I'm not a doctor. So I can only tell you what happened to me. I have a strong family history of gall stones. I was getting gall stone attacks...not stomach aches or vomiting, but severe debilitating pain in my upper right side. So I did have my gall bladder removed, laparoscopically, and it was relatively easy. I didn't wait until it was infected or inflamed or the stones so large as to need traditional surgery. Since then I have been fine, though I do find I'm helped if I take bile salts after a large or fatty meal.

So the only thing that I'd want to check out is to make sure it's the gall bladder that is causing your trouble. My symptoms were very clearly gall bladder but yours seem a little less specific. I'd hate for you to have the surgery and still have the issue.

You can always go for a 2nd opinion to be sure.

If the sonogram actually shows stones, I would think it to be to your benefit to have them removed while it can be done laparoscopicly before they larger and cause you terrible pain and have to have emergency surgery. Lap is a simple surgery and easy recovery. Good luck!

Some years ago I started having to race to a toilet every time I ate anything in the least fatty. It was getting to be a major problem and eating out while travelling was a minefield. The doctor diagnosed gallstones and said that if they shifted and blocked the bile duct, I would get a high temperature and start vomiting and that would be the time to race to the emergency room or else face ending up in a funeral home.

I finally elected to have the gall bladder out which they did by keyhole surgery. The surgeon said it would take from two to six weeks to recover, it just depended on my body's reaction. I went home from hospital the next day and two weeks later I was raring to go. (I was surprised because I admit I'm not the fittest person.)

The first week my DH stayed home to look after me because getting up for the bathroom and meals was about all I felt up to doing. After that I felt reasonable, though not 100%.

Personally I haven't had any issues since, don't miss the gallbladder at all and no issues with what I eat.

Annie described my gallbladder pain to a T. I'll add it was worse than natural childbirth. Worse pain of my life. I ended up having the full surgery which was all that was offered than. 1975 I was 19. I have the most horrid scar as my badge of proof. Lol

Get a second opinion. My best to you.

My father was out for 6 weeks when he had his gallbladder removed in the 1970s. Flash forward 20 years and I had mine removed laparoscopically. I missed 2 days of work. All those years of thinking I had an ulcer, taking Alka Zeltzers and Tums. No more.

My Mom had hers out, and the doctor had to use the older method of larger incision - when he came into the waiting room he said her gallbladder was very diseased, stiff and folded over. It was a major surgery with the recovery time that one would expect.

My eldest sister in law had hers out laparoscopicly (sp?). She stayed one night. She took Tylenol the next day coming home. She worked the day following that, because after that one days work the dentist who employed her was leaving for two weeks and she could stay home, rest, relax. She did fine, although I wouldn't recommend returning to work in less than 48 hours like she did.

My daughter in law at age 27 had hers out in an emergency surgery and was in recuperation for a few weeks.

Had mine removed 18 years ago when lap surgery was relatively new. There were some nurses who had returned to work in 2 days after the same. I stayed overnight and was back to work in a week. No pain medication at all and could have worked in 3 days but boss thought I should 'rest'. My mother was 72 and had no problems at all either.

I had mine out at age 24, before laparascopy became common. I had bouts of significant pain in the middle, right under my sternum. I spent a few days in the hospital, because there was a stone in the duct when they went in, and that required extra attention. Recovery was a couple of weeks, and I haven't given it any thought in the past 31 years. No food restrictions, no issues.

Like Mamap,if I hadn't typed that I would have sworn it was me....19, 1977 went thru hell with it for 7 years...had 2nd baby in Feb 77 and gallbladder and stones removed Easter of 77.

The surgery now and recovery time is pretty simple....get it done-you wont be sorry.

My daughter and myself had ours out 3 months apart. She at 33 had been having attacks so bad she was ready for surgery. Recoop time was a couple of days for her. I had no symptoms, one attack, a ride in an ambulance and had mine out. More like 4 days recoop for me, more due to getting anesthesia out of my system. Neither of us had pain after. Well worth it. I have diarrhea if I eat greasy foods. No other after effects for either of us.

Do it while it can be done laparoscopically. You do NOT want to wait until they have to do the full surgery - very long recovery, very serious surgery. DD had hers removed when her first baby was about 4 months old.

ont_gal It is a good thing that you had your gall bladder removed in 1977.

