Gallstones/Gall bladder removal

Calantha · 09-16-2005, 06:25 PM

Ok, I know there have been other threads on this topic, but I searched and couldn't really find answers to my specific questions..
What can I expect from the surgery? I'm hoping it'll be laproscopic, but has anyone had to have the open surgery? What's recovery like (either type)? I have a 2 year old, will I need to get him some kind of daycare for a while after or should I be ok with him (he's like 25 pounds)? Did you have trouble eating after it was out? If so, how long did it last? Did you lose or gain weight after? How bad is the pain from the surgery (either type)? Did you have a drainage tube still when you came home?
I am so freaked out about this, the only surgery I've ever had was to remove ingrown toenails!

cheribcool · 09-16-2005, 06:52 PM

I ate a huge dinner the night before the sx...not sure which type I would have, since I was loosing weight but the doctor was not sure how he could do it...I was 250 ish at the time...

I went in to the hospital around 6:30 and by 7:30 I had an IV and two pills to calm me. They rolled me into sx a few min later I awoke a few hours later in recovery and had some sharp pains, the nurse said she had lower my meds and said she would give me more, it kicked in and I was all warm and comfortable.

I asked what type of sx I had, she said lap, so I was excited.

She said we would be in recovery for a few more min then I had to go to a recovery room. Since I had lap, I did not have to be admitted, Yippee, I got to leave the same day. But only after eating drinking and peeing!

I left recovery bay and went to a recovery room for a few hours, when I was switched from the rolly bed to the sation bed in the room I had to lift myself to get over to the bed, the nurses were all excited to see that! I watched tv ate some pudding, soup, had some popcycles and peed, so the nurse alerted my doc and he said I could go home.

It was rough getting into the SUV and going up and down stairs but I did it all in one day!
I was eating solid foods for dinner, but mushy. The next day I ate a hamburger! Wow, it was awesome to eat something like that!

I could not drive for several weeks so I carpooled with my mom and my boyfriend (now husband) they had to drive me everywhere! Oh, and mom had to dress me for the first few days, the bra was the worse thing, could not reach around. The pain was ok from sx, the worse was layign down and my shoulders would hurt so bably from the gas they use for lap.

Over all the healing time was about two weeks! I was back at work Monday, the sx was on a Friday. It was a good experience for me even with the shoulder pain!

I wish you well

PS make sure they do several u/s and make sure to get all the stones out of the duct! My mom's doc did not do the u/s and in fact mom had to go through two gallbladder sx! You see if they do not get the stones our of the duct, infection and stones can continue to do harm... I mentioned to my doc and he made special notes and insured me I would be ok!

Amy H · 09-16-2005, 07:03 PM

I had mine done about 10 years ago - and OMG!!! Life is so much better since I've had the dang thing out. I had the lap - while in recovery I had 1 shot of morphine - after that I didn't have anything for pain. I was much better within a week - but stayed home for 2 (just cuz I could). My sister had hers out while my niece was just a few weeks old - and she bounced back pretty quick also.
Everyone heals and deals with pain different - but I couldn't imagine if I still had to live with those attacks. Good luck to you!!!

MiWolverineMommie · 09-16-2005, 10:16 PM

I had this done, along with an ovarian cyst removal surgery. (they found the cysts in the ER) At the time I did not have insurance. HUGE HUGE HUGE COST!!!!!!
So I went in, it was suppose to be outpatient, it wasn't. It was suppose to be lapro, they couldn't do that. So I had about 10 hours of surgery and was in the hospital for a WEEK!!! I almost died. I had to learn to walk again, due to being in the bed for so long. It was about 8 weeks before I was a normal person again. I lost a TON of weight. I did not eat normal foods for a long long time. My situation was bad because it was not caught soon enough. I even had jaundice (sp) the day before my surgery. I had felt horrible and went to the ER. My surgery was scheduled for 2 days later... then of course the cysts was also an added bonus. Overall, Horrible!

My sister had hers out, lapro, was in and out in the same day, no big thing!

stormy1974 · 09-16-2005, 10:23 PM

I had mine out about 12 yrs ago, it was more invasive then, I had laperscopic but was in the hospital for 3 days. Didn't have any probs at all...was a little painful, but not really that big of a deal. Eating the next day is fine, you just have to figure out what your body can and can't handle. Keep in mind that things you can't handle right after surgery will most likely be fine to eat in a month or two after your body adjusts to not having a GB. All the surgeries are out patient these days (pending no complications) and I had one friend that had a steak dinner the next night...and was up cooking it. Don't worry...you'll do GREAT!!

