Question about recovery time after gallbladder surgery

hummingbird71

My doc told me: NO EXERCISE what so ever... not even long distance walking for 4 weeks! Then between 4-6 weeks ONLY walking, and nothing that used my stomach muscles, like elliptical machince, no swimming. Then after 6 weeks to start out slowly and do only so many minutes a day and build back up over the next 2 weeks... so AFTER 8 WEEKS I was able to do all exercise with no issues. I did as he told... but also he said it would take 12-18 months... yes 1 to 1.5 yrs to TOTOALLY heal from that surgery. Mine was laparoscopic as well, however he had to make 2 extra cuts because I had a "floppy liver" and it kept flopping over into his work area while he was removing my gal bladder... didn't know I had a floppy liver...lol any ways, take it easy until about 6 weeks then introduce your body back into your routine. That is what my doc told me!

sugarsquare

My Dr. told me I could resume exercise at my 2 week checkup. I ran a 5k 3 weeks after surgery and was fine. I wasn't lifting at the time though just running. I felt great afterwards and I feel even better 1 year later.

istalkzombies

My doc told me: NO EXERCISE what so ever... not even long distance walking for 4 weeks! Then between 4-6 weeks ONLY walking, and nothing that used my stomach muscles, like elliptical machince, no swimming. Then after 6 weeks to start out slowly and do only so many minutes a day and build back up over the next 2 weeks... so AFTER 8 WEEKS I was able to do all exercise with no issues. I did as he told... but also he said it would take 12-18 months... yes 1 to 1.5 yrs to TOTOALLY heal from that surgery. Mine was laparoscopic as well, however he had to make 2 extra cuts because I had a "floppy liver" and it kept flopping over into his work area while he was removing my gal bladder... didn't know I had a floppy liver...lol any ways, take it easy until about 6 weeks then introduce your body back into your routine. That is what my doc told me!

LOL a "floppy liver" never heard of that haha. Yeah I just need to learn patience I guess

danilynhansen

I am having my gallbladder out next thursday (April 25th). It is supposed to be done laprascopically. I want to go fishing with my boyfriend two days after. Am I going to be okay going fishing?

dondimitri

I had only slight discomfort after about 48 hours; and it was pretty much over by 96. I was cautioned to take it easy for around 2 to 3 weeks and then slowly ramp back up. I started back up after about 2 weeks and was full speed after about 3 more. I could have gone faster, sooner, but held myself back a bit. Everything worked out fine. I will note that I was not weightlifting at that point; only doing the elliptical and walking treadmill.

dondimitri

I am having my gallbladder out next thursday (April 25th). It is supposed to be done laprascopically. I want to go fishing with my boyfriend two days after. Am I going to be okay going fishing?

That seems to be pushing the envelope a bit. It is very easy to lose your footing in and/or around boats/water/shoreline. I'd hate to see you tear something loose if you slipped. If you decide to do this be very careful. I could see myself trying to do something like that and I can also see myself kicking myself after something went wrong.

(Tell him you won't be able to unload the boat off of the car rack all by yourself like you usually do!) :-)

valgreen89

I Just Had Mine Taken Out On June 18. Its Been 3? Days Now Amd I'm Really Starting To Feel Useless. Hopefully Time Passes Quickly Cause I'm Getting Annoyed

Tjw3183

I am 30 years old and in pretty good shape and I am supposed to ship out for Army Basic Training in a little better than a month. My gallbladder decided to flare up and now may have to be removed. Any thoughts as to if I could recover say in 4 weeks or so enough to go thru basic training? Running, sit ups, push ups, chin ups, crawling, all that stuff they put you thru.

dcalzado

I am 48 years old and in good shape and had my gallbladder surgery on June 25, 2013. I had laproscopic cholecystecomy--I did not have any stones-my gallbladder was chronic inflammed with 5% functioning. It been 24 days and I am still NOT back to normal. (I am at 3 weeks) The first couple of days I was ok then on the 4th day--I had Nausea and didn't get totally rid of it until 8 days later. It was horrible. I drank fennel tea that helped with Nausea and peppermint tea helped too. I am not eating anything greasy or fatty. I lost 8 pounds so far. I am still in alot of pain and very tired. I take tylenol every 3-4 hours. (the pain meds made my sick and nausea meds made me sleep for 2 days )I still cannot sleep on my side--it hurts. I have 3 cuts. But doing much better-I can walk and drive with no problem. Believe me--it will take a good 4-6 weeks in my opinion to feel better--I thought I was going be better sooner since I was fit and in good shape ---but not the case. It is just going to take time for me heal! This is NOT an easy surgery! Be prepared to eat a different diet right after surgery--I did the BRAT diet--bland food--and now I can eat more. Get plenty rest and walk if you get nausea--taht helped me too. I would say its a good 4-6 week recovery for me --and I am in excellent/good shape.

whitneysims1

I am set to have my gallbladder removed in a 3-4 days and after it my doc say I will be able to take care of my 4 year old, but after reading all your post it concerns me that I will be over doing it to soon. Can u tell me what u all think please?

