gallbladder removal

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.

I had mine out in April. Was in hospital 24 hours, the worst pain was the shoulder pain you can get after they fill you with air to operate. I took painkillers the day I got home. 2 days after surgery I went shopping for few hours. I had mine out Friday and went a 2 mile jog on Tuesday, surgeon said 3 days to jog. Started back at exercise classes 2 weeks after op. Had to wait that long and not lift anything more than 10kg for 6 weeks. I was in agony before the op, it was so easy to recover. Good luck.

I had mine out 10 years ago with emergency surgery while I was at a weight of over 300 pounds. My gallbladder was gangrene and was in pieces so the doctor had to really fish around in there to make sure he got it all.. and he had to scrape rotten gallbladder remains and infection off of my liver. Fortunately, despite my weight and severity of the infection, he was able to do the surgery laproscopically.(sp). I was in the hospital for 3 or 4 days I don't remember which and I felt like I got run over by a truck despite being on Narcotics . I don't know how much of how I felt was due to being septic and how much was due to the actual surgery. I was discharged with a prescription for narcotics and I had to have my ride bring the car right to the door of the hospital because I couldn't face walking the 100 yards across the parking lot. I couldn't sleep in a normal position for weeks. I was back to work (desk job) after two weeks but could only work half days for a few weeks. It took a few months before I felt normal. The only thing that didn't normalize was my bowels. It took about 8 years for my bowels to calm down and actually have a solid bowel movement... For the first few years, I carried a change of clothes with me just in case.

Now compare that with last year when I had weight loss surgery. I had 75% of my stomach surgically removed in Tijuana, Mexico and it was a cake walk compared to the gallbladder surgery. I was up walking around within hours and discharged the next day with no pain meds other than regular tylenol. The day after that I walked a few miles (not all at once of course) A few days after that I flew back to the east coast with minimal discomfort and had no problem walking around the airports. My only real challenge was sticking to the two week 10 pound lifting restrictions and bending restrictions because I would forget that I even had surgery.

I should add that fortunately for you,my experience with my gallbladder is NOT normal. I actually had a nurse giving me a hard time in the hospital, basically telling me I was being a big baby and that I should have been discharged days ago and that when SHE had her gallbladder removed, she was discharged the next day and walking around, etc. It was only due to my good fortune that the surgeon walked in while the nurse was there and I told him what she said right in front of her. He ripped her a new one telling her that mine was the worst gallbladder case he's ever had in his 20 years of surgery requiring a lengthy and more invasive surgery and asking her if she had missed the part about me being SEPTIC and that he was happy to see me doing as well as I was considering the extent of the infection and length of surgery time. Serves her right.

Forgot to add. Gave me oxycodiene. Worse than the procedure. Stopped taking it and immediately felt better. Walk as much as you are able in short bursts. Good for you. Dont tear the stitches. It is the internalones that are the worry.:bigsmile: no lifting. Careful getting off the bed and the toilet. You'll be right in no time.

I had mine removed 10 years ago at 25 along with a complete hysterectomy done through my c-section scar and my appendix removed.. No problems at all. I did have to stay in the hospital a couple days because of the hysterectomy but healed well.. I have no issues from not having a gallbladder!

Good luck!

I had mine removed, several years ago, the old way - major surgery. Even with that, pain was very minimal.

A few years ago, I had a laproscopic surgery. I stayed in the hospital over night. I took half a dose of pain meds and double the time. I didn't need them. People told me to stay ahead of the pain, so I thought I would. Well, after the second day, post-op, I stopped taking them and all was fine.

The biggest thing is just to remember that you are having surgery, so follow your Drs advice. When they tell you to rest and take it easy, believe them, even though you feel like you can do more. You need to heal.