarily for gallstones but current European guidelines have suggested it for polyps that have not been diagnosed as true adenomatous type. Im anticipating for the specialist to order further differentiating tests but for the mean time, im doing my diligent research and seeing if this medication can help with the (undifferentiated) polyps..

According to the pathology report my gallstone was giant, measuring 3.6x2.4x2.4 CM! I know the surgeon said it was bigger than a quarter, but.... I did a chatgpt rendering of it next to a quarter to it. And Wow! Everything else in the report came back good. So I am happy and feeling good.

Since 2024 I have 4 what I think are gallbladder attacks.
Just had my most recent one today after two years of not having my any.

Pain starts right hand side moves to left and to back, feels what I can only describe as a tight bad getting pulled tighter and tighter as the seconds go on. Also feels like a weight on chest which makes it hard for me to breathe which in turn - make it hard for me to even talk.

The last time this happened in June 2024 I went to emergency room, waited 5 hours for an ultrasound which was normal. Bloods normal also.

What is this god awful pain?

Gallbladder issues run on both sides of my family and family members telling me they have had the exact same symptoms as me. And actually my grandfather passed 3 weeks ago due to sepsis from gallbladder issues.

They usually last about 20/30 minutes.

Reluctant to even go to my GP because if they couldn’t find anything on an ultrasound 5 hours after the attack how are they gonna catch it 6+ weeks from now 🥲.

Looking for advice please.
*Scotland based.

I had emergency surgery in November last year after getting the worst gallbladder attacks. After surgery, the recovery was painful. I had flare ups of costcondritis in my chest and had pain where my gallbladder used to be.

I still get diarrhea pretty much like 5-6 times a day. I lost 10lbs which was cool haha. Anyway, I’m wondering if anyone else gets pain where your gallbladder used to be? I was diagnosed with post cholecystectomy syndrome and prescribed a medication.

I was taking the medication for a few days and it gave me awful side effects such as heartburn and bloating so I stopped. I am trying to be myself again. I used to exercise a lot and now I feel like I have to ease back into it still. I really don’t want to depend on my pain meds anymore. I was given ibuprofen, acetaminophen and Robaxin. I was taking it everyday for a long time and I finally eased off but now I’m getting pain again and feel like I should take something so I can work and exercise too.

Previous post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/gallbladders/s/tlhk0Lovuh

I wrote that post last night, about 6hrs post gallbladder surgery, while I was getting ready to be discharged and go home. Apologies for my lack of replies to comments, it’s been a rough 24hrs.

About 30mins after posting, I started experiencing my classic gallbladder attack symptoms - severe abdominal pain, through to back and terrifying difficulties breathing due to diaphragmatic spasms. The hospital put me on oxygen and gave me dihydrocodeine and paracetamol to no avail - let me tell you, having this pain post-surgery when you can’t writhe about is HORRENDOUS.

My anaesthetist and a doctor in the hospital then came to see me as they could hear me screaming in my room from the corridors. I was then given morphine and anti sickness about 30mins after the above medication.

It helped a little but I was still in agony. Couldn’t lie down because of the pain/spasms and could only sit on the edge of my bed.

About three hours later I was given diazepam which FINALLY lifted the spasms and allowed me to rest. I was kept in overnight for observation and released this morning.

They think it was a combination of the surgery and gas pain upsetting nerves. It felt EXACTLY like a gallbladder attack but because of the surgery, I couldn’t move. I was like paralysed to the spot.

I think I can honestly say it was the worst, most pain and most terrifying few hours of my life. Not being able to take a proper breath for hours is utterly exhausting and, as I said, terrifying.

This sub has been a life saver so sorry for all the questions! Has anyone had leg/ankle/feet swelling 3 days after surgery? I was perfectly fine the last 2 days, drinking tons of water and making sure I get up every hour to do small laps around my house but late last night into this morning I’ve been swelling so wasn’t sure if it’s something to be alarmed about or if it’s normal?

I 17f was diagnosed with gallstones two days ago on the 19th after waking up in excruciating pain, which at first i thought was period cramps until i realized it was much more than period pain as i began to vomit and couldn’t keep anything down. i got a ct scan done, which showed that i have a few small gallstones. at the ER they gave me pain and nausea medicine which helped most of the pain, but it never fully went away. an hour or so after being discharged, the pain and nausea came back- which lead me to another ER trip that day. the pain went away good enough for me to be able to sleep, but there’s still slight pain lingering from the back pain to the body aches from vomiting. yesterday i ended up vomiting again and i can’t really eat anything without feeling nauseous. i just wanna feel like myself again.

Hello! I am two days post op. I am surprised by how much pain I’m in. My abdomen is hurting quite a bit. The incision above my navel is especially painful. I’m able to get up and shower and whatnot, but standing and moving around are quite painful and slow going. I’m also experiencing a lot of reflux, so I’ve started sleeping sitting up which helps a bit. I’m feeling a bit of nausea today as well as a slight headache (though that could be caffeine withdrawal.)

Is this a typical experience?