Bob
You MUST have the surgery or you could easily die from complications related to the stone. When John Ashcroft had his first gall bladder attack (and if you haven't had one yet, given the size of yours, it will happen, they put Ashcroft in the ICU for five days taking antibiotics to offset the attack. Do you want to take that kind of risk? I've had serious GI problems since I was 15, and I've learned that you just have to listen to your body and be careful eating anything new while, at the same time, NEVER eating "normal" amounts of food. Instead, I eat 5-6 times a day in smaller amounts. This routine does make life a little dull at times, but food is just fuel and should be viewed as nothing more. While getting my eating back to something akin to normal has been difficult, think of what those with diabedes go through every day. My mother was a brittle diabetic, and my eating problems don't hold a candle to hers. One thing to consider, post surgically, is to take lomotil in advance of any major event. It would ensure against any problem and you would simply use lots of fiber afterwards to offset its constipating tendency.