Pre Op / Post Op Experience
Posted , 11 users are following.
OK so i have posted here before and have not yet had surgery. About 6 weeks ago after my pre op assessment i started looking through the stories on here and posted in regards to my own issues so far.
So my Op is in two days............................................Damn. Yes im a little petrified to say the least but so far im all systems go and some kind of weird way looking forward to getting this over and done with, once and for all.
Me, im a 44 year old male, 15.5 stone, work out and keep fit 4-5 times per week. My diet is mixed ie some weeks im on a health kick and devouring salads, vegetables and such. Other weeks ill love nothing more than Fish and Chips, Pizza etc. Drinking, well i do that at the weekend probably 5 drinks on a Sat and Sun with no drinking through the week with the exception of the Xmas holidays just passed.
Symptoms, Almost none at all and definitely not in comparison to what i see some of you poor folk posting on here. I get the occasional ache after a heavy meal and ive noticed red wine really gets to me and send the GB into agony (Anyone else get that?) I have 2 Polyps which measure almost 8mm and these are the primary cause of the surgery requirement. A recent scan also showed some "sludge" at the bottom of the GB which my consultant states will most likely turn into stones at some point in the future. So for those reasons its coming out.
Ive never had surgery in my life apart from a minor thing when i was a child. I guess anaesthetic has changed somewhat in 30+ years so ill try not to think about that although it is a worry for me. My biggest worry is how ill adapt to the loss of my GB. Will it change my eating habits, bathroom habits, at what point will i know which foods i cant handle, how will i feel, will be sick, require ongoing care/medication etc etc etc ? Who knows, We're all different, right?
So in a nutshell my this is my Pre/Post Op story. I guess it may mean nothing to some of you but i hope in writing this it will of course serve to help others or answer some questions for others about to go through the same experience. Anyway 2 days to go. I intend on posting here for the next week or so with a daily update .....................
1 like, 10 replies
sally_14743 ant66706
Posted
Hi
i had no complications felt great a day after just had to be careful not to lift anything etc..
but 5 years on i cannot digest wheat and soya.. basically i get indigestion stabbing wind pains and feel a bit sicky not actually sick .. its notthe endof the world if i eat something but if continually eaten not great.. so I avoid .. i guess i just dont produce enough or strong enough bile now to digest.. as your gallbladder basically concentrates it..
i get an ache where my gallbladder was if i eat too much rich fatty food.. guess the scaring when your liver is under pressure to produce loads of bile but not sure its a common complaint..
you are prone to fatty liver after gallbladder removal and i got it. but by losing weight ive reversed it.
other than that ok...
hope that helps
oh and the op is not a long one and you will feel so much better once its gone ..
heather78265 ant66706
Posted
Hi i has mine out july 2018. it took me about two weeks to feel reasonably well again but they did find an unexpected complication and not GB related, so that probably hindered recovey for me. I think it was aboutt a month before i considered myself well. i am lucky and can eat anything, however to start off after the op i took it slowly and ate small
bland portions and introduced fat slowly. i was careful not to lift . you will get tired and thats normal . I was aprehensive, like yourself had never had an op since a child but it was fine. i am shortly to have a hip replacement so dreading that one! good luck but it will be fine .
Simitai ant66706
Posted
Hey ant66706, best of luck with your op. Hope all goes well for you. I didnt experience any issues with food like other people did. Fatty or spicy foods dont affect me! Like you say, everyone is different. I think its great to share. This group has certainly helped me. All the best 😃
ant66706 Simitai
Posted
Good to hear Simitai.
Yes reading some of the comments here over the last weeks have definitely helped me. As i dont suffer much i probably would have backed out in fear but this site has helped me to understand somewhat the benefit of having surgery now Vs in my future.
Well i only have 24 hours left and im unexpectedly calm which is unlike me. Lets see how long that lasts 😃 I really hope its as simple as having a cannula put in the back of hand. A period of nothingness (anesthetic ) and finally awaking albeit somewhat uncomfortable and feeling a little bruised from the incision points, stitches etc. Im prepared for that at least and if that is what is to be expected then good for now.
A point that does freak me out though is the thought of having a few titanium clamps holding an artery and duct together for the remainder of my life. How do other folks feel about that? Maybe i am reading too much into this itself but its probably the only point that plays on the mind. I envision straining during a bench press in the near future and feeling them popping off lol. Extremely unlikely but our minds play games with our poor selves.
ant66706
Posted
well the day has finally arrived. Currently at home enjoying (at least pretending to) a cup of black tea which my pre op letter said i could.
my appointment at hospital isnt until 12pm so i expect surgery mid afternoon sometime which is hell as i have to go nil by mouth all day. That part hurts the most, i love my breakfast to give me an energy boost each day.
Im quite calm about this in actual fact. I have been wondering "do i actually need this surgery" until i woke up early hours this morning in quite a bit of discomfort from the GB area and a strong acidic taste at the back of my throat. Kinda like it was reminding me !!!
