Gallbladder woes help!

[wordygirl74 45]

I am 7 months post sleeve and down 55 pounds. Thursday evening after work I got the most intense pain in my chest. Nothing I was doing was helping so I went to the ER about 2 am. After a chest xray, EKG and ultrasound they said it's gallstones. Got some morphine (awesome) and the name of a surgeon to call. I felt great all weekend but tonight hurting again. Took a zofran (also awesome) and a hydrocodone but can't sleep.

I'm calling in the morning but my question is..WHO do I call? The surgeon the ER doc suggested? Should I call my sleeve surgeon? My GP? This is new to me so I wanted to get some thoughts. Would also love to hear from anyone that's had their gallbladder removed post sleeve. How was recovery?

Thanks!

[desert19 93]

I had my gallbladder out about 18 months after my sleeve. My recovery was really easy, it was done laproscopic just like the sleeve. The only bad part was the pain from the gas they use to inflate the abdomen during surgery. That hurt for about a day and a half. But boy, I felt so much better after getting the gallbladder out!!!

[swimbikerun 1,038]

Talk to your GP first. See what they say but you can go either way. I tried to get my sleeve surgeon to remove it, as they removed others gallbladders. No go. Everyone else said it had to go. I talked with my insurance company and they asked why there was a problem. No medical reason they could provide for not doing it, so they finally did it.

My take: ask the GP, the sleeve surgeon was just in there. If they'll do it and quickly, yes. Otherwise, find someone else. No sense in you going thru the stuff I did with my bariatric surgeon when he was wrong and everyone else (2 other surgeons, a GP) is right.

[Sue Magoo 71]

Hi:

I had my gallbladder out 9 months after being banded and after a lot of weight loss. You can go to General Surgeon, but ask your sleeve surgeon if he'll do it first if you're more comfortable with him/her. One thing that will help is to get a Spanx type of garment to wear after the gallbladder surgery because that will help from jiggling too much. I was most uncomfortable from the "jiggling effect" after losing a lot of weight, but once someone else who'd had the surgery told me to put on something very tight fitting on abdomen it made all the difference in the world. Best wishes to you for a pain-free recovery.

Sue

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Hi, I'm going to move this to a non-Vet forum area where everyone can answer it.

[Malsr 49]

I just got my approval (finally) and was told that I have to have a gallbladder screening to see if I need to have my gallbladder removed at the same time he removes my band and does the sleeve. I am not sure what the test entails, but I know I have to fast prior. I'm guessing it is going to determine if I will be prone to gallstones. I'm going to Google the test after this post.

I understand that rapid weight loss is often the cause of the gallstones, but I had a Lap Band and lost almost 80 lbs. rather quickly and had no issues. I know I have the potential to lose more weight faster with the sleeve, so who knows. I know I prefer to keep my gallbladder and will not request it to be removed unless my doctor suspects it'll be an issue for me specifically.

[skinnygirl2b 79]

I would call your sleeve surgeon. My sleeve surgeon also diagnosed and removed my gall bladder 6 months later. If he/she doesn't remove gall bladders they can tell you if the referral you got was a good one to see. I wouldn't wait though- those attacks were brutal and mine got worse as time went on.

[CrazyJaney 775]

I would call your sleeve surgeon. My sleeve surgeon also diagnosed and removed my gall bladder 6 months later. If he/she doesn't remove gall bladders they can tell you if the referral you got was a good one to see. I wouldn't wait though- those attacks were brutal and mine got worse as time went on.

I agree. I'm a nurse and stick with who you know and trust or go with who he recommends. I had a bad gall bladder for a year before I finally got it out. Those spells will continue and they are miserable. I thought I was dying the first time I had one!

[Nicolanz 1,484]

Oh man, having the gallbladder surgery was a breeze compared to my attacks. I tried to ignore it, hoping it would get better but it got worse! When vicodin stopped working, I went to the ER and got that sucker out! Just schedule it, it's so much easier.

[snochick2005 172]

I actually just had mine out last Monday, which is 7 1/2 months post op from sleeve. I used my sleeve surgeon because he is also a general surgeon. The recovery has been easy compared to the attacks and really intense nausea I felt.

I would recommend contacting your sleeve surgeon first and if he/she won't do it, get a recommendation.

[LDallas 108]

Had my GB out three weeks ago. It was fine before VSG surgery was done by WLS.

vsg 10/25/12, sw 300, CW 215 f/52, 5'10"