Gallbladder Surgery

Serafimangel

the shoulder pain hurts a little bit for a few days after the surgery, but i didnt experience it at all when i woke up, i just kept mumbling that someone had punched me in the stomach. I got it more when i had actual gastric attacks, the only shoulder pain I got the few days after the surgery was more like a slight discomfort.
The day after my surgery i had pizza (just a tiny bit) cos i hadnt had any cheese/fat/egg/sugar in months, now its a sort of conditioned effect, every time i see too much oil in a pan i physically wince.
My advice is eat very high fibre when you get out, I was told this by various doctors as if you get constipation, it puts pressure on your insides and makes you hurt a lot, (sadly same with your first couple of periods) so all bran for breakfast is my advice, i would also advise peppermint or fennel (or both, twinings does a combo and its lovely) for any whances of trapped wind in general, again for the pressure on the area that was operated on.
I got mine out at 18 (2 years ago) its nice to see i wasnt the only teenager in the world to get it done (though in the ward it felt like it!).
Avoid eggs like the plague, they are the main perpetrators in gastric attacks and should be avoided after surgery for a while (before mine i didnt even eat egg pasta and got obsessed with buckwheat soba noodles). if you feel a little lost with the food side of things, Rosemary Connely does a diet book off the back of her own gallstones experience and it tells you what to eat before and after the operation, that really helped me.

good luck!

girlinahat

I had mine out a couple of years back and can reiterate what is said about the gas in the shoulders thing. It is NOT nice. I have to confess, the first time I staggered to the loo after and broke wind was the best moment of my life!!!!

My pains were bizarrely triggered by red wine, to the extent I became pretty terrified of alcohol, but after surgery I don't find it much of a problem, even though I still get the odd twinge of pain in that area (nothing like before mind!!)

Peppermint tea is brilliant (and morphine......) You will also find you are pretty badly constipated after the surgery but I think that is more to do with the anaesthetic.

The only difference to my (usually healthy diet) I find is that if I go a long time without eating I begin to feel nauseous. I think this is because of the constant drip of bile into the stomach (previously stored in the gallbladder), so I try not to go too long without food. I wasn't given any special diet or list of foods but just told to eat normally. The most frustrating thing is that because to them it is 'routine surgery' they think it is routine to you too - hello???

good luck

InnerPinup79

I had mine removed last year for my birthday as an emergency surgery I had no idea what was going on that was in so much pain and found out that I needed my gallbladder removed. I don't remember pain in my shoulders I remember pain in general and I didn't think it was gonna be so painful to recover for me it was I had to lay on my back for like 3 weeks. as far is diet its a hit or miss with me. sometimes I can eat bad fatty greasy foods but most of the time I cannot and have to run to the bathroom right away. it can be very embarrassing if there's not a bathroom nearby....you have to run fast! I think it's permanently gonna be that way for me...Eggs are fine, beans are fine, dairy is okay... I think I'm just getting use to having diarrhea a lot of the time.

bmreed0920

Thanks for all the advise. I had my pre-opp appt yesterday and they said everything looks good to go. Now I just have to make it to my appt friday.

bmreed0920

UPDATE: Surgery went well. So far no shoulder pain, just ears and headache. I've been light on my meds since I havent been in much pain. Eaten mainly crackers, ramne, and mac n cheese. My belly is a little sore but that is to be expected since they did cut me in four different spots. Other than that everything is good. I finally went to the bathroom this moring and it felt great. Ive been up and moving around, although my husband wants me to stay in bed all day long. The peppermint tea has helped a lot as well. Thank you all for your advise and help.

MzBug

Good to hear you are on the mend! :flowerforyou:

kimzxx

UPDATE: Surgery went well. So far no shoulder pain, just ears and headache. I've been light on my meds since I havent been in much pain. Eaten mainly crackers, ramne, and mac n cheese. My belly is a little sore but that is to be expected since they did cut me in four different spots. Other than that everything is good. I finally went to the bathroom this moring and it felt great. Ive been up and moving around, although my husband wants me to stay in bed all day long. The peppermint tea has helped a lot as well. Thank you all for your advise and help.
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Well done you! Be sure to rest - make the most of it (when I had my op in January - as soon as I could walk to the bathroom unaided my boyfriend thought that meant I was fully recovered lol!)

Feel better soon and I wish you a very speedy recovery :happy: Sounds like your doing fab already :flowerforyou:

fatboypup

I lost 90lbs the last time I seriously dieted (about a year and a half ago) and it gave me gallstones lol the doc said it was from the rapid weight loss ....... so after my surgery i couldn't do my exercise like i wanted i fell of the diet wagon and put 70 of the 90 back on. So ive started the journey again back in January hopefully barring any other crazy surgeries ill get this weight off and keep it off.

lkm111

I lost 90lbs the last time I seriously dieted (about a year and a half ago) and it gave me gallstones lol the doc said it was from the rapid weight loss ....... so after my surgery i couldn't do my exercise like i wanted i fell of the diet wagon and put 70 of the 90 back on. So ive started the journey again back in January hopefully barring any other crazy surgeries ill get this weight off and keep it off.

Just about the same thing happened to me - and I hear about it from many other people. It's a shame it has to happen to those of us who are trying to make good changes.

To the OP, my biggest adjustment was to eggs of all things. I found that if I eat better farmed eggs (like Eggland's Best) I am much better off and they are really better for us, too!

Hope you heal quickly!

mthartwig

I just lived this GB event. I am 1 month out from surgery. Lost 50+ lb over the last year. I was not on a low fat diet. In fact I have adopted Paleo diet lifestyle. I am premenopausal and have a family history of GB issues. I do wish I would have waited a bit longer to see if I could have cleansed my system. There were no stones, but I do believe my GB was malfunctioning. The key to survival after GB removal is to learn about supplementing with oxBile before you eat meals with fat. Your body needs omega 3 not to mention vitamins A,D, & K, which all need fat to be absorbed. If you reseat h ox bile, there are many people who have been able to retain their original diet by supplementing. For the most part, my eating is back in track. Ox bile saved me so my body can absorb all the vitamins and fats I need.planning to keep my weight off