Stormy~

momo3 · 09-17-2005, 09:39 AM

I had mine out 5 years ago & had a 3mth old & a 3 yr old at the time. I had mine taken out laproscopically at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon (they were running waaaaaay behind that day--ugh!) and was home by 8 o'clock that evening. I was given lortab for pain, but motrin worked better for me & had less implications for bfing the baby. The day after surgery (mind you this was less than 24 hours later) my Mom stayed with me & kept up with the kids & fed me. I ate normally, but bland foods, as I remember. I was really sore. The day after that, Mom took my 3yo home with her & I kept the baby with me. I was pretty much okay then, but the extra rest was really helpful. I think she kept him 2 nights, but one would've been enough. (She lives over an hour away, so she likes to keep the kids 2 nights at a time so she can have more fun than just carting them back & forth

) So, yes, I would definitely recommend help with your 2yo for at least 2 full days b/c you'll be pretty sore. I don't remember lifting restrictions b/c my baby was too little & my big one was too big to worry about that too much. I definitely felt better after my surgery & eat normally. But, I sure notice it in the bathroom if I eat a particularly greasy meal----sometimes I have to get there in a hurry even (sorry TMI!) Kind of a lot like the side effects of metformin, if you take that. Good luck with your surgery. Keep us posted!!!!

Calantha · 09-17-2005, 01:25 PM

THanks so much for the info ladies. I have an appointment with the surgeon on Wednesday. I'm hoping he'll let me put the surgery off for a couple of weeks since my son's birthday is on Oct 2 and we missed his first birthday, I REALLY want to be able to fully participate in this one!

Alicia83 · 09-18-2005, 04:34 AM

i had mine when i was 19 so i don't know if that's why i had such an easy recovery or not. but they did mine laproscopic and i was out the next day and back at work after they took my staples out like a week later. i was up walking around right after i got out of recovery and they tripped out how well i was doing. but once again i think it was cuz i was so young. but if you're concerned why don't you ask your surgeon who is gonna do the surgery. he should be able to answer all of your questions...

omcv · 09-18-2005, 04:37 AM

My Grandma had the surgery and she was in and out in one day. She had suffered for over 10 years not knowing it was her gladbladder. She says she feels better then she ever has.

chikana · 09-19-2005, 02:31 PM

Hi, I had the lap. I had never had surgery prior to this either. I was really scared. However, it is not bad at all. Yes, you are sore after surgery but the pain is not as bad as the gallbladder attacks!I had to stay in the hospital 24 hours b/c I was vomiting a lot. My appetite was fine once I was home. I stayed home for a week then went back to work.

lisadukk · 09-19-2005, 04:01 PM

interesting to see all the different responses...i had mine out in feb.
i had finally gone to the urgent care on a sat after being sick for almost 2 weeks, the quack told me that it was allergies even though i jumped off the table when she hit the spot...she gave me 100 bucks worth of scripts to be filled.
i felt a little better the next day and went to the movie, half way through, i had the worst pain i have ever experienced, i gasped for air and clutched my chest, was pretty sure it wasn't my heart though...got up, drove myself to the er and after just looking at me they were pretty sure it was my gallbladder.....did lots of tests and gave me some great drugs including zanax in case the sudden attack came back. the doc they recommended could see me in 6 weeks and i called my gyn's office and got another recommendation, i saw him the next day and was sched for a lap the following day.
by the time they got to the gallbladder, it was so bad i was in the hospital for a week and had another surgery for a stint to stop the drainage. then that was removed 3 months later. what was crazy was the fact that i got a regular diet the day i came out of surgery, never a bland or clear. i lived off of la madaline's chicken salad for the week

i ended up with some pain that the dr didn't understand until the stitches came out...there was a stitch on the liver or something and when that bugger came out, i was a different person. i had a drain for 10 days after leaving the hospital and fortunately my mom was such a great help

all said and done.......i do feel better.......and good luck

PookahGirl · 09-20-2005, 01:10 PM

I had mine done January 10, 2005. So I am pretty well new to it. I had the lap done and have 4 scars from it. One in the belly button, one bove the belly button in my fat, and the other two are to the right hand side of the middle fat one. I don't know which was more painful as far as recovery goes the lap surgery I had done in 03 or my gallbladder removal. I was out of work for 9 days with the gallbladder, mostly due to the doctor not releasing me to go back to work until he took my staples out.

I was not allowed to eat anything at the hospital. they did not even give me anything to drink for 5 hours after the surgery. They said that was the way that doctor did it. I was supposed to be on a liquid diet until I went for my followup, but I started eating the 3rd day. I could not do jello any more.

They did not send me out with a perscription for pain pills or antibiotics and I later found out he had left RX for both of those and the nurse just did not get them to me. I started noticing right after surgery that I had bowel problems, I would have to go real quick and it was a painful urgent feeling. I would not even be done eating and I would have to run to the bathroom. Luckily now 8 months later I can usualy make it through my meal before having to run to the potty, but my system is not right still and I do have the sudden angry urge to have a bowel movement alot and I do have to stop what I am doing and run. I have good days and bad days. I would discuss this with your doctor. It has made it to where I am scared to go any where due to not knowing if I can make it to the bathroom if I have to. I feel like a old lady and I am only 26.

HTH