Gall Bladder

You will do fine. I had mine out in May this year in Australia after going through major pain for over a month. Surgery was quick and recovery was a few days. I don't think you will be able to pick the children for a month or so though. I was limited to not picking anything up over 5 pounds for that length of time and by the send of summer my scars were gone. I had one incision in the navel and three small incisions on the right side of my abdomen. No stitches and they all healed beautifully. I made a personal decision to avoid fried foods since they didn't seem to agree with me. But that is a good way to start losing a little weight. My experience was a good one since the pain before surgery was terrible. Good luck!!

HI

I had mine taken out several years ago, at a day surgery. My husband sat with me until they walked me back to the room, woke up next to so many other people doctor talked to me for a minute and was moved to a reclinder and processed and went home. Very out of it. slept most of the day. I only took 1 pain pill and that was the first day. Was a little sore after that for a couple of days. You will have 4 small incessions.
one in the belly button, (cant see) 2 other little ones, could not even tell you were they are at now and one that they make to pull the gall bladder through. Which is located along your bra line about center chest. Mine is a little larger than most, due to the fact I had 100 small stones and 4 large stone(almost the size of golf balls). I was mis treated for ulcers for 20 years, duh!!! You will see your surgeon in about a week after the surgery and he will give you the all clear. Funny I was craving a fat burger with tomato, I loved tomatoes, but before they would trigger and attack. The first thing I asked the dr. was can I go get a fat burger and he laughed and said go for it. Boy it was good. Weather you are having attacks now or never had one yet. It is better to get it out. Because those attacks are like having a heart attack they are so painful. A gallstone can lodge in your bile duck and you do not want that to happen. Having my gall bladder out was the best thing I did.

You will be fine and up and around within a day or 2. Still no heavy lifting for a week.

Take care. Enjoy life.

I had my gall bladder removed 6 wks after giving birth. I went in at 6, was home by 11 & slept until around 4 & laid around most of the day. Each day got much easier - fast. I was told not to lift anything heavier than the baby & no driving for 1 week. I remember walking up & down stairs were hard. The 4 little incisions got kind of itchy as they healed. I waited a little while to eat fat, but my dr. told me I could eat fat as soon as I wanted. I guess I was just a bit paranoid. I had some issues with diarrhea for a little while. 3 1/2 years later - I have not had a single attack & can eat whatever I want. Good Luck!

A month.

You will need at least a month under ideal conditions and no other conditions influencing your health or surgery. If you are not in good health, have had other surgery recently or have little ones of your own you could add another month or so.

I had mine out last April after having kidney abcesses (a year long dirty kidney) and I had a bleeding disorder as well that influenced my recovery but in general as a nurse and a patient if you are getting it laporascopically and have kids old enough not to be carried or helped all the time then take off whatever time the doctor needs you to recover and until you can be off narcotics (pain killers) during the day. The pain killers will mess you up (and completely brainwash some to the point of absolutely no ability to function) to the point that you are not legally safe to be alone without supervision until you are off them.

Hi E.. I had the surgery almost three years ago. The first couple of weeks were rough, especially when I sneezed or coughed. I was back at work after two weeks but I wasn't allowed to lift anything at first. So if you have real little one's you need to find out a weight limit, I think mine was 20 lbs after two weeks. Oh and no vacuuming that can cause some real problems, like tearing your stitches and reopening the wound. I wish you luck and no worries the surgery is real easy. You should be able to go home that same day, just make sure you have someone to help you the first two days, you will be really sore and getting out of bed can be a real chore, my husband had to even help me on and off the toilett. I never realised how much you use your stomach muscles everyday until I had that surgery. Oh if you have a bra without an underwire I would recommend wearing that for a while. Good luck, let me know how it goes.'
C. P.

