Oh my goodness that must have been unimaginably painful, and frightening.

I sure hope you will be okay soon.

Glad you are on the mend.

need to recover

That had to have been excruciatingly painful. REST up and glad you are on the mend.

what were your symptoms prior to this becoming an emergency? Also curious because I've had small gall stones reported from a non-related medical scan.

Congratulations for getting this done successfully and we hope you have a speedy recovery. Hopefully, your well-being will be much better in the long run.

....... .........

lots of reasons. My doc described them as more milk dud soft than stones though they are sort of crystalline. Many people have a few rattling around in the gall bladder never causing a problem. After a particularly greasy meal where the gall bladder has tried to deal with the glop, a stone can get stuck in the tiny tube and cause bad pain similar to heart attack. I opted to not have the organ removed ( (which carriers it own problems) and avoid super greasy foods. They say pectin-like from apples- or in pill form - can help keep the "stones" from forming. "Maybe"

Ended up in the ER and cardiac unit for all the tests, including a gamma-camera stress-EKG. Heart attack was ruled out. Had they continued the differential diagnosis protocol, the gall bladder problem would have shown up as culprit. Instead, I was sent home with a diagnosis of "constipation."

have had their gallbladders out, and one was in an emergency situation. So I understand the risks -- can't understand why some E.R.s don't.

I had several major attacks until they found it was the gall bladder. It was thought it was the appendix and then both and diverticulitis.I was in my late 30's.

The OP reminded me of that diagnosis and I've been complacent. I can't deal with spicy hot foods or very greasy ones these days, either. Also can't take turmeric suppliments. At 70, my GB and liver let me know when they're not happy, with an upset stomach.

Thanks for those reminders!......

Small rough sharp green crystaline things.
My Dr saved me one for posterity from my 1988
Removal.

Be well quickly!!

Where will you be tomorrow? Who is with you?

Are you going to be OK?

When you get ill, you do it up right, don't you? Shocking. So glad you got it in time.

Seriously, take care.

Were they still able to do the surgery laparoscopically?

Best wishes for your recovery.

Tough going and please accept my hope that you will have a full recovery.

Be mindful you might have to take probiotics from now on, though. Talk to your doctor when you come down from the morphine.

but no one ever said anything about that.

until it is needed. Without a gallbladder, your liver injects bile directly into your intestines. Because of this, it is said you don't digest food quite as well, and in fact should avoid spicy foods and sweet, sweet ice cream stuff. Since I'm not a doctor, I'm including a couple of links for your family member, with the caveat to take them with a grain of salt and check with her doctor first.

That said, my wife takes vitamin D2, D6 and probiotics and maybe some kind of ox bile. Not sure. Good luck, though.

Note, she (my wife) did experience some bloating of her abdomen at first, as well.

https://www.everydayhealth.com/gallbladder/living-without-a-gallbladder.aspx
https://wellnessrepair.com/what-you-must-do-if-your-gallbladder-has-been-removed/

Now that what I call a die-hard DU-er. Get well soon and keep us posted.

By the way, my Mother had a gangrenous ovary and tube when she was 16 (70 yrs ago) and still had 5 kids after that. She's a super breeder! ha. Forgot to add, she's still alive!
Hope you recover quickly!

Hope you feel better soon!

Very glad it was gotten before it popped!

I looked yellow-ish a few years ago, day or so later saw image of lots of rocks, said remove the whole thing and they did. Now I rarely recall that I have no gall!!! bladder.

Be well!

a good surgery team. Good luck as you recover! I had a bout with those nasty "stones" and did not like it one bit!

Get well soon! You know what? I think it was all TRUMPS FAULT!

BTW, we still miss ya out here in Deschutes County.

Blessings.

in fact, most fatty foods...

I've never heard of such a situation. You are one lucky dude to have had that diagnosed when it was. I would think that when you have totally recovered, you are going to feel SO good!

"What a week" is an understatement.

Good luck with your recovery.

You should be feeling much better very soon with it gone.

Rest up and don't be afraid to take your pain meds on schedule to stay ahead of the pain.

Sending good vibes your way. Hope you have a quick recovery.

Since you are on morphine, be sure to drink lots of water and stool softeners, if allowed.

Glad you caught it in time.

Oh, my. Hope you recover completely.

