I am new to the site. For the last 10 days I have not been able to keep any food down except liquids. After a terrible ER experience and a upper GI endoscopy, I am now being told I very likely need to have gallbladder surgery (they think gallstones are because of rapid weight loss). I know this is a laparascopic procedure and not the worst possible surgery to have but I am getting married August 26th! Has anyone had this procedure and can you tell me if you think it would be totally ridiculous to have this surgery two weeks before the wedding. I know my dr. will say the procedure is easy-breezy no big deal, but i want to hear from someone who has had it. Will I be swollen or will my dress fit? If I wait until after the wedding, then I have to either cancel my honeymoon to Italy which will be really sad and expensive or risk ending up in the ER there. Really want to hear from people who have had the surgery (or anyone who just feels sorry for me )

P.S. Worst part is no weight loss on liquid diet AT ALL. Definitely not fair

I had that surgery in mid-2003. As I recall, two weeks afterward I was still terribly sore, but not overly swollen. You may be okay for the wedding, but honestly I would recommend trying your best to reschedule the honeymoon, or else you may not have a very good time.

I'm so sorry this happened to you! *gentle hug*

I had it too. I was back to work in 2 - 3 days. I think you'll be fine. Maybe see if they can move the surgery up. I'd rather be a little sore in ITALY that miss out! Plus, who wants to be miserable on their wedding day. The surgery offers much relief.

I had the surgery a few years ago too. I was back to work within a week and felt fine. I agree with Sandi I would see if I could move the surgery up and get it done and get some relief. Good Luck!

I had this surgery when i was 19. yep 19 (i worked at KFC at the time and ate there too hehe) The worst it was soar was that first week. Soar and bloated. But Advil and Tylenol were ok to take so it wasn't that terribly bad. You might be a little soar on honeymoon. If you area quick healer and recoup quickly then you will be ok. But I doubt it would be anything so painful that you couldn't enjoy yourself

I haven't had gallbladder surgery... yet. In April of 2005, I had a major gallbladder attack, went to ER, was set up for an ultrasound and then told I was full of gallstones. This was the week before finals!!! The surgeon gave me 2 options: Have surgery (and miss all my finals, therefore having to make up everything later) with the possibility that they couldn't do it laproscopically because of my size, but wouldn't know till they got in there; or take antibiotics to help with the inflamation.
I opted for the antibiotics - which the surgeon then told me that if it wasn't better in a few days, I'd end up having surgery.
Well, they worked; I still have my gallbladder; and I have had only 1 gallbladder attack since then (on Thanksgiving).
Ask your doctor if taking an antibiotic for the inflammation would be worth a try; certainly it can buy you some time. In the meantime, do your best to avoid anything fatty.

Your doctor will be the best judge of whether the surgery can be postponed. In some cases there can be a danger of perforation or blockage of the bile ducts in the liver, which can be very serious indeed. If you decide to postpone the surgery and go ahead with the wedding and honeymoon, you might run the risk of having another attack while away from home - which could be very scary.

Perhaps you could go ahead with the surgery, wedding and honeymoon but get some kind of travel insurance in case you aren't well enough to go on the trip.

I had my gallbladder removed laproscopically about ten years ago (after losing weight quickly on Nutrisystem - another good reason to lose weight slowly!) I was pulling weeds in the garden a week later and felt pretty good two weeks after, but as they say "your mileage may vary".

You will be very bloated immediately after surgery as they fill your abdominal cavity up with air, but this subsides within a couple of days.

I have just a teensy tiny scar on my upper abdomen (less than 1/4") and one in my belly button that isn't visible.

I hope everything works out well for you.

i had mine out when i was 21 .. and i was sore for a week .. mind ya you may not feel up to doin any line dancing or jigs on ya wedding day ..but ya should be ok. As far as how fast ya heal .. it really depends on how active you are ..how healthy .. i found the more i got up and moved around the better i felt .. it was just that first 30 minutes after waking up that i wished someone would beat me unconcious again... but after i figured out if i would get up and move i would feel alot better... the better it was.. the first 4 days were the worst...by a week i was doin good .. by two weeks i think i jus had a twinge here and there .. but if i were you i would get in and get it over with .. nothin worse then endin up in an ER in a foreign country .. talk about a mood killer for ya honeymoon!! either way .. good luck! and Congrats!

