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2nd day Post Cholecystectomy

Posted , 4 users are following.

will83
will83

Hey

I had my gallbladder out on Wednesday following 8 - 10 weeks with really nasty symptoms that I'm sure you've all had some, if not all, of - intense abdominal pain that doesn't go for hours, sickness, fever, jaundice, sweating. Luckily, my GP was on it straight away and I was diagnosed with Gallstones/Cholecystitis really quickly via ultrasound.

The procedure was started laparoscopically but converted to open due to how infected and inflamed my gb was. My surgeon has been and explained the difficulties he had because of this and had to leave around 10% of it in due to the risk to other organs.

Since the op I've been pretty upbeat about it, pain has been relatively minimal so far but I have 2 drains in which are starting to get quite sore at times.

Just really wanting to know how people have recovered from this procedure? I've been told around 4 weeks until I can return to work, which would be ace, but I can't even sit up on my own at the minute so I'm struggling to believe it!

Thanks

Will

1 like, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • susan69134
    susan69134 will83

    Posted

    Hi Will,

    I had four months of being ill before my gallbladder was removed, during which time if I didn't take anti sickness tablets I threw up all the time. Didn't know I had stones till I was taken ill, high temperature and jaundice for two weeks, had to have an MRI to find the stones as they didn't show up on an ultrasound. At the time our health authority was only doing emergency procedures, so couldn't have the stuck stones removed, ended up so ill I had to have an emergency op.

    I had drains in for 24 hours, was up and about four hours after the op, though sitting up from lying down was bad for almost two weeks, had to roll out of bed then sit down. Wasn't able to pick up anything heavy for about 3-4 months, and then I had to be careful. My digestive system took ages to settle down, all in all 12 months (though I continued to improve for another year after that) I still get an acid stomach (Dr says probably from bile going straight to the stomach) but other than that I can eat what I want.

    I've a cousin who gets pains due to gall stones, she says she's too frightened to have the op, I told her if she was in as much pain and as ill as I was, she'd be begging to have it removed.

    Wishing you a speedy recovery.

    Sue

    • will83
      will83 susan69134

      Posted

      Hi Sue,

      Thank you :-) glad to hear you have made a full recovery.

      Sounds like you had an ordeal beforehand. I'm surprised that it took an MRI to diagnose given the severity of your symptoms. That must have been a nightmare for you.

      I think my post op has been pretty similar to yours, I wanted to be mobile as soon as I could so with some assistance I was up and moving, albeit with discomfort, within a few hours. Getting out of bed on my own however is a completely different story.

      I'd absolutely recommend the op to your cousin too. Although mine were pretty bad to begin with, I was warned the symptoms would only get worse.

      Thanks

      Will

    • susan69134
      susan69134 will83

      Posted

      Stones didn't show up in the ultrasound because they were very small, but a lot of them so it was like sludge in my gallbladder. They could see everything all swollen but not a stone, told my husband it was worse than being in labour.
    • will83
      will83 susan69134

      Posted

      Wow, that's bad. Not sure what I'd have done if mine weren't diagnosed straight away. It seems to get compared with labour pain a lot online. It's by far the worst thing I've experienced
    • susan69134
      susan69134 will83

      Posted

      Apparently they see a lot, hence the MRI, there's thinking that not eating enough fats and oils mean bile remains in the gallbladder for a long time and may become concentrated causing a sludge and or gallstones to form. As my surgeon said they don't know all the causes and not everyone fits the pattern. I'm just glad I don't have it anymore.
  • sally14335
    sally14335 will83

    Posted

    Am so sorry, you are having quite a time of it.  Want to wish you the best and that you will soon be healthy.  Be glad you had the surgery as soon as you did.  Be well and give your body time to heal!
  • harrington40
    harrington40 will83

    Posted

    Hi Will83,

    Hope all is well with you . I had mine removed in may to be exact May 18th and is about six month.

     First couple of days are the most critical, watch for signs of  fever, pain etc.  You migh experience bloating or gas which is normal during the first 48hrs. My was done using pin hole.

    GB is a mess and is one thing that we all take for granted, if I waited much longer mine was going to be a mess. I delay removal several time and finally I coyl'dt stand the ugly feeling I opt to have it removed just in time.

    Surgeon tell me he went in the right time... lot of stones everywhere. Stay strong, pray and you will be fine. My recovery took 10days I was back into work. Surgery lasted 45 min .

    Note: Everyday I felt my body was making progress during these time.  You should feel the same way as you progress. Please let us know how you feel . we like to hear from you.

    God Bless!

    • will83
      will83 harrington40

      Posted

      Hi Harrington40!

      Thanks for letting me know about your experience. It sounds like you had the operation at the right time.

      I am now at the end of my second full day, which has been tough but I have been moving around more and all is looking ok so far. The staff think I may be ready to leave on Sunday, but I'll know more when the surgeon cones to see me tomorrow.

      Do you now feel fully healthy after 6 months?

      Thanks

      Will

    • harrington40
      harrington40 will83

      Posted

      Yes, absolutely .... Best decision made about my health. Prior to the removal I was dizzy, night sweat, day sweat ...at time just walking at the shopping mall I felt dizziness. Now all those felling are gone, I go back to normal life way better than I expected. 

      I do eat healthy prior to and after .Sometimes I grap a burger these days.

      Everyday you should not feel like the previous day. I remenber my wound was drianing after couple of week. This was a good thing since it was healing in side.

       Did the surgeon remove all stones ?

    • will83
      will83 harrington40

      Posted

      Amazing. Really pleased to hear it. A lot of the forums online focus on the negatives of gallbladder removal, it has been a relief to hear some positive outlooks. I'm hoping that having it done will have the same affect for me. I had no symptoms until the end of August but since then it has been a nightmare. The last couple of weeks in particular were tough, I had several attacks and bad sickness off the tramadol I had for pain relief.

      I am the same as you, I eat pretty healthily already and have a normal BMI. I'm also 32 years old and male, so I don't really fit the 'normal' criteria for gallbladder disease.

      That is really good to know, the past 3 days have been hard but I'm in a much better position now. One of my drains was removed earlier and all being well, the second will go tomorrow and I will be discharged.

      Yes, the stones have all gone, apparently it was packed full and badly disfigured. Around 10% of it is still there but they're confident stones won't develop in that.

      What made you delay the surgery? Did you live with the symptoms for long?

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