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i

Before you have your gall bladder removed, get tested for Celiac Disease. I have a friend whose gall bladder was removed 2 1/2 years ago. She was just diagnosed with Celiac Disease last year and found out that a gluten free diet (required for Celiac) would've "fixed" the gall bladder problem. Unfortunately, undiagnosed Celiac can cause a lot of other problems with the digestive system along with other autoimmune diseases. I was diagnosed with Celiac almost 2 years ago after finding out it's in the family. I have 2 cousins whose gall bladder was removed. Anyway, it may not be Celiac Disease for you, but it's something to consider... if it means avoiding surgery.

I had my gall bladder removed in July and was terrified! It ended up being just a few days recovery and the surgery was no big deal at all. (and I am a total wimp!) I was tired but feeling pretty good about four days after surgery. My surgeon told me not to pick anything heavy up for a while (more than 25lbs)...I think four weeks. (including my 1 year old) Nothing but walking for six weeks. So, you have to take it slow for a while. All in all it was a good experience. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

I went to Dr. Curry and he was fantastic!

Hi!
I had this procedure done about 6 years ago, but I had complications because I let it go too long before I did something about it, so my recovery time was a little longer. However, my friend just had this done & she was out grocery shopping the next day. Sleeping off the anesthesia is the biggest thing, I think. You'll be a little sore from the 4 punctures in your belly, but other than that....no big deal! Good luck!

Hi E.,

That is really too bad that you need to have your gall bladder removed. It is possible that there are alternatives to that surgery that no doctor will ever tell you about and that have been very successful in removing the gall stones without removing the gall bladder.

I am very happy to tell you about these alternatives if you email me.

H.
www.dharmahealingintl.com

Hi E.,

I had my gallbladder out last October and I was thinking no problem I can go to work the next day. I thought because it was laproscopic it would be a breeze with no pain, Just because it's out patient surgery don't be fooled - it is still painful.

I would take a least 5 days off - I wasn't supposed to lift my kids for 7 at least days. When I went back to the Dr. I told him how suprised I was that I was up and about the next day - he said no way you still underwent surgey on your body and you are put under general anesthia.

Give yourself some recovery time if possible - my Dr. said it takes the body 6 weeks to fully recovery, however after 5-7 you should be feeling much better.

I had my Gall Bladder removed a couple years ago. I had a total of 4 holes in my belly. The one in my belly button was the only one that was really sore. The rest just tender to the touch. The first day I slept all day after the anesthesia. the next day i felt sore, but was able to walk, eat normally etc. Took the pain pills for about 3 days and then I was fine without them. Sore for about a week, but I went back to work on the 5th day (maybe it was the 6th day).

Good Luck - it's an easy procedure and the recovery is nothing compared to the crappy attacks you may be having now!
J.

I also had my gall bladder taken out at 24 years old. Not wanting to scare you or anything, but it was worse than what I was expecting. It was still much much better than the pain I was having from the gall stones though. It's good you are having the laproscopic kind because I've heard that the other old version of surgery is terrible and takes forever to recover from. I think it took me about a week for the soreness to go away, the first couple of days being really rough. This is the only surgery I've had though... and I was thinking recovery would be about like after having a baby. I thought it was much easier to recover from having a baby... but I wonder if it would be about the same recovery time as a C section.
Anyways... my advice would be to take a week off and try to have someone around (husband, mom etc.) for the first few days to help you out with your own kids. Good luck with the surgery!!

I had to have the same surgery as well (7 years ago). I had my surgery on a Friday afternoon and was able to return to work on the following Tuesday. I did need a lot of rest over the weekend to recover (my whole body was sore, like I'd worked out really hard or been in an accident). It was nothing a few advil didn't help with though. Good luck!

Hi E., I started having gb attacks mid-Jan '04 and was diagnosed in March. I had it removed via lathroscopy in April. It was an out-patient procedure. Having had two failed inductions followed up with two c-sections, this was a walk in the park. I wasn't ready to run any marathons, but by the next day, I was at ToysRUs looking for a train table for my four year old! My youngest was ten months and still nursing. To be honest, that was the toughest part. I'm not sure how big or how old your kids are or the ones that you're taking care of, but you might want to take into consideration that you won't/shouldn't be doing any "heavy" lifting until you're strong enough (everybody's recovery rate varies.)