Thanks for all your replies and support! Good to hear that some people who have had the surgery think it is not a totally ridiculous idea to have the surgery before the wedding. It might be worth it to make me feel better, but I am worried if there were a serious complication or conversion to open surgery, than that would be a huge investment of many thousands of dollars down the drain, like if I couldn't even stand up at my own wedding. (I am a worrier--plus I need to wear a corset for my dress!) I don't think they will be able to move the surgery up, I live in a big city and given that in their reasonable perspective an emergency is being near-death not an upcoming wedding, I haven't had much luck getting them to move things along.
I have a few days to think it over and decide which is the lesser of two evils.
I will try to sell my dr. on the antibiotics idea--thanks Amanda. My fiance speaks Italian really really fluently so maybe I will just risk it--would be a good story for the grandkids

My sister had this surgery 3 years ago when she was 250 lbs., she was full of gallstones, and they were still able to do it laproscopically. She walked out of the hospital 4 hours after the operation. She was slightly sore for about a week and then she was fine.

One thing to note: Without a gall bladder you will still get sick to your stomach if you eat fatty foods. You won't have the bile that the gall bladder produces.

You'll be fine for the wedding trust me...just get it out ASAP!! Happy wedding.

I had mine taken out when I was 18. They decided to just take it out because I was so young and figured it'd just be back to bother me. I was ready to walk out on my own after surgery....they weren't having none of that and made me use a wheelchair lol I was up and cleaning the house on my third day after. Everything healed quickly. The cut they made below my belly button took longer and was the one that was most sore. Don't try to eat much for the first few days after...you'll end up feeling horrible and bloated because of all the air they use for your tummy in surgery. I was really hungry and tried to eat a whole hamburger, big no no. Good luck, you'll be fine

Get it out!! I had mine done in April and it was the greatest surgery ever! I have had 3 c sections and this was a breeze!! The next morning I was sore but I was ok to walk over to my neighbors house and get my rotten dog that ran away. AFter 2 weeks I was fine. I think you will be ok. It did take a good month for the larger incision to heal compelety but that is my only complaint. Honestly, I am a weanie and this surgery was a breeze! I would rather have another c section then another gall bladder attack and I was getting them once a week.

DON'T POSTPONE it if you can get it done now! Seriously!!! I had mine out on a Tuesday afternoon and was home that evening, and was up and about on Wednesday morning, and right as rain by Wednesday evening. If you wait, the BIG problem will be that you could have an attack at any time, like, the night before your wedding, or on your honeymoon!!!! Get it done! You'll most likely be fine!

I understand why everyone says to take it out... but I still say that if you can hold off, you may not need it removed at all. Like I said, it has been over a year and a half since I was told I needed surgery, I put it off and haven't had problems since.
Either way, you risk not being better by your wedding day or having to deal with gallbladder attacks. It could be that you already passed a stone and will be fine. Don't forget that gallbladder attacks do vary in severity, and I guess it is up to you how much pain you can tolerate if it should happen again - if you can tolerate it, you may have another one and just be able to sleep it off.
If you opt not to have surgery before your wedding, it is imperative that you avoid fatty foods... eat as clean as possible and cut as much fat out as possible, also absolutely no fried foods! At least this can reduce your risk of another attack.
As a side note, about 16 years ago when my dad went through rapid weight loss, he had gallbladder attacks a few nights a week for a year - never went to a doctor, never had it removed, and it got better on its own.... Again it depends on what kind of pain tolerance you have.
Just make sure that you discuss with your doctor ALL your options, and what the outcome might be if you simply did nothing. The first thing they usually suggest is surgery without a thought to what works for the patient... so make sure you go over all possible options.

If you're having trouble keeping food down, I'd say have it taken out. Honest to God, it was one of the easiest medical procedures I have ever had. I was sore for two days from the incisions (literally). No swelling, no infection. I was up and around after a couple days. You just need competant staff. The worst part was the shoulder gas. They use some kind of gas to fill up your inside so they don't damage other organs, and that can get trapped between your shoulder blades. It didn't cause any bloating, but it was rather painful for a few days. With some walking and alot of water, it dissipates faster. You also have to avoid fatty/greasy foods after it is done. Since you no longer have what helps your body break it down, your liver has to work twice as hard (maybe even moreso) and it can be extremely painful to eat fatty foods! And embarrassing, you get the 'other' type of gas from it.

If you are experiencing gallstones, and one escapes from your liver, you could have my experience. My liver (again, literally) was shutting down because a gallstone was blocking my bile duct. I could have died, and ended up having an ERCP. They shoved a tube down my throat, cut part of my bile duct and removed a gallstone. The recovery from that was more painful than the recovery from the lap gallbladder removal.

All I can say, is it will just get worse. You might be able to put it off for a while, but there will always be the possibility that it might creep up. I'd say take the chance of mild bloating in your wedding dress, rather than the chance of a major flair up while on your honey moon. Having my wisdom teeth out was more uncomfortable than having my gallbladder out. Discuss your options, but removal, IMO, is generally the best way to go.