Are you not doing the fire watch thing any more?

and become gangrenous if not removed. My gallbladder became diseased, I had no stones and the doctor told me that it had to come out or it would die and turn gangrenous. They have a test that measures how well your galbladder’s functioning. This was all news to me at the time, too.

Hope ur doing better. As my wife tells me 'do what the doctor tells u to do'.

Everybody I'm related to (by blood and marriage) has had their gall bladder removed. I'm just waiting for my turn.

Every one of them has had no post-op problems. Once in a while, there is some reaction to high fat foods, but that goes away in a few hours.

Take care.

Wow, gangrenous gall bladder! Scary, painful stuff.

Glad you made it through everything OK and are now recovering.

GET WELL SOON, OK?

Enjoy the drugs while you're on them, they take away the pain.

Hope you are healing well!!!

Give it a Viking funeral.

Gallbladder and stones, appendix, knees, everything from my hysterectomy, my teeth, half a stomach... kidney stones... I would have enough to create a twin... Dr's refuse of course....

glad they caught it. get well soon

My appendix was full of stones when it went kablooie and almost killed me. But the thing about the stones cleared up one mystery in my mind: the intermittent and irregular episodes of excruciating pain that had plagued me a couple of times a year for over 30 years.

Take care of yourself, Demo Tex. People love you.

blood cells. This is what I learned when I tried to sleep after a dangerous operation. Imagine the good cells gathering to overwhelm the enemy!

Just in time.
Best wishes for a total quick recovery.

And that is some amazing spirit to post on DU after that (although I expect it can be a good distraction).

Take care. Wishing you full recovery! FAST.

Several years ago this happened to a dear friend of mine. Out of the blue, out of town visiting their daughter she was gripped by *the* pain. As you put it gall bladders can get quite angry.

She's fine now and so will you be. Thanks so much for letting us all know what's been happening. Take care and know that we'll be thinking all good thoughts for you every day as you recover.

his phone away and he's hopefully feeling most of a day better.

I thought my recent severe pancreatitis caused by gall stone blockage was a little rough. Nothing like what you had/have. Good luck.

I was 38 at the time when it was removed. From a lifetime of eating "low fat."

Now that you have been purged of your gall, you should be a much sweeter man.

-- Mal

My discharge instructions did not prepare me for what recovery would be like.

When you have a gall bladder and eat fat, your gall bladder releases an appropriate amount of bile. But now you don't have a gall bladder, so there is no regulation of the amount of bile your liver puts out. Normally your liver produces about a quart of bile a day, so it will be dumping bile instead of your gall bladder releasing as much or as little as needed.

What happens? DIARRHEA!!! URGENT liquid diarrhea. Know where the nearest bathroom is at all times. Carry a change of underwear. No, I'm not kidding. The urge will hit you FAST.

You should eat frequent small meals instead of 3 large meals. You still want to eat healthy fats and oils, just a little at a time.

When you eat too big a meal with too much fat, it will go straight through you. Then nutrition becomes a problem. The nutrients in your food don't have enough time to be absorbed, so consider taking vitamins. For better absorbtion I use a liquid multivitamin. A liver support supplement is good too.

Probiotics are your friend. You can take them in pill form, but it's even better to add fermented foods like kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, etc.

You’re an invaluable and unique contributor to DU. We all love you.

Get well soon!

God bless you (if you don't mind my saying that!). What an ordeal. I spent 30+ years in the medical community, in various roles (surgical assistant, back office, medical transcription, etc.) and never saw a gangrenous gallbladder.

A speedy recovery to you: Just focus on how FABULOUS you will feel when you are healed! I am sure that thing festered under the radar for a long time.

Heal!

keepon, keepin on

I also had a gangrenous gall bladder which was removed laparoscopically. Unfortunately some gall stones escaped and blocked my liver bile duct and more procedures were required several weeks later.

Good luck to you.

and I am a girl. 44 years later...Never a problem.
I certainly have empathy for what you have been through.

You will start feeling better soon.
This kind of surgery and after care and excellent results are
pretty routine now.


Tikki

Sounds like that the worst is over: Hang tough and get better!

But mine is still in!!

Best of luck to you and hope you get well real fast!!
Hope your blood pressure rises quickly!!


My grandmother had gangrene of the brain. (She had a death wish for 3 years after breaking her hip. Gangrene of the brain was about the only thing that could kill her)