Laparoscopic gallbladder removal post-op pain questions
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Hello, I will try to give a brief backstory to my current situation in hopes that someone can offer advice. I am a 22 year old female with no other known health issues(besides being overweight). I've been dealing with gallstones for about a year, with the painful attacks getting more and more frequent until I finally ended up in the ER 6 days ago. They gave me an ultrasound and blood test to determine I had gallstones as well as high liver enzymes. The dr I saw in the ER admitted me to the hospital with the recommendation to laparoscopically have my gallbladder removed. I was nervous but also slightly relieved because I hoped this would end my pain.
I had the gallbladder removed 4 days ago without much incident according to surgeon, but I couldn't be released because my dr was concerned about my elevated liver enzymes and bilirubin following the surgery. They monitored me for a day and the levels slightly increased so dr suspected that something may be blocking my bile duct. My dr scheduled me for an abdominal MRI (which I don't believe showed anything other than an inflamed bile duct) and then an ERCP(which would allow a GI dr to examine the ducts).
My pain during this time was very severe, at times like a hot burning pain right in the middle of my abdomen when I tried to move or walk. I had absolutely no appetite and was extremely nauseous, even throwing up liquids a few times. I had a bad feeling that this pain was not normal and I was hoping the ERCP would give some answers to my pain and high liver enzymes and bilirubin. I met the GI dr before the procedure and knew right away that he would not be helpful with answering my questions as he had dreadful interpersonal skills and often answered me in indirect and vague ways. But I thought, 'well, as long as he can do his job properly, who cares'. I was scared and in pain and wanted answers.
Fast forward to 2 days ago, and my ERCP had been preformed and I was told that they flushed out my bile duct and that there "may have" been a very small stone in there (like I said, GI dr was awful at explaining things). A few hours after the surgery and I felt better than I had in days, and my blood test later that day showed my bilirubin had gone down so I was feeling ecstatic. I still had soreness and some minor pain in my upper abdomen from the surgery but it was nothing compared to what I had been feeling.
Yesterday I was released from the hospital and felt fine in the morning, but right as I was waiting to be wheeled out I began feeling a severe pain in my upper right abdomen that hurt more when I took deep breaths. I went home anyway, hoping it was just gas pain that would pass soon. Pretty much my whole first day home I suffered with that severe pain that started around my right/middle ribcage and radiated around to my upper back. It felt suspiciously like a gallbladder attack, and after searching around online I found that so many people still experienced gallstone-like pain after getting their gallbladders removed. My severe pain returned today after I ate a small amount of turkey, baby carrots, and plain hummus(I've had little to no appetite since coming home) and now my anxiety has spiked and I'm worried that I will never get rid of this pain! Every forum I've looked at describes people suffering through this for months or years after their surgery and I'm terrified that I won't be able to return to my normal life. (It is worth noting that I have had no fever and only mild pain around incision sites.)
I am hesitant about going back to the dr so soon, as my medical bill is already astronomical after such long stay in the hospital and all the tests. So my question is, has anyone else experienced anything like this? I just really want to know if anyone has gone through this pain post-op and made a full recovery without painful episodes? I just want to know that an end to this is in site; the thought of dealing with this type of pain chronically for years to come is really stressing me out. Everyone said this was supossed to be a simple procedure that is easy to heal from but now I am filled with so much doubt. Even right now as I take deep breaths I feel pain in my upper back and right side...HELP!
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cheeky87 Kjorgs
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i found this above when i typed in to google any succes storys about gall bladder removal. so i copied and pasted it for you.im not sure what forum it was on but it could have been this one,
cheeky87 Kjorgs
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Kjorgs cheeky87
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cheeky87 Kjorgs
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