Halziees

I am set to have my gallbladder removed in a 3-4 days and after it my doc say I will be able to take care of my 4 year old, but after reading all your post it concerns me that I will be over doing it to soon. Can u tell me what u all think please?

I just had mine out 4 weeks ago, and it was an ER situation. I actually had to stay in the hospital for 3 days because it was so bad off. Under those circumstances, 2 weeks after surgery I was back doing intense cardio, 3 weeks after I am back lifting. I am feeling fine.

The first week IS difficult, the 2nd week is just uncomfortable. Of course this is just my experience, and everyone will be different! Follow your doctor's advice and you will be just fine. It is a major surgery, so treat yourself kindly... but it is also routine and has a quick healing time.

suziekdavis

I am 50 years old and just had my gallbladder removed laparoscopic May 23. I am still very sore as well and very tender 5 days later. I was told to use a pillow to get up and down with and that helped a lot. I had to quit taking loritab as it made me sick. Just taking motrin now. It still hurts getting up and down from a chair or bed. Eating very light as well. Trying to be very patient but it is challenging.

Murphy4Him

That might be a bit quick - I remember riding in a car 2 days after and the bumps in the road not being fun for the soreness. You are still very uncomfortable after 2 days.

younesel

I has my gallbladder removed on May 27th, with laparoscopic surgery with 4 incisions, surgeon came at the recovery home, when my wife asked if it will be 3 to 4 weeks, or 4 to 6 weeks, he told her off, said " no today is Tuesday next Monday he should go back to work, which is less than a week, my wife responded ( I was still recovering from anesthesia so half drugged ) that's not possible, that following my 2 months of suffering at the same hospital from mistakes they made and complications such as post ercp duodenum perforation and post ercp pancreatitis the second time and twice in hospital, losing about 10 kilos in 2 months, and being a very hardcore diet for 20 days before surgery, it's unlikely i ll make it that fast, he responded that he wasn't actually negotiating with her!!, he wrote his doctor's note and came back and told her off again saying she really pushed one of his bad buttons, now that I think about it more awake, i m like WTF was that for ? , it's Saturday May 31st, one day away from the fully recovered and going back to work suggested day by the famous surgeon, and let me tell you, he is ****ing out of his mind and i m checking my legal option for that unnecessary disrespectful treatment, as if he was going to pay my sick leave not my insurance, after surgery i experienced unbearable amount of pain, followed by fever for 2 days, severe nausea up to now, eat hardly, can't stand up by myself, cant keep straight, walk more like a bended "l" at about 70 degrees, tried to push myself hard and stand straight, walked long distance as I read it's beneficial on the internet, yet the moment my lungs feel like taking a big inhale, feels like some knife moves around my gallbladder position at the same time, some people call it being sore, i call it a kniefe, stop the bullcrap it's ****ing painfull, I had pneumonia, bronchitis and a broken rib in the past and 12 years of gallbladder attacks that were very severe, and post sergery is no fun, the surgeon said it took him and his wife 18 hours to go back to work, good for them, I will ask them what they eat so I can heal that fast or what kind of Coc they were on, cause every person is different, I have close friends and colleagues that took them all no less than 4 weeks to go back to life, and 3 months to stop feeling anything from surgery, so for those 1% that get up and go to work like there was nothing in 18 hours, either it's lies or their bodies are not like ours. right now, constant mild pain even with pain killers under the right rib cage, breathing heavily hurts, coughing is my number 1 enemy as I feel the incision in my belly is going to pop and it hurts bad, so I drink water and try not to. walking does help over time, but they you get tired, when you lie down completely ( you are tired you need to rest ) the problem after it getting up, it feels like starting all over ****, can't stand up without feeling that you are ripping something underneath my liver and my belly, mostly where the gallbladder was, sleeping is hell, still cant turn on my right or left at night, so you get bad aches on your back for lying on it alone, I know this will go through and probably all will heal, but i m being honest and trying to recover at optimum speed by taking vitamin supplements, eating anti inflammatory food like grapes, apple juice, vitamin c and good food, walking, sitting under the sun for few minutes, shower once a day lighthly, no tubs, just shower.it's being almost a week, going back to work tomorrow as the surgeon told my wife off for ? hell ****ing no, i am really pain tolerant, following my pancreatitits, duedonem perforation and 12 years of gallbladder attacks, most of you rush to hospital and beg it to be removed on day 1, i tried to find out if there was alternatives, there isn't period so this year i wanted to remove it, but the complications pilled up on ercp, will determine if medical error or negligence or just plain coincidence, but there is nothing more painfull than your surgeon telling one of your family members off for asking more than 1 week of recovery time, especially after what she had to go through for me during the past 60 days, that just went over the limit of what I can bear as pain, talk about healthcare, sounded more like a nasty stock holder at my insurance company extremely worried about how much I will cost my insurance for the recovery, getting some legal advice as we speak on this. good recovery to everyone, take your time, it's your health and Your life we are talking about, take no crap from anyone, your doctor, don't negotiate your health, without it, you are garbage or even worst. rest and recover fully at 100%.

