Has anyone experienced any Gall Bladder problems post op? I was told some people have problems and need to get their Gall bladder removed, just wondering if anyone has had problem or had to get theirs removed?

I had to have mine removed 5 yrs after the lap band. Didn’t change my life much. Had to take it easy on the fried foods. Seems common but not everyone.

Gall bladder removal is not uncommon for anybody. Gall stones can form for a couple of reasons: high cholesterol, rapid & excessive weight loss, menopause, or high bilirubin levels. So it makes sense why many bariatric patients have their’s removed at some point.

Some people can have gall stones for years that only rumble a bit so they don’t know they have them. They’re discovered because of the pre surgical tests so some people have their gall removed during their weight loss surgery. My stone was discovered during a scan to see why my liver function was off about 7 months after surgery. I’d have no symptoms but last June I really knew about it - very painful!!! So my gall was removed about two years after my sleeve surgery. Mine could have formed because of the weight loss, menopause or because I have high bilirubin levels.

It was an easy surgery. My surgeon used the same incisions from my sleeve surgery & I was home the next day. I did have more muscular discomfort & gas pain though. My diet is generally lowish fat so I don’t have issues with that. But I have noticed every couple of weeks that I have a bout of diarrhoea (manifests more quickly than ordinary tummy upset attacks). My sister-in-law is the same. We think it’s a build up of digestive acids because the gall isn’t there to regulate it anymore.

I had surgery on monday and i have to take a medication called ursodiol for 6 months to prevent gall stones

1 hour ago, liveaboard15 said:

I had surgery on monday and i have to take a medication called ursodiol for 6 months to prevent gall stones

Same here, I was prescribed that also. Not till 4 weeks post op though so I just started it.

I worked in surgery and the surgeons used to say “Fair, fat, female, forty and fertile” to describe a lot of gallbladder patients. It’s very common even without weight loss surgery.

As others have said, its not at all uncommon, though not guaranteed. I was prescribed a 6 month prophylactic course of ursodiol because I have a history of biliary colic and didn't want to risk it. I'm 7 month out now and no problems so far!

I am also taking actigall/ursodiol. I'm 7 month out with no issues so far, but who knows? I really don't ever want to have surgery again. It was NOT FUN.

On 4/21/2022 at 12:21 AM, Crisscat said:

Has anyone experienced any Gall Bladder problems post op? I was told some people have problems and need to get their Gall bladder removed, just wondering if anyone has had problem or had to get theirs removed?

My bariatric surg was 8/8/22 5’6 highest weight after 4 kids (2,4,7,9) and a challenging relationship with their dad for 14 years. Down maybe 30lbs by now. When I was told on 9/12 I had a 26lb weight loss and told my GB had a stone so 10/3 is my surgery. It came to surface bc my pcp needed a f/up mri from a pancreatic cyst and Found excess Fluid in my stomachs.

my surgeon said normal but not my gallbladder even the cyst is normal. Worse part is my mother and auntie both very judge mental and critical told me to pray. My mom

said “People Get addicted to Surgery, not bc you feel better Eventually but bc the anesthesia??) this being a Med necessity! But I’m so tired of the non support I’d honestly threw in the towel recently.