Anyone had their gallbladder out??

[deno2]

I'm getting my gallbladder taken out on the 20th of this month and I'm curious as to the recovery time. The surgery is going to be outpatient so I will be coming home that day. Any input or tips to a speedy recovery?

deno

 

[buffett010]

Hi -
I had my gallbladder out as an outpatient and came home the same day. While I was told that this was an easy surgery as it was laproscopic, to me it was worse than my C-section. Remember, though, that everyone is different. I do not respond well to anesthesia, so if you have the option for an epidural, I would definitely go that route.

I was very tired that first day, and not very hungry, so I slept alot. Also, I found out that I could not take Percocet, so that made me sick and had to get it out of my system before I began to feel better. If you have children, make sure that someone will be home to help you watch them, as you won't feel yourself for the first couple days.

Also, keep in mind that you no longer have a storage space for your bile, so if you eat fatty foods, it will empty directly into your stomach and then immediately pass into your bowels and keep right on going. So, try to avoid fatty foods for a while and then gradully get back into eating them.

I know, I'm not painting a pretty picture, but this was the worst surgery I ever had, although I've heard of many people that do just fine after them. I used to work in Med/Surg and we would have the Lap Chole patients, and the majority of them did lots better than me. I just wanted to let you know what I experienced in case all you got were glowing reports. This way you are prepared that everyone does not have it easy. And, don't think I'm just a wimp about surgeries. Like I said, I had a C-section, and I also had a brain tumor removed, so I've had a variety of surgery.

Let us know how you do, and good luck!

 

[CEDmom]

My husband had his gallbladder out a few years ago and just had sinus surgery a few weeks ago. He thought the sinus surgery recovery was much worse. The gallbladder was same day although he ended up staying overnight since it was early evening before they would release him. One thing he felt really helped his recovery was to get up every hour and walk around for 5-10 minutes. The nurses had him doing this overnight in the hospital and he continued when he got home. He was hunched over a little for a few days but it wasn't too bad. His recovery took about a week. Make sure you have some loose clothes to wear for a few days since you will be bloated and slip on shoes since you won't be able to bend all the way for several days. Good luck with everything.

 

[cabmom]

I have to say DITTO with Buffett010.
I've never had a c-section, but it was my first time being knocked out. I was throwing up for 12 hrs straight! I had to take a mixture to help with bulking me up. It took me a couple of days to recover. But, I know I'll never have an attack like the ones I had!
Good luck!

 

[aunties]

I had mine out a little over ten years ago. I had four little incisions. My newphew (4 at the time) answered the phone, "Aunties got staples in her belly button".

There was a little pain for a few days, nothing that Tylenol didn't help. I can tell you the surgery pain was nothing compared to the gall bladder attack pain! The doctor told me to expect to be out of work 4-6 weeks. I was back a week and a half later. I am a technical writer so I wasn't moving around much on the job. It took probably a month before I felt like my old self, but that was on full speed, little resting.

I agree with a previous poster. watch what you eat for while. It may take months before you can eat some favorite fried foods without reaction.

I hope your surgery goes as well as mine did and you're back on your feet in no time.

 

[BCVOwner2002]

DH had his removed several years ago. He had surgery a few years earlier and was aware that he had a problem with the anesthesia so he let the doctor know and they regulated whatever kind of stuff they gave him to knock him out. His was also day surgery and was home by 3pm. He was a bit sore for a few days but other than that was okay. It is true about fatty foods though. He no longer eats at BK or McD's any more - which is actually a good thing! Annmarie

 

[KathyFP]

I had my mine out three years ago. Although it was laproscopic, I spent a week in the hospital. I have asthma and have a difficult time with oxygen levels. They also found and repaired a hernia.

 

[denisem]

I was MOST fortunate - had mine out in April and often say if I'd known it was that easy, I'da done it LOTS sooner.

The incisions were a bit owwy for a week or so (particularly when getting up from a prone position - I learned to "roll out of bed"), but my worst pain was in my right shoulder - a side-effect sometimes resulting from the CO2 pumped into your abdomen & hitting a nerve. But even that lasted only a day or two & was easily controlled with the pain meds.

*Coulda* gone back to work (desk job, no heavy lifting) in less than a week, but I stretched it out .

Denise < --- hoping you're lucky like me!

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I had mine out maybe 8 years ago.. and was lucky enough to have a lap coli... so only four little scars on my tummy... I stayed overnight and was uncomfortable the first night and very cranky... when I came home, I was ok.. rested a lot, and I was sore.. the worst was the staples...they were uncomfortable... I would say recovery time for feeling better is about a week.. even with a lap coli, it is abdominal surgery and things get moved around inside and feel a bit uncomfortable.

