Follow
Share
Read More
Find Care & Housing
Just saw on the news that Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles has been hacked. We are being told to change passwords and freeze our credit.

My credit is already frozen due to a prior identity theft incident.
(3)
Report

MD, I live in Canada. I am just curious if gallstones alone can be removed, if I am correct some kind of easy procedure is done in US.
NHWM,
Thank you. No I am not in pain anymore.
(3)
Report

Years ago, they cut you open to remove your gallbladder. That’s how my dad had it done.

My daughter had a very simple procedure to remove hers. Many surgeries are so much easier today.

My brother just had this weird thing going on. It’s usually not complicated like his situation is.

Look at the strange thing that happened with my husband’s colonoscopy procedure. Oh gosh, what a mess that was. A polyp went inside his appendix when the doctor went to remove it, causing him to have to have his appendix removed.

Strange things can happen at times.
(3)
Report

Evamar,

Yes, gallstones can be removed. They removed my brother’s gallstones today.

My daughter and husband get kidney stones.
(2)
Report

MD,

It was crazy. So DH had the appendectomy, got an infection, and I ended up taking him to the ER. Oh, then had some weird issue with his food and stayed on crutches for awhile. The whole thing was really strange.
(2)
Report

NHWM,
Thank you, in USA yes, not here.
Our wonderful( sarcasm intended) medical system is failing.
My husband who was referred to Pain Clinic over a year ago got official letter yesterday that he was accepted but waiting time is 14-16 months which means first assessment will be next year Aug-Oct. Meanwhile his GP says it is due to Parkinson’s disease, his neurologist says it is not, during visit to hospital he was told to go to GP. So we go round and round. And he suffers with pain, different or stronger meds don’t help. My intuition tells me there is more, yet, it is ignored.
Our best friend is waiting for surgery for cancer, postponed till next month. Scary to get sick, I will look into that as my son lives in USA, removing gallstones should be simple, I am terrified of any surgery. Actually more of going under and not waking up. Honestly, my biggest fear.
(4)
Report

Eva - sorry to hear you were ill, but glad you are better now, Out west here our experience is that for cancer the wait for surgery is not long. For knee replacement there is a long waiting list.
(3)
Report

Golden,Thank you. Feeling good now, although it took me quite a while to get better, I wasn’t as strong as usual as I was not eating, I think due to antibiotics. Really annoying as I hardly get headache or cold. But started doing squats and weights again, moderate exercise for now. Good to hear you almost moved and R is OK, I believe you mentioned knee surgery, hope all goes well.We decided we wait till next year as condos are scarce, one they building across a river from us is appealing, but won’t be ready until next year. The housing market is crazy!
(5)
Report

Thanks, MD

He’s doing well now.
(2)
Report

Regarding gallstones. In the US, surgeons usually remove the whole gallbladder rather than just the stones, because once an individual has gallstones it is common to develop gallstones again . It has gotten to be a simple procedure to remove the gallbladder unless someone’s anatomy ( meaning the gallbladder is tucked behind another organ ) causes it to be difficult to reach and remove via laparoscope . I don’t know specific examples of why a surgeon would recommend only removing the stones .

I personally think that the obesity problem in the US is why they just remove the whole gallbladder because they know these people will get stones again . Not everyone who gets gallstones is obese. However, gallbladder removal is one of the most common surgeries here because of the high amount of fat in the diets.
(3)
Report

Way2tired,
Quick search showed me they do in US stone breaking instead of removing gallbladder. It is my understanding it is simple procedure like removing kidney stones.Perhaps for those like me who are terrified of any surgery.Or some people cannot have surgery.And why I got them remains a mystery as I am healthy and slim and eat good food, nothing processed, no trans fats ever or very little. But, as they say everybody has them, especially females over 40, most don’t cause any problems
(3)
Report

Evamar,
That is a reasonable assumption that breaking up the stones would be tried if someone is fearful of surgery or if surgery ( or anesthesia ) is too dangerous for someone. However , the success rate for breaking up the stones isn’t great .

I used to work for a general surgeon . Surgeons like to do surgery , however, she was pretty conservative in not jumping to surgery especially if the patient was high risk for having any surgery . That being said, removal of gallbladder has gotten so simple , even she did that frequently.
(2)
Report

Way2tired,
Thank you for reassurance.
I know it is simple procedure, as terrified as I am, I know if I have another attack I will go to hospital and have gallbladder
removed.
(3)
Report

Evamar , I just did a little googling as well about removal of gallstones. What I found was it said in most cases, it’s no more difficult to remove the gallbladder than it is to remove just the stones , and the surgical risks are the same. So I guess the thought process is once and done, since reoccurrence of stones is frequent .

