I've had mine removed, about 4 or 5 years ago as well. I was having horrible pains in my side. The dr wasn't sure what it was as the pains were typically during my sleep and so severe they woke me up and felt as though someone was sticking a knife in my side that hit my spinal cord and then the pain radiated up and down my spine. I never was sick just in a lot of pain. My dr suspected it was my gallbladder although the pain wasn't during the time spans she expected it to be. I was placed a diet that contained ZERO fat for two weeks and then met with my dr again to discuss if I felt any better. When I wasn't feeling better and still having the pains during the two weeks of ZERO fat, I was scheduled for an ultrasound. The ultrasound revealed that my gallbladder was full of stones.

I don't know what abnormalities are that you speak of, but it was explained to me that my stones are actually deposits of cholestorol. The gallbladder releases an enzyme during the digestion process to aide in the digestion of fat. This is why they tried the fat free diet. In theory if I wasn't eating fat, the gallbladder shouldn't be trying to escrete the enzyme along with a stone or two that was essentially clogging the tract causing the pain. I also learned based upon questions from my dr how I developed the stones as I was about 25 when I had this happen. I had been on some "herbal/vitamin" diet medication. She was telling me that when you go through rapid weight loss typically aided by some form of medicine (prescription or otherwise) the body can't rid it's self of the cholestrol fast enough and it forms deposits in the gallbladder. Not that you will find that as a warning on the side of any diet aide!!!

Anyway, I had mine removed laproscopicly as well (completed as outpatient, was home the same day after waking from anesthetic and successfully drinking something in the hospital). It was three small incisions, outpatient surgery, and I had stitches, though they were all internally (below the skin) that disolved and didn't require removal. The recovery was rather brief, though I was off of work for two weeks, after one I felt well enough to return ... but dr orders. The first 24 hours were the roughest, mostly because of the anesthetic and the gas that they fill your abdomen with to remove the gallbladder through a tiny one inch incision. I was on pain medication, but only took one pill as it made me feel sick and the thought of being sick with a pained abdomen was less than thrilling. I choose pain over sickness.

My recommendations to you if you have surgery, have it as early in the day as possible, be prepared for difficulty sleeping the first few days if you are a side sleeper, even when sleeping on the opposite side, I felt a pulling sensation. Also, my bed sits quite high, it was hard to get in and out as the muscles you would use are in your abdomen and were quite sore. Walk! you will have some gas left in you from the procedure, and this is the only way to efficiently make that gas move out of your body. Lastly, when you cough or sneeze grab a pillow and hug it tight, it relieves the pressure on the incisions.

For a period of time I had difficulty eating, learning what would make me feel ill or not. That is all gone now, with the exception of when I'm feeling a lot of stress, then it seems like no matter what I eat I feel sick. So I try to keep my stress in check (as we all should anyway) and I'm much better off.

Hopefully your dr will find the best solution, but please don't stress if they decide to do surgery, it really is not bad. Promise!

(((iwm)))