The interesting thing is I had mine out for pain that I later found out was reflux disease... so I had unncessary surgery.. oh well... and you do have to be careful with what you eat as it does pass right through if it is too fatty...

Good luck, I am sure it will go well.. they are so routine now..

 

[Kristi1357]

I just had mine out in August (lovely side-effect of pregnancy aparrently). I was uncomfortable for about a week. I did take a couple of the percocet they gave me. BUT any pain and/or discomfort is not nearly as bad as another gall bladder attack! I also didn't have any staples, just 4 band-aids over my tiny incisions.

Good Luck!
Kristi

 

[Deb & Bill]

I had mine out about 15 years ago. I have a giant scar that runs from under my boobs to nearly my hip. I was in the hospital for three days. This was before they did it laproscopically. But it was worth it because the pain was gone forever. I had to recover for about two weeks, but once the staples were removed, I was fine.

 

[Magix]

Had mine out laparascopically in August 02. Four small incisions, just surgical tape over them. I also had the pain in my right shoulder from the gases, but it only lasted a day or two. Took one or two pain pills the first day, but the pain wasn't bad enough for that kind of drug after that. Had to use a pillow under my stomach in bed at night, since I'm a side sleeper and it hurt my stomach incision to lay on my side. Stayed out of work about three days, plus spent the weekend recovering, and went back to work on Monday. I walked slowly and was hunched over for another week or two, but after that I was back to normal. The doctor did say to take it easy on fatty foods for a while, but once I went back to them, it was no problem. I can eat anything I want without any side effects. That's a lot better than what I was down to with the gallbladder - I couldn't eat more than 10% of the daily recommended intake of fat in a given day, or I'd have an attack. Those gallbladder attacks were so nasty, that any amount of recovery time and pain would have been worth it to me! I'm so happy to have had that rotten little bugger taken out of me.

 

[bsnyder]

I did mine like Deb & Bill....the old fashioned way. It was 19 years ago this month. I spent almost a week in the hospital...on the 6th day, when the doctor came in to see me during his rounds, I was dressed and packed and demanded to go home....I had a 3 month old baby and it was killing me to be away from him. The doctor reluctantly agreed.

I have a seven inch diagonal scar, along with a smaller scar where the drain hole was.

It sounds like this surgery is much easier these days, and I hope it goes well for you!

 

[EiLuvCinderella]

I also had my gallbladder removed about 2 years ago. Had it done laprascopically (SP?). Was in hosp about 5 days. Had a few complications. Had 4 small incisions. My belly button looks a little different. Recovery was good. About 1 week before I felt MUCH MUCH better. Actually MUCH MUCH better than BEFORE it was out,too. Had stones OUTSIDE of gallbladder. That was the worst PAIN I EVR FELT! worse than giving birth to my 3 children. OUCH!

Good luck.

 

[Snow White]

I had mine out in September, I had the surgery on Friday, and was back at work the next Thursday. I was still a little hunched over, and had to walk slowly, and still bloated for a few more days though. I actually gained about 5 lbs with the surgery (probably the bloating), but after 2 weeks, that weight was gone again. I had the surgery at noon, and was home by 8 pm. My incisions are still red, and occasionally a little sore, but the healing is really pretty quick. (nothing like the hysterectomy I had!!!!!) As far as eating, I haven't had any trouble at all with any foods...good luck!!!

 

[Sonya]

I had mine out in July, 2 months after a c-section. The gallbadder surgery had nothing on the c-section! I could have go home the same day but I'm a whimp and stayed the night. I had little problems and even was eating normal in a week. (of course I didn;t know that fatty foods might make me sick, oh well) I do still have a bit of pain now and again, and they are running tests on me, but I don't think it's anything to do with the surgery.

 

[dorisdvu]

I got mine taken out in February as an outpatient. I also had a gall stone which they had to make an extra incision for. I had 2 incisions, 1 right above my navel and 1 about 1" from my bra line in the center. Both incisions were no more than an inch if that. The one by my navel gave me no trouble whatsoever. The other one was very sore for a few days. I also had another I'm not sure you would call it an incision as it was round in diameter (a little larger than a pencil eraser) on my right side. This was somewhat tender. I had this done on a Friday. I had taken 1 or 2 Percocets on Saturday (with food) and 1 on Sunday (without food)--BIG mistake. I got very sick and vomited a couple of times. Monday was no longer sick. Tuesday was the worst day. I was in terrible pain. After that the pain subsided. I was off from work 3 weeks (really could went back after 2).

