Hey there. I had a scan of my gallbladder and there is a 2cm stone. I’ve been taking my Urisodol religiously since prescribed so just wonder if anyone who had a gallbladder issue/surgery did so as a preventative measure or bc they experienced the excruciating pain and went straight to the ER? I’m concerned but have not been counseled to have GB removed. The hope is it will slowly dissolve…any ideas or advice on how to address this? Thanks.

When I had my gall attack (worst pain ever! ??), I asked my surgeon (he did my sleeve too) about dissolving it or shattering it with radio frequency. He said if you’ve grown one stone you’ll grow another. Best thing is just to remove the gall. So he did.

The surgery was easy. He used the same sites as my sleeve surgery for the laparoscopic surgery so I have no additional scars. The recovery was easier than my sleeve though I did have gas pain (I didn’t have any with my sleeve). Pain was similar & manageable again & lasted about 4 days. Best of all no special diet, no diarrhoea, no constipation, no nausea, etc. after.

I did end up with a malabsorption issue which isn’t very common. Mine is for protein, which is even less common, & some meds. I was just unlucky … or special depending upon how you look at it ?. It’s not an organ you really need - it just manages how much stomach acid & bile goes into your digestive system. Occasionally I get a bout of acidic diarrhoea (my sister-in-law does too) & that’s all.

I had my gall bladder removed back in 97 when I was 4 months pregnant with my son. I had absolutely no idea at all that there were issues until I had the attack in the middle of the night. I thought I was dying. Went to the ER, found out I had severe pancreatitis that needed IV antibiotics to get it under control before it was safe enough to remove my gall bladder, but also saw that my gall bladder was so full of stones it was literally about to burst. I was in the hospital on iv meds for 3 days before I could have the surgery. Then during the surgery, when they removed it, it literally burst as it was removed and a few stones got stuck and had to be removed. I was in surgery 2 hours longer than expected and spiked a fever. I was in the hospital another 3 days on more pain meds and antibiotics before I was allowed to go home. So in my humble opinion, get it outta there. Not worth the trouble you will inevitably have now that you know you produce stones. It's not likely to stop, so better to be safe than sorry.

Thank you for the advice. I will see my surgeon later this month and talk with him about removal. I think I have flashbacks to my appendix bursting, which was excruciating, so I don’t want to go through that again. Glad to know it can be easier to recover from if it isn’t already in a severe state. Thanks again!