Ok, tell me about gall bladder surgery

[Bernadine]

H is getting his out.

We've been at the hospital since 7:30. I just want the surgery to start so I can get some food, lol.

[revolution]

Good luck to him!

No clue on the actual surgery. I know a few people that felt much better afterwards though.

Hope you get food soon.

[rnrun]

I had mine out about 11 years ago. My procedure was emergent: my ejection fraction was 0% on a HIDA scan. I felt better as soon as I woke up, but I think that's because I was in pretty awful shape going into surgery and I couldn't get much worse. I actually had a cheeseburger and French fries the next day, and I had no issue with eating them. That was after vomiting everything (including water) for weeks prior to my operation.

Tell your H to walk a lot post-op, if he can. Most of my discomfort came from gas pain in my shoulders from the surgery. Chewing simethicone helped a lot with that. Otherwise, my pain levels were totally manageable. I had my surgery on a Wednesday and was back at school taking a Statistics final the following Monday.

[closertofine]

I had mine out laproscopically in 2006. Easy peasy. I was uncomfortable for maybe three days. I had it on a Thursday and would have gone back to work on Monday, but by Sunday I was terribly constipated and in more pain from that. I went back on Wednesday instead.

Some people have issues eating fatty foods after, but I have had no problems.

[cbwm1]

I had mine done almost exactly a year ago.

The pump air into the belly to make sure they get a clear shot at the gallbladder. That air settles in weird pockets all over the torso and it hurts. Mine settled in my mid back and between my shoulder blades.

If you have a recliner he can sleep in for the first several nights, that would be best. It's horrible going from laying down to sitting to standing.

Bland foods for several days. Pancakes, crackers, pasta...basically carbs. I lived on toast with apple butter, cereal, and smoothies.

After a week or so, you should be able to start introducing foods back into his diet that have more fat, but he really shouldn't stray far from a bathroom until he knows how his body will react.

Also, it might be nice to have some flushable wet wipes for those first bathroom trips after introducing fat. ;-)

ETA - I took two weeks off work, per my surgeon.

Also, a year later I sometimes still get surprised by what upsets my stomach and what doesn't. It's a crapshoot. (Pun only semi-intended)

[bsp36]

I has emergency laparoscopic surgery done on a Friday night out of hospital Saturday by noon. Out of work one week. I felt better almost immediately. My body and fatty foods battled for about a month then everything balanced out.

[cinderbella]

I had mine out a few years ago - easy peasy. It was done on a Monday and I took the full week off to be safe...... But I definitely could have gone back to work by Thursday.

[penelope]

My boss had hers out last month. She had it done on a Monday and was out of work for a week, but worked from home on Thursday and Friday, just because she was more comfortable. She was no longer on pain meds at that point. She feels so much better and is like a different person now. That's all I know, sorry I couldn't be more helpful....just that it seemed to be a quick recovery.

[hisno1girl]

I had mine taken out in 2013 and it was a relief because the pain was worse than anything I ever experienced in my life.

I don't have a problem with greasy foods now but surprisingly, ice berg lettuce is a nightmare. Luckily I don't eat it very often,

[gault]

I had mine out in 2008, laproscopically. It wasn't too bad for me, I felt normal ish after about a week. The gas pockets were uncomfortable but nothing crazy. Good luck to your h!

[karmasabiotch]

Are they doing it laparoscopic? If so it should be a very easy surgery with a quick recovery time from what I heard.

Good luck and I hope he has an easy and speedy recovery.

[Bernadine]

Feb 13, 2016 12:10:28 GMT -5 karmasabiotch said:

Are they doing it laparoscopic? If so it should be a very easy surgery with a quick recovery time from what I heard.

Good luck and I hope he has an easy and speedy recovery.

Yup, that the plan, unless they have trouble and have to do open surgery.

Thanks for the reassurance everyone!

[aussiecrush]

It was a super easy recovery. Bland food was nice day of but it took time to figure out what I tolerated poorly after. Hope everything goes well for your H.

[pinkalicious]

I know I'm a lurker, but DH had his gall bladder out on the first, so this is pretty fresh. The dr. told us the surgery could take anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours. He did it laparoscopically, and said that as long as he was making progress, he'd continue that way, but as soon as he stopped making progress he would go in traditionally and take it out. Lucky for DH, that didn't happen. So, his surgery took about 2 hours from start to finish, and then he spent an hour in recovery. I got to see him after that hour, and we spent about another 1.5 hours in the hospital. We were home by noon. The nurses told him to take it easy, but not to lay around, so as not to cause blood clots. My DH went to the grocery store with me at 2pm that day. He took one pain pill, in the middle of the night, but he said he really didn't need to, once he moved around, he was just a little stiff/sore. He felt he could have gone back to work within two days, but didn't. I know he's a special case here, but honestly it wasn't that bad. He's felt better after the surgery, and so far, hasn't had issues with food too bad, unlike some friends of ours. We went out for Mexican the day after, and he was careful and didn't eat too much, but he didn't get sick at all. I suggest chicken noodle soup and aleve. If he does use the pain pills, like norco, make sure you have a stool softener too!
HTH, and hope he feels better!

[mich1]

I had mine out a few years ago. I was never so glad to get rid of it as I had been having attacks for awhile. I also had a batch of stones in my pancreatic duct that had to be retrieved via an ERCP. Because I had to wait around for the ERCP, my hospital stay was longer.

My first meal when I got sprung was lobster ravioli. I probably should have gone lighter, but my surgeon said that most go for a cheeseburger!

I don't have any problems with any food, but some do.

[statgirl]

I had mine out in October. If they use the small probes, he may not have weight restrictions. I didn't--which was good as I was still nursing my giant 4 month old. Surgery was Friday and I returned to work Wednesday, but I could have gone earlier.