 

[Lynn CC]

Can I ask you what your symptoms are? Do you have a lot of pain and where?
I've had 3 surgeries in the past 3 years (not gallbladder).
I agree with the laparoscopy surgery if your doctor can do it. I had my appendix out that way and recovery was so much easier.
Also, you may want to ask your anesthesiologist to give you a Mach with sedation, instead of general anesthesia. You won't feel a thing and it's a lot less dangerous and you feel so much better right after surgery.
Just my experience. Mach's are rather new, but I will never have surgery with General again.

HUGS}

 

[phillybeth]

I had mine out 2 years ago laparoscopically, byt the same surgeon who took out my appendix the year before!
I thought the gallbladder surgery went a lot easier. I was sick for 3 days before they figured out I had appendicitis, and even going in to the operating room they still weren't 100% that it WAS appendicitis! I had much more pain; like others have said they blow you up with gas and that caused a lot of pain in my lower abdomen, as well as pressing on my bladder so I had to pee every hour. I was home the next day and back to work in a week. After that first post-op night everything went fine.
The gallbladder surgery was actually a relief after the terrible attacks I had- I truly thought I was having a heart attack at 32 with the first one, it was just awful. I felt good enough to go home that night but the Dr. wanted to keep me until I ate a full meal. Recovery was about the same as the appendectomy. I didn't have problems with anesthesia, although I was worried since I am Pooh-sized and that can cause complications

Make sure you keep a pillow nearby, to press against your chest if you have to cough or sit up- it helps! And take your pain meds on a regular schedule, BEFORE you have the pain- it takes longer for the meds to work if you wait. I only took percosets for the first two or three days post-op, after that Motrin worked better and didn't make me as sleepy.

As far as food goes, I find that the combo of spicy and fatty is much more dangerous than one or the other
. Or two fatty meals in a row. I did take my time introducing fatty foods again, I was a little gun-shy after all the bad attacks I had before surgery. For about two months after surgery I either had constipation or diarrhea. Gradually that stopped, now I am usually fine unless I overindulge. Then it is time for Immodium!

 

[orrnluvswdw]

Deno:

My advice to you is to get a surgeon who does Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy's (belly button gallbladder removal). My experience: I'm a surgical registered nurse & average 2-3 Lap Chole's a day. No surgery is easy & there can be complications with anything. However, Laparoscopic Surgery is much easier on the body than "open" Cholecystectomy's. Ask questions!!! Have confidence in your surgeon - make sure they are knowledgable in Laparoscopic cases. Do you have Cholelithasis (stones) or Cholecystitis (inflamation)? If you have stones, the surgery might take a little bit longer. Takes more time to thread the cholangiocath into the duct to check for stones & then take an x-ray to check conformation. Also dealing with stones, take longer to retreive them. Longer surgery = you might have more discomfort.

Ask him to use some Marcaine (local anesthetic agent) at the end = to inject into the trocar sites (incisions). This will greatly help with the local discomfort you could have. Ask if he closes with staples or suture. Some people get along better with a closing of an underlying suture line - it doesn't "pull" as much. I had a gallbladder attack a few years back in the operating room & the next day I found myself on the table having mine removed. I was closed with staples & I reacted to the staples (go figure) - I blistered at the surgical sites. Are you allergic or sensitive to nickel? If so, ask him to use suture. We've recently been using Dermabond in closing the small incision lines - it's a sutureless suture like superglue stuff that's been holding really well for those "small" size people (not us "pooh sized" folks).

Yes, do use a rolled blanket or pillow for support on your abdomen - helps to give your body support in rapid movements. You will more than likely have shoulder pain afterwards. Why? The "gas" that's used to inflate the abdomen needs some place to go afterwards. It goes up into the upper body cavity - around the shoulders (lots of empty space there) - & that's where the discomfort comes from. It's really benefical to walk as much afterwards as you can. It helps to disperse the gas.

Another thing to consider is the anestheologist - the person putting you to sleep & keeping you comfortable during surgery. THIS, in my opinion, is the single most important OVERLOOKED thing. Ask them what meds they use to put you to sleep. I recommend a slow propofol drip to keep you comfortable. Ask them what type of gas they'll use - sevoflurance, isoflurance or suprane. Tell him you've been nauseated some - he'll give you some reglan, pepsin or zofran for that which will also help the nausea afterwards. Go into it knowing a little something - which is what I hope I've gave you. At least they'll know your interested in what they'll do for you.

You will go home with pain meds. Use them, don't let the pain get out of control. Ours go home with Vicodin. Works good for that.

Hopefully, I've helped you in some way. If there is anything I can do for you, ask!!! Enjoy your time off. Don't push yourself though. Take at least a week or two off. Your body will thank you for it!!