gallbladder removal

You don't realize how much you use your abdominal muscles until you have it out, but I was able to go to a Red's game three weeks after my surgery and walk around town. The thing you have to be wary of is what you eat. I would get sick eating meat for a month or so after my surgery so I had to go vegi for a while and slowly introduce meat again. Also if you are lactose intolerant even just a little bit you will be like 100% lactose intolerant without your gallbladder.
I don't want to scare you I feel better with out it I don't spend my work breaks in a fetal position any longer and I don't go home and lay on the couch in a fetal position till I fall asleep, but you have to change things a bit.

Echoing the "didn't know how much you use your abs until" after surgery remark! OH man! Even driving felt like it setting me on fire the way lots of crunches do! I didn't have too much pain after about a week or so.

What got me was this: I never had heart burn before they took mine out. Like...maybe twice in my whole life. Now, it's at least once a week. It used to be worse, until I cut some foods out of my diet.

I also can't eat whole eggs anymore. Egg yolk makes my stomach hurt so bad now! Almost throwing up from it sometimes. Not everyone experiences that, but if you do, you can talk to your doctor. My FIL had the same issue and was put on a medicine for it. It helped him so much that he doesn't even need it now and can eat eggs (but it didn't work for me, but I'll deal without whole eggs in my life). Btw, I can cook with them, like baking, etc. Just can't eat yellow scrambled eggs or anything like that.

I hope you experience little pain!

Make sure you ask for pain killers, as a rule they tend not to give you anything otherwise because apparently some dont need it.

I had mine taken out a few months ago and I was given a small amount of dilaudid after waking up from surgery, then about an hour later i was out the door.

Everything was just peachy until the next day when the freezing wore off, which is when i started to scream uncontrollably whenever i rolled over, sneezed, coughed or stood up out of bed. I had to have my father to go the doctors the day after to get me a prescription for traumadol.

If you have the painkillers from the start it should be very manageable however you will likely shuffle around like a hunchback for a week or 2, and its easily 3-4 weeks before its safe to drive.

After that 4 week point your allowed to resume "strenuous" exercise.
One final tip, start adding fat back to your diet SLOWLY, your body misses having the galbladder at first and things can be very unpleasant.

I had mine out in an emergency surgery in May this year (keyhole). Even then, just as others have said; though the pain of recovery isn't pleasant it's nothing compared to an attack!

My abdomen was really sore and I was taking ibroprofen and paracetomol for about 5 days after the op. I wasn't able to lift anything heavy for another couple of weeks after that. The biggest thing for me was just being so tired - Obviously the body is recovering from a traumatic experience (surgery), and it'll take as long as it needs to to do that. As long as you don't push yourself too soon your body will heal as it needs to surprisingly quickly.

Having my gallbladder removed has been a lifechanger. After 2 years of more and more frequent attacks I am now healthy and no longer tired all the time. Also I had bacon for the first time in 18 months last weekend and it was WONDERFUL! :bigsmile:

I had mine done laproscopically - it was considered an out patient surgery. Walked out about 1 hour after the surgery. My surgery was on a Thursday and I was back to work on the following Monday. Minimal pain and I did not take any pain medication. No heavy lifting for 4-6 weeks, but my life was back to normal within a couple of days.

I had my gallbladder out last November right before Thanksgiving.

Honestly the gall bladder attacks (if your having those) hurt 1000x more than the actual surgery/recovery.
I had my appendix removed about 10 years ago and that recovery was a lot longer/more painful.
I had my wisdom teeth removed about 8 years ago and the recovery was a lot longer/more painful.
I've definitely had menstrual cramps many times way worse than pain I felt after surgery.

If you've never had surgery and you're afraid here's what to expect:

Once you check in they'll probably ask you to go to the bathroom, change into a hospital gown etc.
They also usually have you give a urine sample in a cup (to make sure your not pregnant). -
Then they'll direct you to a hospital bed and hook you up to an IV, get all the paperwork signed etc.Usually you'll meet your surgeon and he'll tell you about the procedure and answer any questions.
When they're ready to take you into surgery they'll wheel you into another room with lots of lights. They talk to you along the way and let you know whats happening and usually introduce themselves (Hi I'm Bob I'm your anesthesiologist etc).
Then they will let you know they are going to put you to sleep. (I always try to think of something nice, a favorite place, favorite song if I'm feeling nervous). Usually the anesthesiologist will ask you to count backwards from 10 or they might just ask you to take several deep breaths. (You feel nothing here by the way) And 10, 9, 8... Your asleep before 7.

Waking up is the only real scary part I'd say as sometimes you feel your heart racing and maybe don't realize where you are at first. You'll feel kind of heavy/groggy and it'll be hard to focus at first. There's usually a nurse or family member nearby though saying your name and asking you how your feeling. Give it a minute or two and you'll find moving and responding to them easier. Usually you're really thirsty (since they have an oxygen mask on you during surgery) and sometimes you feel cold. You will not feel much pain... at least no worse than a day when you've done a hard workout on your Abs at the gym. This is the fun time in life when you can give orders to people around you and they'll jump on it to get you some water, or a warm blanket etc. (Kinda fun, like being a kid again!) You will feel very tired and heavy. (This wears off after a while). I went home in less than 1.5 hours after my surgery. They'll let you stay much longer though if you feel nauseous or don't want to move yet. I was personally just ready to go home.

Getting dressed is tricky because you still feel a little heavy/weak and that abdominal pain like you've worked your abs too hard makes putting your arms over your head uncomfortable. I'd bring some baggy clothes and/or a top that buttons/zips in the front to wear home. After going home You'll find some things like sitting up from laying down and bending over to pick something up are painful (again no worse than a hard ab workout). Just do what you can to make yourself comfortable and take the pain meds regularly (if you go to long without them the pain does get worse...as long as you keep up with the schedule you'll be fine). I opted to sleep on our recliner rather than my bed since it helps with getting up and I didn't have to lay all the way down or do a full sit up like I would to get out of bed to go to the bathroom etc.

You'll have surgical tape over the incision and probably some orange/brown goo around/under the tape. (No worries it isn't blood, its just a high powered antiseptic they use to make sure everything is sanitized during/after surgery to prevent infection). They usually ask that you wait 24 hours before your first shower, but after that you can shower as normal (I think they prefer no baths/soaking in the tub for a week or two to reduce any risk of infection).
The surgical tape usually falls off in about a week. If not, you'll probably have a followup visit with the surgeon and he'll remove it for you then. (Doesn't hurt anymore than removing a band aid).

Its really not bad at all, and it'll probably be a lot less scary than your imagining in your head. Looking forward to hearing how it goes. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Good advice!
I am waiting for my appointment with the surgeon to have my gallbladder removed.