gallbladder removal

I've had mine out - emergency surgery style.

I've had a few surgeries and, while none are pleasant, gall bladder removal isn't bad. It is a fairly quick recovery and the pain meds take care of things. I wouldn't worry a bit about it - the worst part is getting the IV in the pre-op. After that, things are absolutely peachy!

I had mine out a couple of years ago after i developed problems - it was an over night stay, and i only needed pain meds for 1-2 weeks. I was careful for the first month but it was completely healed within that month. After having it out i have no pain and can eat whatever i want, so it was definitely worth it.

I had mine out on a Thursday and was back at work the next Tuesday...light duty. I even travelled to a funeral on the Saturday after. 2 days post op.
I had pain killers the first 48 hrs afterwards then just Tylenol
Honestly compared to other surgeries I have had it's no big deal.
I have no problem eating anything now.

I had mine done laproscopic 2 years ago and hardly no pain after. I actually did not use the pain medication at all. It is life changing. Especially eating habits. I did everything by trial and error for the first year after. Some things will make you go to the bathroom immediately and other may not. Good luck and please use the full recovery time!! Take care!!

I had my gallbladder removed laproscopically several years ago, also. The surgery is a breeze. The recovery isn't so bad, either. The worst pain was due to gas pains, because they have to kind of "blow you up" with some air so that they can see everything in there more easily with the camera. They squeeze some of it out before you wake up, but it takes about a week for the rest of it to dissolve and be released. I honestly had no pain the next day, and the day after that, I managed my pain with ibuprofen. I was able to go grocery shopping with my mom the day after (just to walk around, no heavy lifting for a while).

I have to agree with the other posters who have mentioned that the pain from the recovery is NOTHING compared to the pain of an attack. That was some of the worst pain I've every felt, barring labor pains, and I do not regret having the surgery to have it taken out.

Good luck!

I had to drive across the state about four days after I got mine removed. I was completely back to normal within a couple of weeks. The first three days where the hardest, then everything else was more a slightly painful annoyance that didn't go away for a week or so.

same as everyone, easy peasy. off pain meds in a day or two. walking 3-5 miles within days. back to normal running within a month.

My experience wasn't so nice since a sneaky stone made it out and I developed pancreatitis 5 days after the surgery. Take it easy with exercise. Don't pick up heavy stuff. The one thing that I think also helped me is that I kept going out for walks. Even if it was a slow walk, but I kept moving.

mine was a lap and it was about a 7-10 day recovery. Sore as hell the day or three after, keep a small pillow to hold on your abdomen when you move - or gawdforbid sneeze. also pain meds are likely to cause some constipation and you will not be able to bear down so modify diet accordingly.

My mom got hers out a couple of years ago, she isn't super active, but she was able to get up and move around fairly well not too long afterwards. Had a pillow behind her back for a couple of days.

Word of warning, a lot of foods won't "agree" with you anymore. Super greasy and high cellulose foods like lettuce can sneak up on you unexpectedly. So I'd suggest if you want to be active with umpiring for the summer you should stay away from these foods or you'll be in the bathroom....

Just to give you more info i did get yellow eyes still got them but there lowering now. I like to move and i life on third floor apt complex will the stairs be bad or no?

i usually don't have people staying with me so how long did you all have to stay in hospital.

I was wheeled into surgery at 8:00am, and was discharged from the hospital at 3:30pm. They will monitor you afterwards, and make sure you meet some basic thresholds before allowing you to be discharged. I had to be able to eat some food (pudding), and drink enough water to pee a couple of times, and I think I had to get up and walk a little bit.

I live on the second floor, and stairs weren't really a big deal. It's your abdomen that will be very sore (I recommend a pillow held against your stomach if you have to sneeze!)

My mom came and stayed with me for a few days after, it was nice, but not 100% necessary. You will definitely need someone to drive you home from the hospital though.

i was out of the hospital in 24hr, and proceeded to move,
stitches were out in a few weeks, why they didn't use disolving is beyond me,
biggest thing is to stay away from any fatty foods afterwards, still get stomach pains,
gallbladder regulates bile release so things that use lots ie fatty foods, can lead to cramp like symptoms,

i found recovery very short, wasn't much pain, all i was prescribed was tylenol.

good luck, there's nothing that compares to the pain of having that PO'd gallbladder.

I had mine out 6 years ago laparoscopically, went in the morning, was home that afternoon. The only scar you can see at all is the one up under my breastbone, but you have to look really, really close to even notice it, and it just looks like a little thin line which is the same color as my skin pretty much so it blends in. I was back at work within a week and the only thing I would say is you might not want to eat a lot of greasy food after that (the gallbladder stores bile, so you just have a constant bile drip once you don't have it anymore...and usually eating really greasy food can result in running to the bathroom). Honestly I don't eat like that anyway, so it has not been a problem for me. If you have a gallbladder that is not working (mine was full of stones on CAT scan and not working at all) it is better to take it out before it gets infected and you need emergency surgery. I tried natural treatments but there was no getting all those stones out, and really I should have just done it sooner as it did start to get infected and it hurt and I felt really sick. I was lucky I did not have to have emergency surgery. You will feel much better in the long run.

I did get tylenol with codeine, I think I took it the first 2 days, just ibuprofen after that.

It took me about 3 days to walk downstairs after I had mine. The most uncomfortable part is they fill you belly with air so they can see. I feel bloated to the point of pain for a few days after. Mine was laporascopic

i had mine out 11/2012. i had a serious attack 8/2012 - breathing in hurt, i couldn't get comfortable, i couldn't lie down, i couldn't sit up. hubby drove me to the ER and within a couple of hours the doctors said it seemed like my gallbladder. i went in for a really long, annoying scan and they said in addition to lots and lots of tiny stones i had 'sludge'. which sounds great. they said they could take it out laparoscopically in a day or two (once the swelling went down) but the attack was three days before i was set to start a new job!

after talking to my doctors, we realized i had been having a lot of signs of mild attacks - horrible abdominal pains and gas after certain meals, bloating and vomiting after high fat meals (that only happened every few months, thank goodness), all these little things that i thought were just part of getting older, or milked food poisoning, or something stupid like that. because none of my stones were huge, they said i would probably keep getting attacks until i had my gallbladder taken out, but i'd never had surgery before and was terrified.

after a few more fairly painful attacks (and leaving work early a few times) - even after adjusting my diet - i finally threw in the towel. i was at the hospital at 6:30am, in surgery by 7:30am, and in recovery by 10something if i remember correctly. i know we were home before noon. i was prescribed oxycontin and took it as prescribed the first day - every four hours. i spent most of the day sleeping and nibbled on some crackers. by day two, i was sore - kind of like i'd be after a bad attack - and the incisions were annoying. i think i took two pain pills that day, and one was before bedtime so i'd be able to sleep. days three and four - i only took one pain pill (before bed). then i stopped taking them altogether. i returned to work on day seven (desk job, no lifting or anything more strenuous than walking to the copier) with the expectation that i may need to take it extra easy or leave early. i was tired after the first day back, but not REALLY tired. the biggest problem was my incisions - i asked for special permission to wear leggings to work the rest of the week because the waistbands of my pants irritated one of the larger incisions.

since having it out, i haven't noticed many particular foods i have to avoid, but i do know that high fat meals mean i have to be near a bathroom. we had buffalo wings and fries a couple of weeks ago. not 20 minutes after finishing, i needed the bathroom. without your gallbladder, your liver will just slowly drip bile into your stomach. your gallbladder used to pump in more bile the more fat you ate - so without the gallbladder, when you eat a lot of fat, it just comes out. quickly.