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Gallbladder Surgery & back pain

mousemom

mousemom

Peer Supporter
I was told yesterday that I need gallbladder surgery. I have been battling constant mid to low back pain/tingling for the past 8 months. I have not really improved with my pain even though I have been very active in my TMS journey (therapist, journaling, deep breathing, etc.). Is it possible that my gall bladder has been the issue of this pain along? I only started having the burning pain in my upper abdominal area this past week. Ultrasound yesterday showed a massive amount of stones & they said I am lucky that I have not had a full attack. I am praying to make it through the weekend & it sounds like surgery will be scheduled for late next week.

I am frustrated that I am now battling a new pain along with this back pain. Has anyone out there received relief with the back pain once the gallbladder was removed?? I just pray that this might be a source of all the back pain that I am having & the surgery might help. Any advice?? Thanks everyone!
 
I haven't had gallbladder problems and hope someone else can answer your question,

but if I was told I needed gallbladder surgery I'm hold off on it until I knew for sure I had to have it.
It may just be your unconscious mind moving pain to another part of your body besides your back.

I wish I could be of more help and hope someone else with more knowledge about this can advise you.
 
mousemom I believe the reason you haven't hurt worse sooner is because you have been doing your tms therapy. This is great because you should recover rather quickly if you stay with your meditations and the knowledge you have learned. You have truly been an inspiration to me the way you've hung in and kept to your studies.

Yes I have had like 5 family members that have had stones and had to have their gall bladders removed and they always hurt. They just never told me where they were hurting ya know. Also they didn't hurt after the surgeries. You have found the physical problem. I know if you stay course and just do what you already have learned about staying patient and using your meditations and so on you should be fine before during and after the surgery.

You should be fine in a few days after the sugery. My brother has had stones 5 times and my sisters, 3 of em have had to have their gall bladders removed and a niece too. I have a sister now that wont go and have hers removed cause she's scared of Drs. The Drs will help you. Stones whether kidney or gall bladder is painful. I'm basically the only one in my family that hasn't had them. My dad had them and he hurt in his back as I remember.

The main thing is they all came out of surgery looking like they just had a beuty make over so look up. You are going to be fine

Bless You
 
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Thank you Walt for the reply. I pray the surgeon will say I can leave it be, but according to my GP he thinks it needs to come out soon. I still feel the same this morning planning on going to my boys basketball games later today.
 
Eric,

Thank you so very much for the kind words and encouragement. I'm the only one left on my side of the family that has not had the surgery. I was told it can be hereditary. They all now have problems after they eat. Ugh I don't want that to happen to me. I will be setting up my mind & body to accept the surgery so hopefully the healing process will come easy. A part of me is hoping that my gallbladder was causing some of my back pain all along & I will gain some relief after the surgery. I am just nervous since I have never had surgery before & pray that all goes smoothly. I will need to really practice some meditations or find some deep breathing exercises that would help with pre-surgery anxiety. If I feel ok Tuesday night I will be calling into the chat. Thanks again!! Take care & God Bless!! I'm off to church!
 
Hi Mousemom,
my husband had gallbladder surgery three years ago. Every now and again he suffered baddly from colics and then his back was involved (but only during the colics). One of his gallstones blocked the "drain" of the pancreas so, on top of it, he developped pancreatitis (not a common but a really severe condition). This gave him severe pain radiating from the epigastric area to the back along with nausea, sweating and icterus. So it was more of an acute back pain along with pain in his abdomen and an overall feeling of sickness. I know a lot of people having had gallstones but none of them suffered from chronic back pain (what does not mean that it is not possible!). So if you're very proned to psychosomatic conditions I would tend to attribute it to TMS rather than to the gallstones. The surgery is a routine intervention often performed minimally invasive through the bellybottom (so you won't have ugly scars!)
 
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Boy, this is a tough one! Gallbladder problems can present themselves in so many ways - it certainly isn't a "cut and dry" disease. I had my gallbladder out in 2002, but only after about 2 years worth of odd back pain. It wasn't enough to see a doctor - I just thought I kept pulling a muscle or something. Oddly enough, eventually the discomfort came most every night around 2-3 in the morning! Strange! Never even occurred to me it could be gallbladder, not only because of the location of the pain, but because I wasn't overweight, I stayed hydrated and my diet was healthy and didn't consist of fried foods! But, it turned out that was the problem. Easy surgery for most, I think. I had it done laparoscopically - 3 teeny tiny incisions, you can still wear your bikini! Outpatient surgery and I was in the yard next day pulling weeds, which was probably a mistake because it strained the muscles! LOL But, quick recovery time. If you're showing that you have alot of stones, you might want to seriously consider having the surgery. You might be pleasantly surprised to find that the pain stemmed directly from this issue. Wouldn't that be nice?
 
Mousemom, I'm so glad they caught the gallbladder before you had an attack. Yes, genetics play a role in this. I've known many people who tried to treat their stones with diet only to have a recurrence of attacks. I don't know anyone who didn't finally relent and have it done.

You may find that it brings a happy and quick resolution to some of your symptoms. And really…as a surgery…it's not so bad. (I used to be a nurse, btw.) It's come a LONG ways from 20 years ago. Fairly quick recovery. ESPECIALLY since you're a rock start in treating TMS. :happy:

Please keep us posted!
 
Thanks everyone!! I feel more confident with the surgery now. I will find out tomorrow when/what they want to do. I really haven't had any pain from the gallbladder the last couple of days. It's so strange. I will keep preparing mind & body. I just pray this helps relieve some back pain but I won't be upset if it doesn't. Just keep pushing forward. Thanks again!
 
Since you're feeling no pain from the gallbladder for a few days, maybe consider putting off the surgery a while.
TMS could be helping you.

If the surgery is put off for a week you may become pain-free with TMS.
 
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