Wellness

[bullyluv]

Hi everyone...my husband is getting his gall bladder removed today. Can anyone share their experiences with this and also post surgey to make his recovery as smooth as possible. Thanks!

[Carmie]

I had my gall bladder removed a few years ago. It was painless for me. I had the laproscopic surgery.

I came home, went to bed for a few hours, got up and life went on as usual. I was off from work for 2 weeks and went on a relaxing vacation while I was off.

I remember when my mother had this surgery, the old fashioned way. It was very painful for her and she took weeks to heal.

Best wishes to your husband for smooth sailing surgery and a speedy recovery.

[ChynnaBlue]

I had mine removed a few years ago. Recovery was pretty quick and easy. I think I had the surgery on a Tuesday or Wednesday, was working from home on Friday and was back to work on Monday.

The surgeon should have prepped him for all of this before and after surgery. Mine walked me through the entire surgery and recovery before I scheduled the surgery. They use a gas to expand the abdomen and the gas takes a while to leave the system entirely, so there's some weird travelling pains that happen for a few days as it migrates around and your shoulder might hurt for a while, for example.

I experienced pain when I sat up or twisted to reach the alarm clock, but that did not last too long. It did take about a month before I stopped reflexively clutched my stomach whenever I coughed or sneezed because that hurt AND because I had a horrible image of my intestines squirting out through the tiny incision made at my naval whenever I sneezed. Totally in my head and not possible, but the stuff in our heads is often scarier than what's real, right?

Before the surgery, I was miserable. I got sick when I ate, had extreme pain and vomiting, and missed a lot of sleep. After the surgery, I was much better. Remind him to watch how much fat he eats in a day and everything should be fine.

[brii]

I had my gall bladder removed in August. I had a benign cyst that was blocking my bile duct.

I was home in the afternoon, felt a little sleepy, and wasn't even in much pain. I took it easy the next day, but honestly felt pretty good. By the second day, I felt fine.

Saw my doctor a week later, and he removed the tape on my abdomen. I didn't even have stitches.

I don't eat greasy or fried foods anyway, but I was told to avoid those. I just felt so much better afterwards. I was always nauseous and bloated before the surgery.

[bullyluv]

Thanks so much!

[Scooby Doo]

I had mine removed two weeks ago and it was emergency surgery. Everyone is different. I was in the hospital for 3 days and didn't have the easy experience others mentioned. Maybe that's because the surgeon went into my bile duct making sure no stones remained. I was in some serious pain for several days. Two weeks later I'm just getting back to normal. I know another person who had hers out two weeks before I did and she also had a tough time. They put stents in her bile duct, and now she is scheduled for more surgery to take out the stents. My GD told me that one her friends had his out on a Thursday and was back to school on Monday. There's lots of variables. I wish I was one of those who was able to get back up quickly. In fact, I have an appt with my surgeon this afternoon and I'll ask him why I had such a tough time. I don't remember a whole lot of the conversation in the hospital due to anesthesia and drugs.

[bullyluv]

Hi scooby...so sorry you had a rough time! My dh was emergency as well. He will get the whole thing removed, not just the stones. One of my friends was out of the country and had to fly home back home in horrible pain! She went to the dr and they didn't catch right away, was sent home and still in pain for about a week before she had hers removed. I hope you get better soon! It is amazing how a little thing like a gall bladder can cause so much discomfort.

[chlema]

Had laproscopic surgery to remove mine a few years ago. Went home the same day, surgery went fine. However as another poster mentioned, that gas they use to inflate the abdomen can be a problem. I remember my shoulder hurt so that when I went to bed had to use a dining room chair to prop up my arm to relieve the pain. Have since learned that I should have been told to do lots of walking around when I came home.

[brii]

On 2/23/2015 Chlemma said:

Had laproscopic surgery to remove mine a few years ago. Went home the same day, surgery went fine. However as another poster mentioned, that gas they use to inflate the abdomen can be a problem. I remember my shoulder hurt so that when I went to bed had to use a dining room chair to prop up my arm to relieve the pain. Have since learned that I should have been told to do lots of walking around when I came home.

The nurse in the recovery room gave me something to help with the shoulder pain most people have. I don't remember what it was. She said she was a labor and delivery nurse and they used it on women who had C-sections. She said it was her "little secret.".

Whatever it was worked because it took that pain away almost instantly and never came back. I never needed anything for pain when I came home either.

[ChynnaBlue]

On 2/23/2015 Scooby Doo said:

I had mine removed two weeks ago and it was emergency surgery. Everyone is different. I was in the hospital for 3 days and didn't have the easy experience others mentioned. Maybe that's because the surgeon went into my bile duct making sure no stones remained. I was in some serious pain for several days. Two weeks later I'm just getting back to normal. I know another person who had hers out two weeks before I did and she also had a tough time. They put stents in her bile duct, and now she is scheduled for more surgery to take out the stents. My GD told me that one her friends had his out on a Thursday and was back to school on Monday. There's lots of variables. I wish I was one of those who was able to get back up quickly. In fact, I have an appt with my surgeon this afternoon and I'll ask him why I had such a tough time. I don't remember a whole lot of the conversation in the hospital due to anesthesia and drugs.

The emergency gall bladder surgeries are much more difficult and the recovery period is much longer. I'm sorry they didn't catch yours sooner and that you had a long recovery time. I'm very fortunate that I got a diagnosis before it came to that for me. One of the questions I asked my surgeon before I scheduled was "what will happen if I don't have this surgery" and he explained the possible ER surgery, the more complicated surgery, and the longer recovery time. I booked the surgery after that. Two acquaintances of mine had the emergency surgery later and they have stories similar to your own.

I never thought I'd be so grateful for the two nights of pain and vomiting that sent me to the doctor before I wound up in the ER. The first time I thought it was food poisoning, but when it happened again a few weeks later, I knew that wasn't normal and went to the doctor. It took one wrong test and then the right one after I told the doctor I was burping a lot more than usual. Who knew that would be the key to a diagnosis?