Thoughts on getting your gallbladder removed

When I think about things to write about I usually get inspiration from things and events that have affected me personally. In late 20...

When I think about things to write about I usually get inspiration from things and events that have affected me personally. In late 2016 I started experiencing issues with my gallbladder (though I didn't know it at the time). I remember looking online to try and find someone who had similar symptoms and feelings as me and to my surprise I couldn't find much!

I want to take a few minutes to write about the process of

Feeling something was up with my body
The uncertainty of what was happening
The pain that comes with gallbladder attacks
The choice of getting surgery to remove my gallbladder
Life with no gallbladder

I'm not going to include any stats or information about the gallbladder and stones in itself because I found that information to be in abundance online. Gallbladder issues are quite common and there are certain aspects (such as ethnicity, age, lifestyle) that can create these problems.

So let's start from the very beginning.
I began noticing a change in my body in mid 2016. By change I mean something that felt like acid reflex. I remember very vividly not being able to fall asleep one night due to this "acid reflex" and no amount of Toms would help.

Mind you, I've never had acid reflex before in my life. I had drank a lot of champagne fruit punch that night though (it was heavenly) so I didn't think much of it.

Fast forward to late 2016. At this point I had gone through a few "acid reflex attacks", as I called them, which consisted of slight uncomfort for approximately two hours and no remedy. The pain got to be pretty unbearable at one point that I thought about going to urgent care.

I should probably mention my pain threshold is pretty high.

The attacks only occurred at night and were pretty random at this point (more on this later). It wasn't until December 2016 when I found out these "acid reflex attacks" were actually "gallstone attacks" and finding out wasn't fun at all.

The day it went down.
I was traveling in Hawaii when I got one of these attacks. TMI (too much information) to follow: It was late and the usual pain was happening, the only difference was this time, I was throwing up. 7 times to be exact...yes, I was counting.

The pain got to be so much that I went to urgent care. I was crouched over the entire ride there and time seemed to stop!! I don't even think I am over exaggerating this you guys, it was that bad.

Long story short, I got there and waited maybe 5 minutes before I was attended to. I must have looked terrible as I was attended to pretty quickly and got tests done. My nurse gave me some morphine and it seemed to work as I was feeling better than ever! The doctor informed me I had a gallstone and prescribed me two medicines: one for pain and one for nausea.

Now, fast forward to June 2017. I had been dealing with gallstone pains on average once a month. This was pretty consistent and to this day I am shocked at how the body seems to move in cycles. The process was always the same: Start feeling pain, take my pain medication, feel sleepy, fall asleep. A couple of times the pain was so bad I had to take two pills.

One beautiful day in June 2017 I ran the Bryce Canyon Half-Marathon in Utah. That night I experienced pain so intense that persisted even after taking two pills, which was the most I could take. This was the last straw and I decided I could no longer go on like this. I later found out dehydration can cause gallbladder attacks (that would have been good to know).

So I went through the next process:

Removing the gallbladder.
This basically consisted of:

Getting more tests done. At this point I found out I had TWO gallstones now. I grew a whole other gallstone in 6 months! This is bewildering and slightly gross to me.
Getting an endoscopy test (and asking for Cafe Rio while being high on anesthesia)
Getting the gallbladder removed at the hospital.
Recovering

The removal is fairly easy and painless. I was extremely nervous as I had never undergone surgery before. Luckily, I scheduled a super early appointment so I was half asleep when I was being prepped and I was equipped with a stress relieving, heart rate decreasing piano playlist on Spotify (Music Therapy Win).

Here is my recollection of the surgery: Being asked to take my earrings off (and being scared of my newer piercings closing up), being wheeled to the surgery room, being put on anesthesia, breathing, and literally 3 seconds of consciousness.

Next thing I knew, I was being woken up and being told everything went fine! And then I went back to sleep. And then I was woken up again and checked up on. Basically this went on for a while.

You can leave a few hours after the surgery but in my case, I did not want to wake up so we stayed in a hospital until the afternoon (no joke). My poor mother and brother were with me the entire time while I slept. Completely pain free, just sleepy.

Recovery.
Let's talk about the recovery.

I believe they ask me to refrain from strenuous activity and lifting for 2 weeks and I was expected to do minimal walking for a couple of days after surgery. I would do some laps around the kitchen and then return to my nest on the couch to watch Netflix. Not much of a lifestyle change for me.

Everybody is different and I've heard of people who return to work withing a few days. My doctor even told me of a patient he had who got on a cruise the next day! I'm not sure if any of this is reassuring or comforting to you. I had the best time being pampered by my family!

The toughest part about the entire recovery was removing the tape they put on my stitches. I realized that I was being a big baby about it though when I went to my check-up with the doctor and he ripped them off without harming me. I repeat: I was a big baby.

Concerns.
I will mention the concerns I had during the entirety of this process. This may seem trivial to most but my biggest concern were the scars. I don't know why as I rarely walk around without a shirt on.

The surgeon made 4 incisions on my body, 3 on my torso and 1 in my belly button. They are the tiniest of incisions and are kind of cute to me now. Speaking honestly, I barely notice my scars and am proud of them. They are a part of who I am.

My other concern was how my body would react without a gallbladder. And this, my friends, is what I continue to struggle with even to this day. It has been 1 year and 3 months since my surgery and my digestion is no longer the same. Does it cause me problems? Yes. Do I get frustrated my stomach isn't as sturdy as it used to be? Yes. Do I miss having gallstone attacks and being rushed to urgent care?No.

So do the surgery. Get your gallbladder removed. No amount of digestion problems is worth the pain. At least not for me.

Looking back on this blog post, it is pretty long. If you are reading this (and read the entire thing) THANKS! I want this blog to be a resource for people so if you had to get anything from this post here is what I would hope you learned:

Dehydration can cause gallstone attacks. Think twice about running a half-marathon.
Go to the doctor early on. The doctor can give you some medication so attacks may be slightly more tolerable.
Scars are history to your body. No shame!
Everybody's body reacts differently. Some watch Netflix for weeks, some go back to work, while others take cruises. Just listen to your doctors recommendations.
Do what is best for you. If your gallstone attacks are not bad OR you don't have any don't feel pressured into getting surgery to remove your gallbladder. I do know that some attacks may be a risk to your health and then you have to have emergency gallbladder removal.
Be aware of timing. When I started my journey with my gallstone (which I named Gullum), I began with one stone. By the time of the gallbladder removal I had two stones! I suggest getting the procedure done before your whole gallbladder is filled with Gollums.

Are you thinking of getting your gallbladder out? Or have you had the surgery? How has life changed for you since the procedure? Did you have similar experiences as me? I would love to hear about it in the comment section below! Thank you for reading this blog post! I hope you found some useful information!