Anyway, lets see how today goes
ant66706
Posted
And so its the day after surgery. im still in hospital due to a small complication caused by GA and nothing to do with the Op itself.
yesterday i was freaking anxious as hell. went into a small room nearside the operating theatre and lying on a bed. anethetist team hovering around me, talking to me asking questions etc then boom..........im in a recovery room looking at 2 faces id never seen before. Op was done, id never even seen the inside of the operating theatre. how did they manage to do that without me knowing lol.
i was in recovery for about 90 mins. i was uncomfrtable with a small amount of pain from the gas etc. no sooner had i opened my eyes i was topped up with morphine. drowsy, warm and confortable. i was still the same 2-3 hours later back up on the ward.
eventually i was fully awake and again not in pain but felt bruised and helpless. Tea!!!!! over the next hour id drank 4 cups of tea. amazing, i was then offered a tuna sandwich and some snacks. I was a little hesitant to eat at first wondering how itd affect my GB (or none GB). No problems though, felt good to eat for first time that day and it was now 5pm.
all i needed to be discharged was the ability to pee. by this time id drunk a lot of tea and 2 jugs of water so should be easy right? Nope!!!! A condition known as neurogenic bladder. Basically the brain loses connection with the bladder and no functionality at all. supposedly its quite normal after a GA and some hours later your expected to be back to normal. roll on midnight last night and nothing. So they decided to keep me in until i could pee. This came around at 3am fortunately for me otherwise the alternative was a catheter sometime today. went once and havent stopped since, never been so happy to pee.
This morning i have no internal pain at all and just feel bruised up from 4 incision points, one of them (at the top) more painful than the others but likely due to my twisting in bed.
breakfast served soon then hopefully on my way. this has been somewhat of a much better experience than i had anticipated. much much better, So far but still early days
ant66706
Posted
afternoon folks, ive now been home 24hrs. yesterday was a nightmare. you literally use your abdominal muscles for everything. i havent been able to move without help until a few hours ago.
my first day at home my stomach was swollen / bloated and i was in pain. nothing that a few paracetemol couldnt handle but not a nice feeling. suprisingly i had a good 7 hours sleep straight through without any pain.
im about today going from lounge, to kitchen, to bathroom etc . i havent eaten a great deal. some toast yeaterday, some veg soup last night and some toast today. also had about 5 bananas since yesterday. i have not emptied bowels yet which is a touch worrying but im taking laxtulose to try help that along. probably because ive hardly eaten.
overall though good and any pain since since surgery is all external pain ie incision points, stiffness etc. Nothing internal so far.
ant66706
Posted
and its now 3 days since surgery.
im struggling to get around. i went for a short walk down my street and 100 yards down i was ready to turn around. Very sore torso, again mostly external bruising pain and not really anything internal.
i still hadnt been to the bathroom (bowels) since surgery and to be honest was panicking somewhat today. i just havent had the urge at all. surgery was thursday and today is sunday (this wasnt normal). i have been taking laxtulouse for a few days and thank god i was. Sometime tonight the urge came out of nowhere. Bit of effort involved as i havent been for some days but the relief from bloating and stomach ache was instant. Yes!!!!
today ive eaten bread with jam for breakfast, chopped up apple and sultanas for snack, soup for lunch and this evening some boiled potatoes, lean chicken and green veg. Honestly i can only eat about a third of the portion which i usually do, This isnt a bad thing im just listening to my body and i feel satisifed with the smaller portions.
Fluids i feel have helped me greatly. throughout the day ive been drinking copious amounts of water and tea. before bed im having a small glass of pure beetroot juice (good for the liver) and in the morning some warm fresh lemon juice (good for digestion). i cant stress the fluids enough though, regardless of what your drinking just keep taking fluid, if anything it helps with digestion and hydrates the body which help with bowel movements.
overall a good day, just typical bruising type discomfort but apart from that i almost feel normal. I had a look at the incisions points earlier and i can barely see them as it is. i imagine they will be invisible in a few weeks
RuqPayne ant66706
Posted
Good thread; it certainly gives a good idea of what to expect. It all still scares the hell out of me though!
I am similar, male, late forties, around 12st, but have lost weight since my first severe GB attack, mid-Nov.
I have pretty much given up on alcohol, and have loads left over from Xmas. I'm still drinking tea & coffee, even though caffeine seems to be discouraged. This is the only place where I have found it confirmed that Tinnitus is associated with GB issues - a useful and re-assuring DG, this is. Glad I found it. I really miss double pepperoni / meat feast pizzas. Falling off the wagon, briefly, with a few bottles of Corona, and a single slice of pizza at a Xmas party produced a significant (but manageable) GB reaction. I hate the loss of sleep it causes, as it usually gets you at 2 or 3am, then you are up all night, pacing around the room, and feel rubbish all the next day. I feel rubbish generally, but getting a good night's sleep seems to help a little bit. Speaking of which, I better go and do that now...
ant66706
Edited
today im 4 weeks since surgery. I have to say im fully back to normal, diet, exercising, sleeping etc. infact id say im a lot better than i previously was therefore my time to bow out of here and get on with life. The remnants of my surgery