I had mine removed when the boys were a year old. The best way to describe the pain was that it is the worst "heartburn" you could ever imagine. I got it right behind my breastbone and it literally brought me to my knees in tears. Even though I was sure it was my gallbladder (I had many people tell me it sounded that way to them), I was misdiagnosed with an ulcer for a while. I was put on Nexium and told not to eat anything spicy. So I ate non-spicy things like - oh - pasta with alfredo sauce and peanut butter sandwiches. WELL! Guess what triggers gallbladder attacks? FATTENING FOODS! Yikes! I thought I was gonna die - the pain was so bad I had to throw up to get it to stop. Finally I was actually TESTED for gallstones (ultrasound and x-ray, I believe) and lo-and-behold I was full of them.

The surgeon said my symptoms were classic for gallstones, even though the ninny doctor at the last clinic said "Oh no, gall bladder attacks affect your right side and happen immediately after eating." Mine happend a couple hours after eating and the pain was centralized where my ribs come together. By the way, I know several people who had gallstones with the exact same symptoms I was having. Anyway, the surgery was a breeze (compared to my c-section!) and I recovered very quickly. FYI, the four risk factors are:
1. Female
2. Fertile (you've had children)
3. Over 40
4. Overweight

Jennifer P.
Proud mom of first-round IVF miracles!
Nicholas, Victor, & Jacob
(12/15/00 @ 29 wks)