I wish you the best of luck now and life w/o a gall bladder! Please feel free to write if you'd like to know more. K.

Hi E..
I had my gall bladder removed about 8 yrs ago. I remember I was up the next day vaccuming and cleaning my house. I guess it all depends how much pain you can stand. But you know what, if you don't really need the money your making off of babysitting, give yourself a break. We always over work ourselves. Use that as an excuse to take a break from everything and to be with your family. Good luck and don't be scare everything will be alright. Take care.

I had my gallbladder out last year my son was 3 months old and recovery time was less and less painfull than when i had my son by c-section I also had the laproscopic surgry, witch they made 4 small insinsons two on my right side, one in my belly button and one right above it. I went home less than 3 hours after the surgery, and I was back to doing normal things about one week after my surgery. I was still a little sore but nothing compared to when I had my son by c- section. if you have any onther questions just let me know.

Hi, E....
Shortly after my first daughter was born, I had to have my gallbladder removed. The pain of recovery is NOTHING compared to the pain of the stones!! It took me only a matter of days to recover. I did have to be careful with lifting, of course. So, if you are babysitting, be sure you have things like diapers, wipes, etc... nearby and a spot to change a young one on the floor or couch to keep from unnecessary lifting.

You'll do fine. It was sooo much less than I thought it would be. I was expecting major pain and discomfort.

L.

Tough call. I had my gallbladder out when my three kids were 7, 5, and 3. Although the surgery isn't that bad (the gallbladder "attacks" were worse) you will still be exhausted. If you can afford to not work for a week I would suggest taking the whole week off to recover.
Good luck and take care of yourself!

if you do your research you will find that your relief from symptoms will be short lived after removal, there are simple ways to flush your gallbladder to remove stones, check Hulda Clark's website,and there are herbs like Dandelion that will clear stones. I know you said you wanted only stories of recovery and what to expect, please reconsider surgery as the first option

C.
All About Health 505/888-5858

With laproscopic surgery you will bounce right back in a couple of days. You'll just have a few band aids on your abdomen following the surgery. Most people feel great, especially considering the way they felt prior to the surgery!
Good luck with your surgery.

My husband just had his out last month by laporoscopy and took one week off. I would say between the after effects of anesthesia and the discomfort from the surgery this was more than sufficient for him. He quit taking his pain meds because they were making him so loopy after about day 2 post-op. The surgeon may tell you there are no activity restrictions---just do what you feel you can without overdoing it. He was still a little sore a few weeks after but nothing that kept him down.

Best wishes!

My sister just had this done a few weeks ago and she is in her 50's. She was in bed for about 3 days and then was able to move around comfortably. Luckily you are having it the laproscopic way, less invasion to your body. I unfortunately had it 20 yrs ago and have an 18" scar to show for it. I was in the hospital for almost a week. My sister was in and out the same day. However, you won't be able to lift things, like children for a few weeks. Good luck. You will feel better afterwards.

i started weigh watchers and all i lost was my gallbladder. i went form a low fat diet ( for 6 months ) and my best friend rewarded my 10lb loss with a trip to hershey pensylvania. i though since i had done such a good job, that a candy bar wouldnt hurt when we went through the hershey factory. i sitll think it wasnt the candy bar but the way the whole town smelled of chocolate) LOL . anyway i had a severe attack about two hrs after that. i had to wait a couple of days to fly home. so i had my gallbladder out. it was a lap . went in at 7, out at 9 ahnd home by 9:30, no pain at all. my husband made me take a painpill at night but i didnt really need it. had my post op appt one week later and went back to work the next day . and yes, the first thing i wanted was pizza and i had it and no pain. i had that for lunch right after my surgery. i think it just depends on how well youheal and how well yo handle pain. i dont think that heavy lifting is good but normal household stuff would be as long as youre not pickingup heavy kids.