Post cholecystectomy day by day diary of recovery

Hello everyone.

I recently put a post on this site expressing a concern with some pains I was having along with gallstones which had led to severe acute cholecystitis. The response and support I had received from so many different people was absolutely wonderful and really helped me. If not to take the pain away, but to support and really show a concern. I have since had my surgery to have my gallbladder removed and am home recovering. I want to share my experience with anyone having the same problems which can hopefully help when you are in the same situation. I am doing from day of op up to my recovery stage I am at now.

Day of op: I must admit, one of the scariest operations I have ever been booked in for. My surgery took longer than normal, 2 and half hours, due to my gallbladder sadly being quite bad beyond repair. Recovery in hospital was long but I was allowed home the same day. I was given some relaxant medication before I was put to sleep so you have option if you are nervous or anxious. Don't be scared to express if you are worried. Surgery wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Day 1 post op: I felt extremely sore, uncomfortable, gassy (from carbon air blown into the tummy) this was more uncomfortable than anything. I had a severe sore throats from tubes down there during surgery. Take pain killers regularly for at least the 1st 3 days. Even if you don't feel pain. I also experienced quite bad diarreah but didn't have a tummy ache with it. Felt slightly emotional and pain in my right shoulder. Again, this was from the air blown into my tummy. Just rest and sleep when possible.

Day 2 post op: the aneaspehetic had completely worn off by today so pain killers were really needed. Still experiencing sever diarreah but still no tummy ache. Gas is reducing and tummy is shrinking making wounds feel tight and sore. Pain in my shoulder is still there but slowly easing the more gas is released from my stomach. The worse pain at the moment is the bloating from the gas. Still please rest and sleep when you can.

Day 3 post op: pains are now more localised as gas is almost gone. So around the area of where the gallbladder was and wounds from surgery. My stomach still is very grumbly from the gas but not as much. Pain in the shoulder has now gone. Still experiencing diarreah which doesn't seem to get any better at the stage and had bowel movements up to 5 times in the day. Feeling tired of resting as I'm used to being active so I was getting up and moving around a little. I.e. To make a cup of tea or a sandwich. Still needing pain killers but now just for the pains from surgery.

Day 4 post op: the pains are still there but nowhere near as bad as day 1-3. I am up and moving around a little more, I tried bending but I suggest you wait a while longer that as it was painful. My pain killers are reducing and I am finding I only need them when necessary. I find I can't stand up for longer that 20 minutes. I am getting a bad pain/ achy back which I can only think is because I have done very little for days. I am now sitting mostly instead of laying and managing stairs much better but still please take things easy and at a pace you can manage. Today I went to visit the in laws and by the time I got home I was ready for bed. Energy is still very low but felt amazing to get out of the house for a while. I've only had 2 lots of pain killers today and that was more because I was going out.

Day 5 post op: last night was my 1st night back in my bed. I had my bed on the sofa because my toilet is downstairs and I was struggling getting up and down. Also reduced movement meant I'd have never made the toilet in time. I was very restless till around 3.30am as I couldn't turn around to sleep on my side which Is how I would normally sleep in bed. Eventually fell asleep and woke around 1pm 😳 I felt very lazy but bare in mind it was broken sleep. Today I feel loads better and recovery seems to be getting quicker. I'm not going to lie, I still feel pains but this is now more when I move and again only from wound areas and where the gallbladder was so I still recommend you still take things easy. Diarreah has now cleared and bowel movements are almost back to normal. I still feel sore but again it's much better than it was and also much more bearable. I haven't yet had pain killers and want to take them only when I need them. I am visiting the nurse tomorrow due to a naughty wound that won't stay closed so I'm hoping that's better than it was. More so because I would love to have a soak in the bath. Sadly I've been forbidden from showers and baths until it's closed enough to handle water. So flannel washes are what I've had to deal with. I am still on day 5 of recovery but want to share my experience now as I thought I would be laid up much longer. I am still resting but doing little bits when I can. I am proud to have started managing my stairs and finally had a proper night in bed. My pains are now only from where the gallbladder was, the belly button wound (which is my naughty one) and one wound in the top of the tummy between my rib cage. All in all, I am so thrilled with my surgery and so glad I no longer need to suffer the attacks I was having. I do feel achy and feel I have run a marathon at times but that's my own fault at pushing myself too much. I hope that my day by day diary has enough information to help anyone who is having or has just had surgery. If there are any questions anyone has I would be more than happy to answer. I am sorry the post is so long but the more detail the better. Please post a reply if there are any other symptoms you may have had that I haven't included. I can't wait to be back on my feet and back to normal health and although it seems ages away, it's nothing compared to the nightmare of having a not well gallbladder. I still feel very tired and can still only do very little but as for the pains they are easing more and more as each day goes on. Please remember that the recovery does take up to 6 weeks so even if you still don't feel right after 2 weeks you are still recovering from a major surgery. Please still only eat light meals as your body is adjusting to the gallbladder not being there. And although we can live a perfectly healthy life without one, it still done quite a lot for you. Don't suffer in silence. I wish anyone having the surgery a speedy recovery and lots of love and please make sure you rest. All the best.

Sonia

Xxxx

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