Anyone had gall bladder surgery? Please respond or bump for

I did have gall bladder surgery about 8 years ago. I am sure its the same method you are talking about.. via small incision. Suregery is easy, simple, quick I will say that for some reason, it took me a longer time to "recoup" than I thought it would. It really kicked my butt. I work from home...and thought I would be back to working in a few days. Nope.

However, I have known others to have this same surgery--and the majority of them are feeling fine.. and back to work in a few days. They are doing desk jobs.. no type of manual labor.. but, they are able to work.

Hope you aren't worried --- it will all be fine And YES... I do feel sooo much better. Have not had ANY problems with my stomach since!! (except size... which is a different issue.. LOL!)

Good Luck

Hi Zara,

I had my gall bladder removed a few years ago via keyhole surgery and it was fine. I was in hospital for two-three days afterwards but the pain level was not bad at all and I was thinking why are you keeping me in hospital for so long?? For the first few days it was very hard to sit up on my own as I basically couldn't use my abs at all and that took a few weeks to clear but all in all recovery time is great for keyhole surgery. If you've been having the stomaches that usually accompany gallstones then the pain form this will be nothing to you!

I hope that helps, I know everyone is different but if I'm anything to go by it was an inconvenience more than anything else. Good luck with it!

I guess I must have been lucky! I had 16 or so stones, removed it after years on a waiting list. It all went well and I was sent home from hospital the next day. I remember not being allowed to drive or pit washing on th line for a few weeks incase I stretched those muscles, but I went back to work a couple of days later. Eating fatty foods was interesting for the next few months following - it was a strange feeling, no pain but cramps and bloat. Beats the pain from an attack anyway!

Good luck with your surgery. Rest assured its performed many, many times over in hospitals all around the world (in Australia it's done something like 80a day on average!)

I had mine done by laser surgery (which I am assuming is what you are talking about when you say key hole)in 2008...I had my surgery on a Tuesday and was back to work on Thursday. I didn't feel 100% for probably a week -- the worst part was the gas or bloating afterward from being filled up with air. It was the best thing I ever did -- feel great -- have had no more issues!

I had keyhole surgery in Jan (last year) Pretty much the same the only thing was that my belly button dressing wasn't put on properly and I got an infection but nothing that some antibiotics didn't clear up. Keep your wounds dry. I still find it uncomfortable eating fatty foods and try to stay away from it as much as possible.

I also gain weight easy so I REALLY make sure I don't eat fatty foods. It was hard at first but soooo worth it. My friend also got it done. She finds no problem with the fatty foods but boy has she gained a lot of weight! (I just don't tell her that of course)

Good luck, any pain after is worth it, because those attack pains are unbearable

I had mine out in 2004 about a month before my wedding. Although I woke up pretty sore and the first couple of days were that way within a week I was pretty much back to my normal self. Good luck!!

I had mine out about 2 and a half weeks ago. It was an emergency surgery. I was very sick. I had some complications and got really lucky because once in there they thought they might have to open me up instead of the easy way. That would have been harder to recover from.

I am still recovering two weeks later. Recovery time seems to really depend on the person it seems. They say 2-3 days. It hasn't been that way for me. I am back to walking now but I still take a pain pill after. I was told not to lift 20 pounds or more for 6 weeks. Which is making it hard to take care of the two year old.

I was really worried about eating after. People kept telling me horrible stories about food. Even lettuce. It seems to be different for everyone. A doctor friend said to just stay close to a bathroom until you figure out what bothers you. I don't eat a lot of high fat stuff on a normal basis so I am doing good so far with the food part.

After reading your replies I am now worried about the weight gain. I hadn't heard of that side affect.

Good luck with your surgery. I have to say I am glad I have mine out. The pain was so bad before. I spent a day in the hospital on pain pills until I could get the surgery.

Honestly my biggest issue is just trying to take it easy while recovering. I was doing good working out and taking it easy isn't something I do well.

