Kirsty, I am so sorry you have to put up with this dreadful problem!!

A few weeks after ben was born i woke up with extreme pains and felt as if i couldnt breathe. I was rushed to the emergency, the pains went away but i had to stay overnight so they could run some tests. They didnt find anything. Since then i had been getting pains after dinner very often, but i hadnt really noticed a pattern until my mum mentioned i might have gallstones. One Saturday night i was in so much pain for hours, we had to call the emergency doctor at 4am to come over, she also said she thought it might be gallstones, and gave me a shot of Buscopan, which worked wonders! I was then diagnosed with having gallstones, and everything made sense!

They told me I needed to have the stones removed and that i wouldnt have the whole thing taken out because there was no sign of infection. I was still breastfeeding Ben, so i wanted to wait as long as i could until i went into hospital. But the pains became so often, so intense, and i became more and more sensitve to foods. The doctor prescribed Buscopan for me, but my body stopped reacting to it. So i stopped breastfeeding Ben at 4 months, and booked into have it done.

The surgery was honestly ok. I think the worst thing for me was waking up after the surgery. They ended up taking out the whole gallbladder because they found it was VERY infected. And apparantly my stones were huge (no wonder i was having such a horrible time). i was put on strong antibiotics. my advice - whatever you do DONT PUT OFF SURGERY! the pains and inconvenience just arent worth it, not one tiny bit!! i was lucky the infection didnt spread to my other organs. They do it with the keyhole method. I now only have 2 little scars, one in my belly button, and one on the left side of my stomach (about 3cms). I had it done just a couple of months ago, so im sure they will fade even more. I was in hospital for 5 days. recovery was much MUCH easier than i thought it would be.

Lindie, whoever told you that must have their information from experiences from 20 years ago. Recovery time was so very very short for me. After 3 days i felt really well, still tired and a little weak. It took me only 1 week before i felt "normal" again!

Good luck with everything, I am so sorry you ladies that have to put up with it. I really feel for you!!!