Anyone had gall bladder surgery? Please respond or bump for

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  • Biancalee76
    Biancalee76 Posts: 107
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    I had my gall bladder out in the beginning of November. Everything went super quick for me. I went to the dr on a Thursday, ultrasound on Friday, removal on Tuesday. Mine was full of sludge and gravel.
    I had laproscopy done, not sure what keyhole is, I ended up with 4 incisions. I was feeling human within a week, but I was unable to exercise for almost a month. I'm still learning now what foods are good and which ones will hit me later on. I have a 2-3 days wait after whatever bad foods I eat before I have stomach pains.
    I feel 100% better since it has been removed.
    Best of luck with your surgery!
  • ShrinkinMel
    ShrinkinMel Posts: 982 Member
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    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.
  • bethany_22
    bethany_22 Posts: 203 Member
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    I had my gall bladder out almost 3 years ago. I was having severe pain when I was eating and they did test after test, but nothing showed up. There is a history of gall bladder problems in my family so they took it out anyways even though the tests came back normal. Good thing they did because after they took it out they sent it for tests and it came back that is was diseased. I was 15 when I had it taken out and it is very very rare for people that young to have gall bladder problems, but hey I'm not normal ;p They took it out through my belly button leaving a scar on the bottom of my belly button and 3 tiny scars on my stomach. The scars are tiny, only about the size of a dime. I was only sore for a few days and then I was back to normal! I have had no pain since then! (:
  • MamaDee2
    MamaDee2 Posts: 843 Member
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    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!
  • Smokey19
    Smokey19 Posts: 796 Member
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    I had mine out keyhole. I was sore afterwards, but not too bad. I feel so much better now. I am glad I had the surgery.
  • abrantner
    abrantner Posts: 90
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    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
  • youarewhatyoueat86
    youarewhatyoueat86 Posts: 27 Member
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    About 3 years ago mine was taken out because I got really sick and my eyes and stuff began turning yellow(jaundice). They told me my body was being poisoned basically and it needed to come out asap. Before the surgery i was very sick, couldn't work because I had excruciating pain and VERY fatigued.. they scheduled the surgery immediately and RIGHT after I felt 100% better, very tiny scars that are pretty much unnoticeable and no complications..very little pain. I went home same day and took two weeks off work i believe, but didn't take the whole 2 weeks to feel better.
  • 38Gigi38
    38Gigi38 Posts: 115 Member
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    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.
  • marianne_s
    marianne_s Posts: 986 Member
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    Wow.... so many people have had their gallbladder removed.

    I'm due to have mine removed on January 10th
    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!)

    This is exactly what happened to me... no digestive or stomach problems, until one night I pain in my lower back - it felt like someone was kicking me in the kidneys....supposedly I have 50+ stones.

    My consultant recommends 2-4 weeks off work, to recover from the anaesthetic & pain medication in my system. When I said I would go back to after 2 weeks, he stressed that it was advisable to take 4 weeks off as I probably wouldn't be able to manage my normal daily routine of working a full day and commuting to & from the City. So, he will be signing me off work for 4 weeks
  • skinnydreams165
    skinnydreams165 Posts: 101 Member
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    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
  • loriannmartin
    loriannmartin Posts: 209 Member
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    had mine out around early november... didnt take long to heal... sore but not too bad.. it is weird i was diagnosed with IBS and i havent had any trouble like that since... wondering if it was gallbladder all the time? however i did read an article that said usually with weight loss sometimes causes gallbladder troubles...good luck to you.
  • skatermom503
    skatermom503 Posts: 96
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    I'll tell you later this week. I am having mine out tomorrow. My daughter had hers out in November and she did great. A couple of post op days laying on the couch and she was good to go. She had one bout of nausea and only took pain meds for about 3 days. I am sure you will do well. Try not to worry.
  • changinmyways72
    changinmyways72 Posts: 73
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    I had my gallbladder out a few years ago via laparoscopic surgery and it was actually really easy. I was ready to go home shortly after I woke up, but they wouldn't let me drive because of the general anasthetic. They wouldn't give me coffee with milk in it at first, but then they caved and let me lol. I went home the next morning and I just felt a little crampy, nothing more than what you would feel each month. A couple of Tylenol took most of it away. I found that I had a hard time with lettuce. My stomach was bothered by that, anything fast food (greasy), etc. If you're watching what you eat, then you will have no worries...but watch with the lettuce. Try a little bit and see how you react. I've heard from a few people that it didn't sit well with them after their surgery! Good luck!!
  • dids01
    dids01 Posts: 93 Member
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    lots of great info here, I'm on the waiting list to have my gall bladder out (hopefully before the end of feb), thank you for posting this.
    Happy new year
    Diane xx
  • kmbrooks15
    kmbrooks15 Posts: 941 Member
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    I had mine out the day before Thanksgiving. I had four attacks in a month's time, and the pain was horrible! The surgery pain was there, but not as bad as the pain from the attacks. I also would vomit violently (so much that I'd burst capillaries in my face). Having this done was the best thing I could do for myself. So far, I've had no trouble eating anything. I don't eat much fatty stuff, but I did have ribs at my daughter's birthday party Saturday and had no trouble. I didn't eat an excessive amount of ribs, though; just one good-sized one.