In 2012 (I live in Ontario, Canada) I had an ultrasound for something I did not have (thankfully) but the ultrasound did show gall stones - how many and how big I was not told and neither was my primary doctor.

I have never had an attack - and it is now 2018 and I am a senior citizen (well in age...). I wrongly assumed I would be able to have my gall bladder removed before it became an issue. Apparently in Ontario you can't have just the gall stones removed (I have been watching too much U.S. TV).

I even managed somehow to contact the office of Toronto's main gall bladder doctor and was told that I was right that it would be better to have it dealt with at the time rather than to wait for an attack. But that OHIP would not cover the cost.

Of course it is now considered a pre-existing condition for travel insurance and I am obsessed with it! I do know the signs - my doctor said to pay attention to sharp pains in the area of the belly button or to symptoms resembling a heart attack. Many people go to Emergency thinking they are having a heart attack when in fact they are suffering a gall bladder attack - but that the gall bladder does not need to be removed immediately - as in the person is not turning yellow. So they are given a letter to give to their primary GP who then in turn will make a referral to a specialist - which in Ontario you know how long that would take.

Of course Murphy's Law being what it is, people who have been through the Emergency heart attack/really a gall bladder attack do not go to Emergency the next time they present with heart attack symptoms and of course they are having a heart attack.

I hate the fact that when I have a cold and really cough etc. that I can get pains in my side - or I pull a muscle etc. I realize that I could die before I have a gall bladder attack, but still it is a pain in the neck and I wish that I did not know I have gall stones. I have had an acid based kidney stone and that was a "treat".

Neither I nor my husband are a drain on OHIP's services. We go once a year to the doctor. I have one prescription, he has 2 only for eye drops and that is it. I can't take meds for cold/flu etc. so that pretty much wipes out everything and I do not have high b.p. or cholesterol.

That is my sad story. I am happy that you do not have to worry about the issue. If I were 20 then I could understand not removing the stones but the entire gall bladder in case the stones returned, but being past 65 I would prefer to take my chances.

I had horrible pain when the stones would try to pass but were much too large. Surgeon said I had some of the biggest stones he had seen. He put them in a container for me. They were large. I had laparoscopic surgery, went home same day, took it easy at home a few days. I was one of the unfortunate people that developed the dreaded bile dumping syndrome after the removal. This happens to a lot of people. It is good to know about it in case it happens to you because I didn't know about it and I thought I was dieing the first time it happened. I still have it today and I had my surgery many years ago. It's not as bad now but when it hits you better be within running distance of a bathroom. Not good when you can't run!

Do they remove the stones, or is it recommended to remove the gall bladder? Gall bladder removal is a very common surgery, and I know a bunch of people of varying ages who have had it done.

My doctor recently recommended that I see a surgeon to determine if mine should be removed. I don't have painful attacks, but as long as I can remember I haven't processed fats properly. As a teenager I could never eat pizza with my friends because the oil wold come right back up. Reading some of the posts above surprised me because my symptoms sound like some of you whose gall bladders have been removed. I'm wondering if i do have mine out, will nothing change?

An ultrasound last year revealed a lot of sludge. The doctor's advice was to eliminate as much saturated fat as possible. I've been doing exactly that for decades! I haven't seen the surgeon yet; I'll be interested to see what he says.

Thanks for all the responses, I knew I would find some here. I see the surgeon on Wednesday morning and I will let you all know what he says.

Jewels, good luck and whatever you decide, I hope you can be rid of your pain.

I had my gallbladder removed by laparoscopy about 10 years ago. I never had a severe gallbladder attack, but I started having abdominal pain at times. I knew I had large gallstones, but they were not blocking a duct. When I visited the surgeon, he did not think that the stones were causing my problems. He ordered a Hida scan and that showed that my gallbladder was very low functioning, and was, in fact, the cause of my discomfort. After the surgery, I had the bile dumping problem and having to go to the bathroom immediately after eating. I still have it. My doctor prescribed Cholestyramine which binds with bile. I took that for a while. Then I read on one of the Gardenweb forums (might have been this one) where a person said that their doctor told them to take Immodium before going to a restaurant. I have been doing that and it works for me.