Surgery Blues.

badbritty

I had my gallbladder taken on the 11th and I'm having a bad disc taken out in the 18th. How do you stay positive when you're in so much pain? I've been dealing with a bad back for two years and have been hoping for the surgery. Now that it's here I'm having cold feet. The pain in my abdomen is going down, but when I look in the mirror I feel like a cow. I've lost 18 pounds in a month and a half (from a drastic diet change and a horrible medication cocktail). I feel like I cheated to lose weight. I had no exercise, because I couldn't move. No diet, because I couldn't eat. Has anyone here gone through either surgery? I just need some advice. Thank you.

queenliz99

Nope, I've had neither but just want to tell to get better quick. Back to back surgeries sounds pretty dang miserable. Hugs

AnnPT77

Had the gall bladder out June 18 this year, laparoscopically. I feel great sympathy for you, and hope you'll find pain relief soon, because feeling awful *stinks*.

I got pretty bleak - physically & emotionally - a few years back while doing chemotherapy. Some things I found helpful/distracting were classic comedy movies (a daily indulgence), positive affirmation and guided imagery recordings (which I normally find pretty lame, frankly, but they did help when I was grasping at straws), happy music, and as much sleep as I could get (drug assisted if necessary).

I found it helped me just to *try* to get out of my physical discomfort & mental funk, as it gave me some sense of control rather than helplessness on top of the other issues.

All this said, I personally didn't find the gall bladder surgery alone very difficult. I wonder if your back issues, in the same region of the body, are compounding the pain. One of my friends got shingles on her torso while healing from GB surgery, and was *miserable* for a time, poor woman.

I don't think you've cheated to lose weight. Could you perhaps think of it as something you've *earned* by managing through the pain & related challenges? As another step to long-term good health, in addition to the difficult surgeries?

So sorry you're going through this, and hope that you'll turn the corner soon.

Vune

I had my gallbladder out June 23, and I'm having a tubal ligation soon because of unexpected problems when I went to have the Essure coils inserted. It'll be my eighth surgery, which includes a 15 year old kidney transplant, so I get very nervous about people cutting into my abdomen. I'm not a big fan of exercise, but I do what I am able to. I love being able to be active, and yoga is a great way to be more active and accept your body at the same time. And tuning in to your breathing is a great way to deal with pain and anxiety. Unfortunately, it doesn't cure the pain, but it does remind you of why you aren't doing a progressive lifting program and jogging. It's takes a load off to remember that your body gives you these signals for a reason.

You'll get hungry again! You'll have less pain as you heal! And if you keep a habit of choosing nutritious foods and spending a little time with your body every day, you'll have developed a solid foundation of good habits to heal faster and maintain what you've lost.