Hi I'm Zara. I'm having gall bladder surgery hopefully via key hole on 20th Jan. Has anyone had theirs out open or keyhole and what was the op like, how were you afterwards? How did u feel for the days after it and how do u feel now health wise after its gone has it made a big difference? Would love as many views as possible so that I can see peoples experiences... So bump please. Thanks in advance! Zara x

Hi Zara, I had my gallbladder out a year and a half ago in an emergency surgery. I was very sick at the time and so that compounded with the pain from the surgery made me recovery very painful but after about 3 weeks I was pretty much back to normal.

The biggest issue I had afterwards was keeping weight on, everything went straight through me. I had to take a supplement called cholacol (spelling?) for about six months until my digestive tract adjusted.

Best of luck with your surgery! Get well soon! If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

I had mine out about 5 years ago, laproscopy, and had it done day stay so I was had the surgery in the morning and went home that afternoon. I rested a lot the first couple of days and then I was fine. Very little pain, no bloating (which I had expected). Hope yours goes as well.

I had mine laparoscopically as outpatient left that same day and had little problems. My big incision(she had to cut a little bigger due to size of my gallbladder) itches a lot still and its been over a year. I had more issues with shoulder pain from the air the blow in to move and see around while doing the op. That hurt worse than any of the incisions(4, 3 small and the one is just over and inch) though on day 2-4 I had what felt like sore muscles form sit ups. The percocet didn't touch the shoulder pain at all it just didn't help so stopped them after the first day. The withdrawal from percocet from when I had the gall bladder attack was worse than the entire recovery so I wanted off them pain pills as fast as possible. It worked out and I didn't have any withdrawals the 2nd time. I hate to take meds of any sort I'm not even one to take tylenol or ibuprofen.


The newer op with it coming out with no incisions seems awesome but still I hear a lot of people have more issue with the shoulders from the air as I imagine they still need that. Plus throat irritation and the thought it came out through your throat/mouth afterwards EEWW My best friend had infection start up in her belly button incision she is prone to staph infections though and catches them easily.

Oh and I recommend sleeping in a recliner if you have one. getting in and out of bed or a lying position was the worst for a day or two. Ouch(more muscle ache than real pain though).

Also mine was only stones no infection or inflammation of the gall bladder it took months to set it all up I never had another big attack like the one when it was diagnosed though fried/fatty foods did cause more heartburn and discomfort nothing like the attack that whole night before though. Those two factors can make it different both in recovery and the risk of needing to be completely opened.

Hey -
I had mine out last Feb. I am a strange case - I had absolutely no problems with my gall bladder until one night I had an attack and I thought I was dying (worse than having a baby!) I had surgery on a Tuesday and was back to work on Friday of the same week. I can eat whatever now as I did before surgery. The most important thing is to move, this will help the gas they use to blow up your stomach to dispurse. If you don' t move around the gas will settle and it is usually in the shoulder area. This is very painful from what I have heard. Anyway very best of luck to you and speedy healing!

Hey Zara,

I had mine out a couple of years ago.. It was one incision though my bellybutton.. no visible scar. I was back to work for a half day a couple of days later. The biggest adjustment for me was the digestive issues. It seems just about everything caused a mid-meal or very shortly post meal trip to the bathroom.. so YES.. definately keep one close by. Eventually that worked itself out and very rarely happens anymore, unless i eat a REALLY greasy/fatty or spicy meal.. Good Luck and Hugs

Allison

I had my gallbladder laproscopically removed in '93. It took me about a week to get over it, but I had complications because mine was scarred so badly it fell apart as they were removing it. I had to stay over-night in the hospital with a drain tube. What hurt me the most was the gas pains from the air they put in you during surgery, and as others said before...the more I moved the better I felt. I gained a lot of weight quickly though after the surgery, not sure if it was because of the surgery, because of not having a gallbladder anymore, or because food finally tasted good to me again since I no longer had pain when I ate. Other than the weight gain, I have done really well since. Certain things like onions or raw cabbage and raw broccoli give me trouble from time to time if I eat too much at once, but its nothing like it was before the surgery.

my mother had hers out... she was not in too much pain only thing is now she can't eat certain foods like cabbage b/c they won't digest well but the recovery process according to her was not bad at all.. just slightly sore