u/cerealcat00

Someone affordable.

I thought I would post my gallbladder removal success story for anyone feeling scared about surgery. I’m 38F, no other health issues.

The start of my symptoms

I first started getting symptoms back in November 2024. Anytime I had high fat foods I’d get an attack during the night. By January 2025 after googling my symptoms I suspected gallstones. I went to my doctor and told him my symptoms and how I suspected gallstones. He dismissed this as apparently the pain ‘wasn’t in the right place’ (for me it was in the upper middle part of my stomach). He put me on medication for something else before even getting the test results of what he thought I had. The test results came out negative. I decided to pay for a private ultrasound and they confirmed I had gallstones.

Confirmation of Gallstones & moving forward

I then went back to my doctor’s practice, saw another doctor this time and gave him my ultrasound results. This doctor also said “but you’re not experiencing pain in the area of your gallbladder so we need to get to the bottom of this pain”. I told him the pain is my gallbladder and I wanted surgery. He then put me on the waiting list. I live in the U.K. so healthcare is free but often a bit of a wait. I ended up getting a consultation appointment for the summer of 2025. He told me I should get my op by the end of the year. I ended up getting my pre-op appointment in April 2026 and then my operation date the 1st May.

Operation Day

My surgery was scheduled for the afternoon so I arrived at the hospital for 12pm. They started setting me up for surgery around 1:30pm. Checked my blood pressure, asked some questions, gave me a hospital gown and knickers. They then took me to the operating bed. A lot of people there asking questions, giving me oxygen. They then administered the general anaesthesia. I felt like I fell asleep in the blink of an eye. Woke up a few hours later in a lot of pain which apparently was from the Co2 gas they pump into your stomach during surgery. I didn’t tell them I was in pain but they could see it in my face that I was so they gave me the most amount of fentanyl and Morphine possible. For some reason this didn’t help with the pain. The kept an eye on me for a bit before wheeling me back to the main ward where my Dad was waiting for me. I was discharged and was able to walk but slowly. Got home and the pain persisted for the rest of the day and night. I didn’t fall asleep till 7am and woke up at 10am. When I woke up that extreme pain had subsided a bit so I was feeling better. For the next 7 days my body was struggling to shift the Co2 gas. I tried burping and walking around a bit to help get rid of it. My appetite came back the 3rd day so I was eating low fat but then by the 5th day I just ate anything and everything (including lots of high fat foods). I only had diarrhoea for 2 days after that and I haven’t had any since.

Post-op

7 days Post-op and I pretty much felt 100% normal. And now 2.5 weeks post-op and my wounds have healed well and the only discomfort I sometimes get in my stomach is if I stretch my back. But I believe this will resolve with time.

So please try not to fear surgery. It wasn’t as bad as thought it was going to be. I am thankful for the NHS and how well they looked after me. It’s weird to think I’ll have no more attacks. Good luck to anyone out there about to have surgery.

I find Morrisons in Ealing Broadway quite good for it but wondered if there are any other recommendations?