Gallbladder
 

Anyone had their gallbladder out?
Several weeks ago I had a horrible pain on my right side, when to the dr the next morning--- had a CT Scan, which showed nothing. Then had a ultrasound- again it showed nothing. But I was still having the pain and getting sick all the time-- the dr order a HIDA scan to see how the gallbladder functions. The doctors office called yesterday and left me #s to general surgeons. The thing needs to be removed.
How long should I plan on being off work--- is it a fairly easy procedure? Everything I have read says it is- but give me your opinion.
Thanks!

Relax sis, it's a relatively easy procedure. I know people at work who came back to work within a week of the surgery. I'm surprised you survived all those rich desserts at Convention with that going on! You'll be fine.

Dee

ETA: If they didn't tell you, between now and the surgery, avoid fats as much as possible and you'll be a lot more comfortable.

Hey. I had mine out in February. Are you having a laprascopic procedure? Laprascopy is when they make four small incisions, put a scope in, and literally suck it out. It is an outpatient procedure that takes about an hour or so, but depending on how you do you may be asked to spend the night in the hospital for observation. (I was in the hospital for three days before my surgery, so the surgeon asked me to stay an extra day.) After surgery, you will be out for about a week. Afterwards, it is common to feel dizzy or nauseous for about 2-3 months while your body adjusts to not having an organ. Your doctor will tell you not to tan or lift any kind of heavy objects for 2-3 months to prevent you from getting a hernia or the stitches getting infected. Another thing that you should be wary of is clothes. After my surgery, for about 1.5-2 months, I couldn't wear any kind of pants with a waist, all I could wear were drawstring pants or sweatpants, because one of my stitches was right in my bellybutton. To do the surgery, you will have a lot of CO2 (at least I think that's the gas that they use, could be wrong) pumped into your stomach to make it expand, so you will be really gassy and bloated for about a day or so. I recommend wearing loose, comfortable pants like pajama pants or sweatpants or changing into those after your surgery. In terms of eating, after the procedure you can eat whatever you want, no restrictions. I think I covered all of the bases. If you have any other questions, feel free to pm me. Hope everything goes well and you feel better soon!

I just had mine removed yesterday. I threw up bile three freakin times after. My throat is so sore and I have so much phlem right now. I woke up this morning feeling ok. I had some wheat toast and plain scrambled eggs for breakfast, and for lunch a chicken (cut like lunch meat) sandwich with a slice of cheese and a little bit of fat free mayo. I am in PAIN. I'm sore where my stitches are, but I've got the worse gas pain right now. Walking around makes it worse and if I lay down it's better, but after a while I get the pain in my back. I'm miserable. I'm trying to stay away from the Vicodin but I think I'm just gona have to suck it up and take one but I'm not sure what affect that'll have on the gas. I need advice! Also, I've heard to stay away from fats for a few weeks, but then I heard you can eat anything after. What's the deal?

I had mine out a couple of years ago. The dr. was very surprised how bad/diseased mine really was.

Yea,you don't feel like moving for a while but it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

Gallbladder removal can cause severe and persistent diarrhea for the rest of your life if you don't take care to avoid fats and large meals at one time! If you treat your body right, it'll treat you right.

I had mine out 6 years ago. Most of the nurses on my floor had had theirs out and they told me that after the pain wore off, nothing would be any different from before. That's been true for me; I haven't noted any bodily changes whatsoever!

Aww, you poor thing! Did you have the laporoscopic procedure or traditional surgery?

I had mine taken out laporoscopically about eight years ago. I was fortunate in the sense that I only had three incisions total, but my gallbladder was so shriveled up (mine was diseased, no stones) that the whole procedure took about 40 minutes total instead of the usual hour.

The sore throat is from where they inserted the tube from the anesthesia - that will go away soon. My worst pain wasn't the incision areas, but the pain in the neck/back from the gas. That subsided after about 24 to 36 hours - hopefully yours will, too. Even though you're hurting now from the gas, my advice is to be as mobile as possible. I really think that moving around a lot helped me heal faster, and I didn't have to take anything stronger than a couple of ibuprofen. I have a really high pain tolerance, though.

As for food - fatty foods can wreak havoc with your system for YEARS after surgery. My dad had the surgery and can eat anything he wants. My sister and I, however, have had trouble with deep-fried stuff and with dairy. Other members in my family who have had the procedure (we're freaks - the diseased gallbladder is a genetic thing) have the same problem as my sister and me. Mine got to the point where I ended up having to get a prescription for Colestiprol - which is normally given for high cholesterol but something in it binds up the extra fats that your gallbladder normally processes and allows your body to *ahem* pass it out normally instead of having a massive case of the runs. Gross, yes, but if you find yourself having to make trips to the can after every meal after you've had several months to adjust, you may want to bring up the Colestiprol with your doctor. It has worked wonders for me - I've been on it for several years and I can eat anything I want (within reason). Even dairy!

I knew I had to have surgery when the nurse who gave my HIDA scan results said "Whoa! I've never seen THAT number on a HIDA scan before!"

Yep mine was laparoscopic. They didn't say whether mine was diseased or not. I just know that there were no stones and it wasn't emptying normally. What was your number on your HIDA? Mine was 14 and they said normal is over 30. I had to lay for an extra half hour because it just wasn't emptying.