    My doctor said no exercise after surgery. After two weeks, he let me do some gentle walking on the treadmill; after four, I could start couch to 5K; then after six (this week, in fact!), I could get back to strength training.

    The results people have and what they can eat after their gallbladder comes out seems to vary widely. You'll have to just experiment with what you can eat. I just figured that if I couldn't keep ANYTHING down, having a few foods that I couldn't have was a small price to pay to be able to eat everything else! I hope you feel better after your surgery like I did. I just kind of wish I'd done it sooner (I've had stomach problems for about 3 years, and I think it was my gallbladder all along).
  • tp04256
    tp04256 Posts: 1
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    I had mine out 9 yrs ago 3 days after having a c-section. Had no problems, I was up 1 hr after surgery( lapraoscopy) sp? walking around. It was definately worth it. I would do it again if need be.:smile:
  • hdlb123
    hdlb123 Posts: 112 Member
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    I had my gall bladder out almost 3 years ago with the small incisions. I had a really awful time recovering, but its because we found out 3 days after the surgery that I was pregnant, so I imagine that if I wasn't pregnant, it would have been a simple recovery. You might have pains from the gas the use though, it can be really painful.

    But I can't eat anything with grease now. I mean anything, and its getting worse the less I eat. 5 french fries or a handful of chips and I'm running for the bathroom.
  • TheLongRunner
    TheLongRunner Posts: 688 Member
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    I just had mine out on Wednesday 12/28. I had the world's worst gallbladder attack on Christmas night. Thought I was gonna die. Anyhow....I am recovering from the surgery right now. I had the laproscopic procedure. It was not as bad as I expected. The surgery went really smoothly and my appetite is finally coming back. I walked around a bit today without pain. I am still a bit sore...my wounds are fresh...but I will tell you that the surgery is worth it! Feel free to add me and ask me any questions about the surgery...it is still very fresh in my mind!!!!
  • kmbrlybrooke
    kmbrlybrooke Posts: 1
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    I am having my gallbladder out the same day as Zara! I am so scared of what my life will be like afterwards....I am already scared of diarrhea attacks as it is...I don't want to live my life in fear every time I go out or want to have a nice dinner out with family/friends.........I'm nervous and don't know what to expect :(
  • WendyHJ
    WendyHJ Posts: 60
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    Mine came out in emergency surgery on 2/8/12. I had two (now known) attacks and then 15 hours of back pain, stomach cramps and vomiting before I went to the ER. They kept me there until they were sure what it was and did surgery 9 hours later. The surgeon told me I would not need to change how I eat altho lots of people do anyway he said. I ate pretty low fat already, but I've had a few batches of home popped corn with butter and I think my system does better now. I also had chronic back pain for over two years that is now gone so we think it was the gall bladder. They said it was so scarred and inflamed and full of gall stones they had trouble removing it, the surgery took a lot longer than they expected. I have my two week follow up in a couple days. Amen to laporascapic surgery!

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