No Gallbladder - Now what??

Had mine out in 2002 or 2003 - can't remember exactly!
Had two weeks off work - only cause they thought that they wouldn't be able to do it key hole - which they did in the end.
I stayed two days in the hospital due to having a drain. Two days after I got home I was back to doing housework etc - just no heavy lifting etc.

I have not had to change my diet at all - I was told to watch fatty food and spicy foods also - but luckily never had a problem. I LOVE spicy foods.

I do know of people that have problems with fatty foods afterwards.

Everyone is different - so it is a bit of trial and error.

Hope you have a speedy recovery!

I had mine out right after Memorial Day. I was feel a little better a week out, but took me about 2 weeks to fully recover. After my surgery, the only thing I had issues with were things that were greasy and red meat.

If I have something fatty now, I will have some pain.

The thing that sucked the most for me was no exercise of any kind besides walking for 4 weeks.

I have a question for all you missing gallbladderers too. I found out yesterday that I wil have mine removed next week as they found multiple gallstones and it looked like one had already passed as the duct was open. I have an appointment with the surgeon Tuesday. I was told until then eat low-fat foods and clear liquids. If I feel an attack coming on I'm supposed to go to ER. I'm not sure how an attack will feel any different than I have been this entire last week. If I sit or lay down I have sharp pains throughout my upper abdomen around my side and up my back. The pain is a lot less if I'm up and moving around. I haven't slept in 5 days because the pain is so bad at night. What is different about an attack that I'm already feeling, that I should head to the ER? Thanks!

My 'attacks' used to last @6 hours - I could almost set time by them. Would feel like someone was stabbing me in the low middle of my ribcage - think heartburn but WAY WORSE. The one that sent me to emergency didn't stop after 6 hours and was accompanied by a severe nausea and vomiting.

I was back to work in a couple days but was moving a little slower. I also was one of the unlucky ones who has had to modify the diet a bit to cut down on the fat/spice even though I was never a big junk eater to begin with. I know I've had too much when I get the 'heartburn' feeling.

I know the post is a tad older but I just had mine taken out on Monday, Nov 5th. It has now been almost a week and I am feeling like my old self again. I haven't had issues with food as of now but I am trying to keep my diet low fat like my doctor recommended for a month. Also, only mentioned once, and I thought it could be helpful to some, I was told no exercise other than walking for 4 weeks and no lifting more than 5 lbs for 6 weeks.

I had my surgery on November 2 and am feeling pretty well. I have pushed it a few times with high fat foods and have regreted it right away. I guess it's time to stop being stubborn and accept a low fat diet for a while.

I am so jealous of all of you. I had mine out over 2 years ago, and it was nothing like most of yours. They had to open me up mid surgery, and I was in the hospital for a lovely 7day 6night stay. I had a pouch haning out of my abdomen for most of that stay to drain bile. They put a stint in the day before I left, and I had to go back a few months later to get it out. I was out of work for a little over a month. During my recovery I got rather hooked on my painkillers because I was on so much. When I went back to work I stopped taking them, and I had 48 hours of serious withrawl. I have a 10 inch scar to show though.

I had mine removed about 2-3 months ago. My Doc didn't tell me about any diet changes post surgery but I have learned to make some anyway. I have a low tolerance to dairy right now and I have a feeling it's because it's a little higher in fat than some other foods. Mexican probably isn't a good choice for a while either honestly (I cant even sit through dinner without having to run for the bathroom). And yes like you said low fat foods. Other than that it kind of depends on the person. My mom and aunt both had theirs out too and each of us have different foods that set us off.

I was back up and working within a week after having surgery but I still feel a bit of a "pain" where I had my gall bladder attacks on occasion but they're so mild I barely take notice. But that's part of healing. Don't lift anything (even a jug of milk) for a little while until you are 100%!!

God I can sympathise with this! I had pancreatitis over the weekend due to gallstones and am scheduled for surgery on 16th December. Needless to say, being a week before christmas I'm a little dubious, but after the pain I;'ve just been through, I cant wait!
My doctor has said that things can go completely back to normal afterwards, but obviously she recommends staying on with a low fat diet...but then, I think its also safe to say our English doctors are a little blase when it comes to healthcare in comparison to American!

My surgery wasn't emergency, but I don't know if that matters. It was laparoscopic, and I had it done on a Wednesday morning and was 95% by the following Monday. It was 7 years ago, but I seem to recall that Wed night was OK, I was still kind of loopy and sleepy. Thursday night into Friday day was the worst for me, pain wise. I actually didn't take anything stronger than tylenol/advil, but I can't really remember why. I think I was terrified of getting constipated from the Vicodin.

Anyway, I took it really easy for the first week or so. I lived on oatmeal and english muffins with PB. I wasn't sure what I was in for, so I wanted to take it slow. Over the first month, I started adding back in my normal foods like eggs, turkey sandwiches, chicken stir fry, tomato-based products, and wine.

These days, i can eat pretty much anything I want. I definitely get some GI stuff going on with heavy fatty meals (like fast food or pizza, for example), but no worse than my gallbladder-intact husband. The only real problem I can think of is raw spinach. My guts do not like raw spinach or lettuce AT ALL.

Feel better!