I can't wait for this pain to go away! Did pain meds help the gas pains?

TAKE the Vicodin. No use feeling miserable. Your body will heal better and more quickly, also, when it's not stressed by pain.
SOME people have no trouble having their gall bladder out...no big deal to them.
But SOME of us...a LOT more than "they" would have you believe...DO have problems eating "anything." I have to be EXTREMELY careful eating onions, spicy stuff, etc. "They" tell you all will go back to normal, your body will produce bile from the intestine...well...maybe!
I wish I had my gall bladder back! :(

I wish I had seen this thread sooner!

I had mine taken out 2 months ago! I had been in pain for a over month before they took the stupid thing out! I woke up my morning, ate my breakfast and had these horrible pains in my right side, and it hurt so much that I was in the fetal position all morning. This subsided within a few hours and I just figured it was the flu or something. Well soon everything I ate would come up, or if I didn't throw up I would have agonizing pain as my body attempted to digest the food.

After a week of pain I went to my MD, who they had me taken to do a CT. I was lucky she is linked with a hospital and they had the CT scanner in the same building. That orange crap they make you drink is the nastiest stuff in the world! :eek:

The CT ended up showing nothing, so I had to get an ultrasound which also showed nothing. However, my pain kept getting worse and my doctor was convinced it was the gallbladder. I had a HIDAS scan done, and just a note to anyone who needs to have one in the furture: Bring an iPod, a book, and have someone drive you. They may say you will be fine, but if you have complications like I did, you may end up barfing your brains out and end up in the ER!

Thats what happened to me! I hadn't eaten anything in almost a day since I had fasted for the scan and injection made my gallbladder contract so much I could not stop getting sick! Thankfully I had the scan done at the hospital and was sent to the ER. The HIDAS scan show no problems, at which I was pissed since I spent 12 hours in the hospital! The ER doctor refused to think it was my gallbladder, he thought it was a drug I had taken once and been off of for a month at this point!

I followed up with my MD who thought the ER doc was stupid and had be follow up with a surgeon. Within a day of meeting the surgeon, I had the worst attack of my life and ended up being directly admitted to the hospital and had emergency surgery the next day. I had the laparoscopic surgery, and had three cuts. The scar on my belly button is finally healing!

As for foods, if you just had surgery please don't rush it! PN Mama00, things like cheese and chicken can be some of the worst dishes for this thing. I would wait at least a week and wean yourself back on them. I started to notice some sense of order after 3 weeks, but I still have problems with greasy and fatty foods. A co-worker of mine had her's taken out and said she couldn't eat normal for a year following the surgery!

Oh and to end my story, after all the stupid ER doctor and the CT, Ultra, and HIDAS all telling me nothing was wrong, we got the pathology report back!
It seems I had several stones, they were just small. and it was diseased!

Gracious yes! I had mine out FOUR YEARS AGO and I still can't eat certain things without...umm...a rather violent reaction. Along with the "massive case of the runs," I get severe and debilitating abdominal cramps. But, once everything's out, it's done. I've learned to deal with it. I've also learned to keep Immodium with me at all times, just in case. I'll take on pill before I eat an abnormally fatty or large meal and it works just fine. But, if I don't...

My naturopathic doctor has me off dairy, excess fat, peanuts, legumes, grains (save for precious few) and quite a few other things. But, it has been a real life-saver. In a sense, it works to my favor! I don't really have to have a "diet" mentality anymore. I just look at trigger foods and think to myself..."self, is it REALLY worth it?"

But, I'm glad I got that rascal outta me. I have never had such horrifying pain as I did when I had gallbladder attacks. The first time I ever had an attack, I was in Walmart (of all places) and the pain literally took over my body. I dropped to my knees and couldn't breathe. It passed and I immediately left the store only to have the second half of that particular attack while in the parking lot. I explosively vomited for several minutes. It was really one of the worst experiences of my life.

P.S. We are being awfully open in here. LOL!

LOL - I had mine out 20 years ago this past March (jeeeeez, was it that long ago?). Mine was done in a military hospital, so they really didn't care too much about how my scar would look. I have a massive 6-inch scar going diagonally across my abdomen - you can even see the tiny scars where they stapled me back together.

I remember for about a year or so, I couldn't eat starchy food like potatoes or corn, without making sure a bathroom was near - 30 minutes after eating those foods, I was in trouble if there was no rest room around. Now I am fine.

Also, after the surgery, the nurses said I could have food as soon as I passed gas. I was so hungry (my surgery had been delayed for about 14 hours and I was NPO the whole day of), I told them I had indeed passed gas (when in fact I had not). When they asked if it hurt, I said no (how much could a fart hurt?). So they gave me food. About an hour or two later, I passed the gas - man, that was sooooo painful!

Oh yeah, I forgot the explosive vomiting :rolleyes: HA HA! I've had arthritis pain so bad I wanted to die, but the gallbladder attack - good word for it, attack - left me feeling I was DEFINITELY dying.
It's been 4 years since it was taken out...can't eat but a few nuts at a time...usually no problem with dairy...corn doesn't get totally "processed"...MUCH more frequent trips to the bathroom, stuff just doesn't "hang together" like it used to:eek:, ya know!
Good to know about that cholesterol drug. Thanks!