Gall Bladder Surgery and less than 3 Weeks From Sail Date

[disneypoor]

My surgery is supposed to be laparoscopic. That's all I'm planning on anyway. The snow totals for our area just keep getting larger, so I sure hope I can get this done on Monday. The surgeon is only at our hospital a few days a week, so any postponing might pose a possible problem for our trip. I'm sure no matter what I could still go, but we're sailing with 44 people, so I really want to enjoy it!

Susan

[Ginamarie]

Good luck Susan! I will say a prayer for good weather and a quick and easy surgery!

[Jammy93]

I had mine out several years ago. Definitely sore the first week, but quickly recovered after that. In fact I felt sooooo much better after my surgery than before my surgery. I would definitely prefer to go on vacation after the surgery than have to worry about possibly suffering through some serious pain while on vacation.
Hope you recovery quickly and have a wonderful trip.

[BeeTeacher]

How often are you having gallstone attacks? Is it a constant pain or only triggered by fatty/heavy meals? Are they mild or severe attacks? Mine were bad but manageable until I had a BIG ONE and decided to have it removed.

If its occasional, can you postpone until you get back?

Everyone is different and responds to surgery differently. I had laparoscopic but had a trough recovery and ended up missing 2 weeks of work. I certainly would not have wanted to cruise after. if they end up having to open you, the recovery would be even longer. Im sure how in shape you are has a lot to do with recovery--I am pooh sized and struggled with recovery. And it really upset me because everyone said I would be able to return to normal activities within the week.

I will also 2nd what everyone said. When you board, locate every single bathroom. You will have an extreme urgency and may not "make it" back to your cabin. This is because your body has to get used to the bile that is not being "managed" anymore w no gall bladder. Truthfully, mine never fully got used to it. Not sure what excursions you are booked on but make sure boats/busses/beaches have a bathroom you can use. Not to be gross but pack some cottonelle wipes, you will be glad you have them!

Foods that set me off--cheese, anything high fat, greasy, etc. Avoid all cheese like the plague. Beer also messed me up, and coffee.

I'd also suggest that if you can, pack now! that will allow you to rest more after instead of running around like crazy packing!

Good luck with your surgery. Just knowing you wont have an attack is a good thing!

[jjje]

Research dumping syndrome after gall bladder removal. Some people never have a problem with it, some people never get over it. I second the advice you've already gotten to really get to know the bathroom locations on the ship. (I had my gall bladder out over three years ago and I still can't figure out what my "trigger foods" are. It seems totally random.)

[TDC Nala]

Mine is being removed next month with a WDW trip (just a weekend) 2.5 weeks later. Barring complications I'm told this should not be a problem.

[Mandersons04]

I will say that if you have gallstones, the surgery is best route to go. The pain from those attacks for me, were unbearable. It seemed like nothing I did made it better. I just had to wait hours until it passed. I developed them right after I have birth to my first child. I nursed her and the doctor told me that many people develop gallstones after birth/nursing.

[disneypoor]

I don't have gall stones, but after a pipida scan, they determined mine is only working 14% of the time. I'm getting attacks when it doesn't push the bile out. I have felt like I might be having a heart attack since Wednesday, so I definitely don't want to put the surgery off. The dr put it in as a stat cause he wants it out soon. Good news is that it sounds like the snow will hold off til tomorrow afternoon.

Susan

[dpuck1998]

I had lap surgery to have out and was able to run a 5k the following week. It wasn't my best performance, my wife almost beat me. The worst part was the first 3 days when the gas settled in my shoulder and hurt, but after that within a week I was at full speed. I imagine within three weeks you'll be fine. Certain foods still give me fits, but just uncomfortable more not painful. Anything is better than the pain of the attacks!!

[disneypoor]

Originally Posted by dpuck1998

I had lap surgery to have out and was able to run a 5k the following week. It wasn't my best performance, my wife almost beat me. The worst part was the first 3 days when the gas settled in my shoulder and hurt, but after that within a week I was at full speed. I imagine within three weeks you'll be fine. Certain foods still give me fits, but just uncomfortable more not painful. Anything is better than the pain of the attacks!!

I hope I recover as fast as you! I have just had an on/off chest pain that won't go away. It scares me! I had a full blown attack last Sunday and couldn't even stand up straight. It lasted for hours. I don't want one of those again for sure!

Susan

[antlawn]

Hate to hear you need surgery. Hope they scheduled you for early morning. Hard to believe you all are getting another BIG snow storm! We were right at 60 today!

Heal fast! You know you'll feel the need to clean before cruising!!

[disneypoor]

Originally Posted by antlawn

Hate to hear you need surgery. Hope they scheduled you for early morning. Hard to believe you all are getting another BIG snow storm! We were right at 60 today!

Heal fast! You know you'll feel the need to clean before cruising!!

Heck! I felt the need to clean before surgery, so I'm positive I'll need to clean before cruising. I went to bed at 12:30 last night and got up at 4:30 to start more laundry. I cleaned especially good around the toilets just in case I get sick (which I ALWAYS do when I'm put under). Nothing like being prepared, huh? I can now vomit and even lay on the floor around my toilets and not feel icky. Well, wait a minute, my husband and son have been home this evening........

Susan

[delo4]

As I mentioned in a previous post, I had mine out 10 days before cruising. If it's any encouragement, I had no problems and to this day do not have any effects from the surgery. I did have two large gallstones which was the reason for the surgery.

A co-worker of mine just had her gallbladder removed because like you, hers was functioning at 14%. She was back to work in less than a week and she feels so much better. She didn't realize how bad she was feeling until after the surgery. She couldn't believe how much better she was.

Hopefully, you will find the same success with your surgery, but I do believe getting it done before you go is the better option. You will be glad you did.

[antlawn]

Originally Posted by disneypoor

Heck! I felt the need to clean before surgery, so I'm positive I'll need to clean before cruising. I went to bed at 12:30 last night and got up at 4:30 to start more laundry. I cleaned especially good around the toilets just in case I get sick (which I ALWAYS do when I'm put under). Nothing like being prepared, huh? I can now vomit and even lay on the floor around my toilets and not feel icky. Well, wait a minute, my husband and son have been home this evening........

Susan

Tell them to step outside! You need a clean spot to lay down!

Praying your surgery goes well and you heal fast. Take it easy, so you can cruise your way, to a full recovery.

[disneypoor]

Originally Posted by delo4

As I mentioned in a previous post, I had mine out 10 days before cruising. If it's any encouragement, I had no problems and to this day do not have any effects from the surgery. I did have two large gallstones which was the reason for the surgery.

A co-worker of mine just had her gallbladder removed because like you, hers was functioning at 14%. She was back to work in less than a week and she feels so much better. She didn't realize how bad she was feeling until after the surgery. She couldn't believe how much better she was.

Hopefully, you will find the same success with your surgery, but I do believe getting it done before you go is the better option. You will be glad you did.

Thank you for your words of encouragement. I really appreciate it. To be honest, I haven't really felt that bad until I had my first attack last weekend. I had sudden indigestion about three weeks ago that was so bad I had to have my husband get up in the middle of the night to get me some medicine, but other than that, I really didn't have much of a warning sign. Then, last Sunday, it hit me! I've only had one attack though, so I'm lucky. The bad part for me has been that ever since I had the pipida done, I've had chest pains and a headache pretty much all of the time. The chest pains ease up a little but then come back with a vengeance. I will definitely be glad to be done with that!

I hope I'm also like you and recover quickly with no side effects. I guess I'm about to find out. Thanks again for your reply and to everyone else! It makes me feel so much better to read all of your responses and gives me something to do to keep my mind off of tomorrow morning.

Susan