Good luck . My mother had hers done in her late 70’s . She did great .
(3)
Report

Evamar: Glad that you are feeling better now.
(4)
Report

Way2tired,
Good point. I just assumed by not looking closer removing gallstones is done somehow different.
Llama,
Thank you. Feeling so much better.
(4)
Report

Need: Prayers for your brother. Kidney stones are very painful. I've had my share of them.
(3)
Report

Evamar, I’m sorry you are having this problem . You eat healthy and it still happened. Some things run in families as well . Or you could just be one of those random cases. Like you said though , probably most of us have stones as we get older and don’t even know it.
(4)
Report

Way2 tired,
I did have quite sweet tooth so who knows? I ate lots of chocolate, some pastries, almost nothing for 2 months.
Thank you MD,
It is reassuring to hear that. I am sure it is simple surgery, but that is my rational side, fear is not.
As I was googling lots while sick, interesting fact Andy Warhol died of gallbladder surgery. But, as discovered he was in poor health.
(4)
Report

Andy Warhol was thin! My younger brother is not obese either but he doesn’t have the best diet!

Diet does affect everything! I’m careful with diet because of the heart disease and diabetes in my family.

I like sweets too but only once in awhile. Everything in moderation is best.
(3)
Report

My skinny vegetarian friend was plagued with gall stones and she refused any kind of surgery because she's very anti doctor/modern medicine. I assume her natural treatments are working for her 🤷🏻‍♀️
(4)
Report

Evamar - my family have been consumers of our health care system since the 70's so I think I've learned a lot of the ins and outs, I think a lot of time the difference between those who get timely treatment and those who wait comes down to your GP's ability to think outside the box and to advocate for their patients. Back in the day my dad died while waiting for coronary bypass surgery, I now know that his doctor could have pushed him to the top of the list if the surgeon had been made aware his angina was no longer stable.
Of course the crisis now due to lack of staff is it's own kind of special h3ll, I don't know how to get around that because all the money in the world can't manufacture enough health care workers.
(5)
Report

cwillie, my opinion is the 1%-ers are taking up all the available labor and services because they can and will pay for whatever it takes to get it. This is based on my son's business... he's a specialty mason (building outdoor stone kichens, fireplaces, pool surrounds, etc). He's been on 1 small lakefront house job (multimillion dollar house) for 2 years for a "philanthropist" and she just keeps making up more stuff to add to her project. Now a huge developer wants him to work exclusively for them. This means he won't be doing work for the middle-class (or even upper middle class) clients. This applies to the healthcare industry as well.
(3)
Report

🎼🎵 there's nothing surer, the rich get rich and the poor get poorer🎶(ain't we got fun)
(6)
Report

Eva - I am with you on wanting to avoid surgery though I don't think it is because of fear. I would just prefer to find another way to deal with whatever if I can. If I have to have it - so be it. I will ask if it can be done with local anesthetic rather than general as general anesthetic messes with you more than local.

I have had general anesthetic three times - once as a preschool child to have my tonsils removed - it was ether, I think. The next time, ether again, during the childbirth process of my first child, my dd. That bothered me as I had already gone through all the pain, including an episiotomy without anesthetic, and she was coming out. Why deprived me of being conscious for her actual birth? And the last time about 40 years ago for a d and c following a miscarriage. When I woke up from that I was ready to walk home. So I haven't had any bad experiences with anesthetic.

My grandfather had his gall bladder removed in his 70s. He was very fit and trim. My mother (his dd) had hers removed when she was my age 86. She also was very fit and trim. It certainly isn't a matter of being obese. My father and his sisters never had gall bladders, or appendices removed. I hope I take after them. lol

cw - Your skinny friend with gall bladder issues - there may come a point for her...
(2)
Report

Golden,
I did ask, no local for this type of surgery.
I am dreading next attack as it was the most painful thing, so avoiding it by eating nutrients dense mostly plant based diet seems to be working
Cwillie,
You are so right, more money is not the answer, waiting for GP appointment for more than 2 weeks, lab for 2 months, MRI 6 months, I could go on and on.
(2)
Report

(((((Eva)))) hope it continues to work for you.

I remember a young man, ex colleague of my then husband who was going through gall bladder attacks and much pain. After he had it removed he looked 10 years younger.
(4)
Report

Great point Golden,
I will remember that if needed.
(2)
Report

Getting ready to out for a meal with our daughters for Father’s Day.

Happy Father’s Day to all dads!
(6)
Report

Have a good time, Need.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads on here. You deserve a good time.🎈🏀🍟🍩🍔🥩🍦
(3)
Report

Start a Discussion
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter