Gall bladder surgery recovery tips?

[halfpint]

I'm finally getting mine out next week. 
Any tips and tricks to make recovery easier?  
I plan to bring a pillow to help if I need to cough or sneeze, and have some freezer meals made up.
Nanny is coming while I'm off work, and so is my mom to help out. 
I work from home in a very sedentary job, so I'm tentatively only planning to take a few days off and then be back at it on Monday - is that realistic?

[rnrun]

If you are having your gallbladder out laparoscopically, get some chewable gas tabs (like simethicone) to help you with gas pain for the first couple of days. That was the worst pain for me. Also, try to walk frequently, too. And move your arms/shoulders around. I wound up with a gas pocket near my left shoulder and it hurt worse than the surgery site itself.

I had my gallbladder out on a Wednesday, and was back at school on the following Monday to take final exams, so your plan sounds like it could work.

[Pom]

Ask your anesthesiologist for something to help with nausea if you suspect it could cause you to be ill. That is the worst after surgery.

If you take pain meds, make sure you have stool softeners on hand because they can make you miserable.

[sweetiesparkles]

I had mine out 11 years ago at 23. So, what I remember most is horrible gas pains that settled up by my shoulders (weIrd, I know) since they fill your abdomen with air.

Also, they will make you eat something before you leave outpatient. Just take a few bites of a graham cracker.

Don't forget to keep eating at home. I did not do that and felt horribly sick 1-2 days after surgery. Easy digestible foods BRAT diet).

Good luck to you! I do not miss my gallbladder attacks!

I did have to modify my diet to really cut down on junk. I eat very clean now and only have small amounts of fried food every few months or so. Otherwise I feel sick.

[Deleted]

I had mine out like 3 days for Xmas a few years ago. If you have it removed via laparoscopy as long as you get up and move around you should be fine. I had mine out at 11:30 and was up and eating/moving around at 6pm. My biggest issue was sleeping off the anesthesia. I never really had the gas issues.

[UnderProtest]

I had mine out several years ago. I don't remember any issues immediately (although the pillow sounds like a good idea). I would stick to a fairly simple, low fat/low grease diet for awhile afterwards. I had digestive issues for a little while (maybe a couple months) while my system sorted itself out. I'm fine now and am back to eating all the crappy junk food I ate before.

[krystee]

Stool softener will be your best friend for the first poop post-surgery.

I am glad I took a full week off, but I could have gone back a couple days sooner if needed.

[alleinesein]

Heating pads are your friend. You will have horrible shoulder pain so be prepared.

I had my surgery in the summer so I used the blue ice sheets during the day. Grabbed one out of the freezer and popped it in a pillow case and used it on my stomach.

Elastic waist/stretchy waist pants/skirts/bottoms are your friend. Your abdominal cavity will be swollen for a few weeks while the gas dissipates and your clothes will be tight and uncomfortable while you are still inflated.

When you need to sit up from a prone position its so much easier to roll onto your side and then raise yourself up with your arms.

You will probably have the runs for a few days so whenever you eat be near a bathroom. As for your diet after the surgery its all up to you. They will tell you to eat bland but I ignored that advice. My reasoning- since I was already going to be running to the bathroom after every meal I was going to eat whatever the hell I wanted and I was going to enjoy it. I can now eat anything I want and not get sick

If you have a wedge pillow you may want to use that for sleeping for a few days. Mine was very helpful.

[halfpint]

I forgot about the gas pain, I remember people mentioning that before. They said nothing about it at my appointment, thanks for the reminder!

[moolarkey]

I didn't have gas pains at all, no shoulder pains or anything. What I found difficult, for a several days, was turning over in bed. I think it was because after the gallbladder is out you have space in your stomach, when you move your other organs move around? I'm not sure. Mine was 1 huge stone, 5 cm. They were still able to do laparoscopy, they put a net or mesh in there around it, pulled it to the surface and crushed it, then removed it. I have lovely 8x11 color pictures. I was off a total of 3 weeks - from the Monday I went to ER, I was off that week and then off 2 weeks to recover.

I was able to eat pretty normally. I did take it easy, I didn't go for french fries for awhile but I pretty much ate what I wanted. About 5 days post op I ate a couple tacos without problems.

I filled the pain scrips, took them a day or 2 and stopped as I didn't need them. BUT - I have an extremely high tolerance for pain. I'd been having discomfort in my abdomen for some time. I thought I was getting fat. Finally at work one Monday I had a hard time breathing and drove myself to the ER thinking they would send me home. They did but told me somethings was up, make an appointment with the doc to see what it was. I was able to get in the next day, he had a surgery opening that Friday and I took it. Good thing. He told me my gallbladder was 1/2 dead, it was infecting organs around it (probably also a lot of the discomfort after surgery) and had I waited it would have exploaded and quite possibly have killed me that Friday night.

[mich1]

I had mine out a couple years ago and it really was a non issue. I suggest you bring loose/elastic waist clothing as your belly will be tender. I never had gas pain, and didnt have issues with constipation.

I really do suggest you take it easy with your first meal. The lobster ravioli in cream sauce probably wasn't one of the better decisions I made, I did pay or that later that night. But the surgeon said that most go out for a cheeseburger afterwards.

[rnrun]

Jan 5, 2015 18:52:10 GMT -5 mich1 said:

I had mine out a couple years ago and it really was a non issue. I suggest you bring loose/elastic waist clothing as your belly will be tender. I never had gas pain, and didnt have issues with constipation.

I really do suggest you take it easy with your first meal. The lobster ravioli in cream sauce probably wasn't one of the better decisions I made, I did pay or that later that night. But the surgeon said that most go out for a cheeseburger afterwards.

I had a cheeseburger the same day as my surgery . I had some heart burn, but it was glorious to be able to eat and not vomit.