My Mom had her's out many, many years ago but insists that the pain of an attack was far greater than labor.
I had mine removed about 2 years ago. At first the attacks were every couple of weeks, then became weekly, and eventually were every other day. No pain like it, and I cannot stress the relief that came with having that useless hunk of flesh removed.
Post-operative pain (bloating, soreness from the incisions, etc) was gone within ~72 hours and easily managed with pain meds - and it was a picnic compared to the actual gallbladder troubles.
Since the surgery, I haven't had to restrict my diet at all nor has there been any recurring pain or heartburn.
Dissentowner - do yourself a favor and keep checking in with the doctor. Appointments get cancelled/rescheduled all the time and if your schedule is flexible, you may be able to sneak in sooner rather than later. In my case, the original appointment was ~8 months out but through some dumb luck, I was actually in the OR within about a week (9 days iirc).
And of course, if things get progressively worse, talk to your doctor again. If there's a chance that the gallbladder is going to burst, they'll rush you in asap.
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