Does It Hurt to Have Your Gallbladder Removed?
Key takeaways:
Gallbladder removal is one of the most common surgeries in the U.S., with 1.2 million performed annually.
Recovery from the surgery is usually 1 to 2 weeks.
Three people share their experience of having their gallbladder removed.
The gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped organ below your liver that helps your digestive system break down fats. When it becomes inflamed or blocked from stones, you can suffer from gallbladder attacks — stabbing pains that usually occur after eating.
Since your body can function without a gallbladder, the recommended treatment is often gallbladder removal, known as cholecystectomy. It’s one of the most common surgeries in the U.S., with more than 1.2 million performed annually.
If you have to undergo gallbladder removal surgery, your most pressing question is likely, “Will it hurt?” Three people who have had their gallbladders removed share their experiences, including what was most painful, as well as their recovery time, which takes 1 to 2 weeks on average.
Once he finally had the surgery, recovery was easy
In 2019, Dallas Strawn was on a much-anticipated vacation in New York. It turned out to be the worst trip of his life.
“My first and only time in New York City, I was sick the entire 4 days,” he says. Every time he ate, he felt sick to his stomach and had to rest at the hotel. To make matters worse, a blizzard delayed his flight home by a day. When he finally made it back, he was having sharp stabbing pains constantly.
Dallas took Pepto-Bismol, hopeful it would relieve the pain in his side. But when it was still there the next day, he knew something was wrong.
“I was afraid it was appendicitis,” he says. “That’s what Google told me.”
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Since the 28-year-old lives by himself, he had a neighbor drive him to the hospital. An ultrasound determined it was his gallbladder — and it would need to be removed.
The problem was that the only hospital in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where he lives, is a trauma hospital. This means emergency trauma patients have priority over general surgeries. For Dallas, that meant 6 days (mostly waiting) in the hospital — with pain relievers to manage the pain — because his surgery date kept getting bumped.
When he was finally in the operating room, the surgery was very quick, he says.
“I think I was only in there for an hour or two,” Dallas says.
But his bad luck had not run out. “When I came out of the surgery, they gave me morphine. I threw up everywhere,” he says. The surgery site was tender directly afterward, but once he got the pain medication sorted out, his recovery was quick. “I was fine in 2 days or so,” Dallas says.
Dallas says his experience was different from his mom’s and sister’s. They both had gallbladder surgery with no issues. “It was very easy for [my mom]. My sister I think was [in the hospital] for 2 days,” he says. “For the most part, it’s a normal, very easy experience.”
But based on his prolonged experience, Dallas has one piece of advice for others: “Do you feel any stabbing pain in your lower stomach? Go to a hospital. Don’t wait.”
She was worried about the gas pains
When Kelly Keemer learned she needed to have her gallbladder removed 7 years ago, she was more worried about the gas pains than the surgery.
“Since the surgery is done laparoscopically, they inflate your abdomen with air so they can see what they’re doing and maneuver their tools more easily,” says the 41-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky. “When they’re done, they can’t always remove the extra air, so you [can] have gas pains after.”
Right before surgery, when the surgeon asked Kelly if she had any questions, she told him: “‘Just deflate me really good. Flatten me like a whoopee cushion.’ He laughed, but I was serious,” she says. “I think my surgeon took this into consideration because I had no gas pains after surgery.”
After surgery, Kelly says, she was still in pain. “I did feel like someone took a baseball bat to my abdomen. I wasn’t moving around pain free until day 6 or 7 [post-surgery],” she says.
The bottom line, she says, is that “it’s a manageable pain for long-term relief from gallbladder attacks, which were the worst.”
It’s the best surgery she ever had
Michelle McRoberts started getting pains in her side in 2005. After more than a year of ER and doctor visits and tests, she learned that her gallbladder was the cause and that she would need to have it removed.
Michelle describes herself as a “health-anxious person.” She was terrified of having the surgery — to the point that when she was on the operating table and the surgeon told her to count backward from 10, she held her breath. “Eventually, I had to take a breath,” she laughs. “And then I was out.”
When she woke up after the 45-minute procedure, she says she knew from previous surgeries that she needed to get up and move.
“The best thing you can do is walk around, so that you can leave,” the 51-year-old says. “I can sleep at home.”
Michelle was discharged the same day, went home around noon, and took a nap. “My husband laughs at me to this day because by 4 o’clock, I was up and vacuuming,” she says. “I was fine. I mean, I had a little bit of pain the next day, but I was fine.”
The most challenging parts of recovery were getting the gas out of her system immediately after surgery and learning what she could eat in the following weeks, she says.
“Greasy, fatty foods like salad dressing just fly through you,” she says.
To those who may have health anxiety like her, Michelle says: “Just relax. It’s the best surgery I ever had.”
What does the doctor say?
Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH
Senior Medical Editor
Gallbladder removal is a quick and safe surgery. But it’s still an abdominal surgery. That means it usually takes 1 to 2 weeks for people to get back to their routine. This can vary from person to person. Younger people, especially those who have few or no health issues, often recover faster. People with more health issues or prior abdominal surgeries may take longer to recover.
People who have laparoscopic gallbladder removal will recover faster than people who need an “open” surgery, which is more common. Laparoscopic surgery allows surgeons to perform surgery without disturbing other organs and nearby structures. It can also be done using smaller incisions. This allows for faster recovery and less pain.
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