younesel

Follow your doctor's advice ? my doctor ended up being a sycho who insults family members, I say follow your body, need 6 weeks take 6 weeks, need 1 week ask take one week, follow your body signs, that's your best communicator.

suziekdavis

Update, It has been 4 weeks, still bloated and sore. Can't lift a lot and get tired very easy. I can't eat fatty food or cheese but other than that I have cut down food intake to half the amount and doing pretty good. Will update in a couple more weeks. Trying to be patient as I am a hyper monkey down to a crawl, ugh!

hotmom99

hi had surgery 8 weeks ago and still have a pinching pain and feel bloated mostly at night and cant sleep on my side still sore.Finally just started to lift light weights at the gym.I talked to a lot of people and there recovery they say was no more then 4 days .The area of pain is hard to pin point . Sometimes by my ribs sometimes little lower.

EatThinForLife

I appreicate everyone's input. I had laproscopic surgery to remove my gall bladder last week and the Dr. said I had no lifting restrictions so I carried my 20+ pound grandson yesterday. This was a mistake that I won't repeat. I am a 59 year old, in very good health, who works out 4 times a week and has a sedentary desk job. The Dr. suggeted 3 weeks before returning to my workout routine at Curves and Zumba. I'm also rethinking this advice. I know everyone's body is different as is the healing process. I will listen to my body, walk every day and eat foods I know my body can digest. The upside is I may be able to reach my goal weight before the projected date. Do you also have suggestions for food and supplements you took during recovery?

EatThinForLife

My best response is listen to your Dr. and read these posts. Everyone has a different experience with some common threads. Be very careful lifting and bending over. When you feel tired, listen to your body and rest as much as possible. Drink lots of water and eat low fat. Five days after surgery I'm still eating low fat foods and have not returned to work.

himynameiserin

I had mine removed laparoscopically on August 1, and it's August 27 now. I still have sharp pain if I raise my arms above my head, arch backward (like you would to start a backbend), or stand up straight and breathe in deeply. The pain's about a finger's width down and to my right from the incision wound between my ribs. I am not ready to do strenuous exercise yet, and I get tired very quickly.

I've definitely struggled with recovery a bit more than I expected. Everything I read, and my doctor, made it sound like I'd be back up and running by two weeks. I spent two months prior to surgery being lazy as heck because any activity caused my gallbladder to flare up, and then was expecting to finally start exercising again pretty quickly after surgery.

For the first three or four days, I was in serious pain. I'm kind of glad I didn't stay at the hospital long after my surgery for the costs, but all day after my surgery at home I couldn't move on my own or find a position that wasn't grippingly painful. I thought something was wrong, but I also thought maybe I was overreacting since they made it sound like it shouldn't have been a big deal. It hurt SO BADLY.

It sounds like everyone has different recovery times... I think it's unfair to expect anyone to fit into a specific window. They didn't give me any major painkillers at the surgery center afterward and it took two days for the meds they sent me home with to make any noticeable difference. I returned to work (with quite some difficulty, but I had to) 6 days after my surgery, where I sat at my desk all day. I couldn't walk very quickly or easily.

Car rides HURT! For like two and a half weeks, it hurt to go anywhere where I was being bounced in a car!

I'm thankful I don't have kids to take care of and I had a significant other who was very helpful and non judgmental (I needed help getting onto and off of the toilet for the first two days, ) ... not everyone has those luxuries, and I strongly encourage anyone preparing to have this surgery to at least have as much help available as they can get for the first 3-4 days or so. It was tough for me. If you bounce back, awesome!

(btw, I'm a 29 year old in a healthy weight range who was doing hot yoga 3-5 days a week regularly until two months before my surgery... so don't assume that your age or physical health are going to mean a super speedy recovery. I'm sure it helps, but give yourself time!)