[z's playa]

I swore I would never do this but my mom really needs to know Shes living in Mexico right now and has no real access to an English speaking doctor.
She has an inflamed gallbladder and she was put on pills first to try to avoid surgery. She would like to know if the thickness of the walls (gallbldder) will go down. If she gets the surgery, will the chances of her getting chronic diarhea be extra high since she had it as a child? What changes in diet will occur after removal? Thank you sooooo much in advance. Maybe she'll get off my back now

Catherine


Let me expand here....what gross complications can occur in the long run from having your gallbladder removed? (edited because mom wants to know.. )

[LilgirlRN]

does she have stones?, what kind of pills? i had a cholecystectomy years ago with no appreciable change in bowel habits. i did not change my diet in any way, although some suggest lowering your fat intake.

[z's playa]

LilgirlRN:

Well the meds are all in Spanish. Eeeek! They are Ulsen, Buscapina for pain and Unamol. I'm stumped as to what they are. Agreed? She has no stones...yet. Biliary colic comes to mind. Its reassuring you didn't have any lasting consequences as a result of your surgery though. Not too sure it was such a good idea for parents to retire where the health care has much to be desired.

Happy new year!!

[FarmgrrlRN]

since I am a student, I can only give you my personal experience. I had mine removed in May 2003. I had no stones, but plenty of irritating pain. I'm glad I had the surgery, because it all went away (pathology showed it was inflamed). As far as a change in bowel habits, the surgery had an immediate effect on me! If I eat something really fatty (ie fried foods, pizza) then I will need to visit a bathroom within 30 mins. Immediately after the surgery, I was craving FOOD since I had been in the hospital for 2 days and the second day I was NPO. So, we got drive thru. I didn't even finish eating my burger and I was in the bathroom. Over the months, this has decreased immensely and is now something I can live with. My surgeon wrote me a prescription for some powder that I never filled for the diarrhea. As far as I know, everybody is different as far as diarrhea is concerned.

[Kyriaka]

I had my gallbladder removed about 15 years ago. I had no stones. I had (without my knowlege) gall bladder disease. One day the gall bladder burst. The surgery was emergency. I would much rather have had elective. So I hope your mom doesnt wait too long.

I did have some digestive problems after the surgery but started taking digestive enzymes.

I now have hiatal hernia. But I am sure I would have developed it anyways whether or not I had a gallbladder. Just dads genes.