I have two at approximately 1cm...They were an incidental finding Jan 2016 and have probably been there for some time.
I've recently been offered a Laparoscopic (keyhole) Cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) by the NHS
At present I don't have much of an issue (touch wood )...perhaps a very, minor slight ache in the gallbladder region from time-to-time...but not the labour style pain 'gallbladder attacks' I've read about. TBH had I not had the incidental finding I would be blissfully unaware.
So I'm umm'ing and err'ing about having it out...If I leave it in and should a stone get trapped in the bile duct I could be looking at Acute Pancratitus or Cholecystitis...both quite serious open surgery fixes and potentially life threatening
Like you do ...I turned to my friend Google, now I know I should stick to the reputable sites with clinical evidence (the NHS for example), however you're only a few clicks away form death and it wasn't long before I was reading lots of tales regarding bad PO (post op) experiences where folk have had to really change their diets (permanently) to a very strict (bland) diet with some quite simple foods causing sickness and toilet issues and having half a beer or glass of wine leads to sickness.
I know these are likely to be a the minority, as it's very safe and common procedure and success stories don't often get posted on forums- where patients just crack on with life. But it does make me wonder if I will be one.
My instinct tells me to defer as I have no immediate issues (pain), why introduce the possibilities of dietary and toilet problems or worse case scenario ...bile duct injury in surgery? The surgeon said even though duct injury is a low risk (1 in 300), if it happens , it'll take 10 years off me! Woah! (my jaw hit the floor) But then the problems with leaving it in are a bit of a gamble too.
'...a rock and hard place' comes to mind.
So I thought as there's been a bit of chat on gastro health I was wondering if any of you chaps had any thoughts or experiences on the topic...living with gallstones/ having the gallbladder out and PO experience?
Jim