# Cholecystectomy tomorrow at 9:30 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 20, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527 "2009-10-20T21:35:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/21 "2009-10-21T21:03:10Z")
Good to see you back **Cinnie**! We’ll be waiting on that pee report. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/22 "2009-10-21T21:32:07Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > Hey all, I’m back! > > Surgery was not bad at all. The biggest annoyances are kind of ancillary to the surgery - the above-mentioned shoulder pain, throat-tickly cough from intubation, and I can’t pee on my own yet (it’s something my dumb body does - both babies and the appendectomy caused it too). > > Since I’m not having inordinate soreness from the incisions and I’m having urinary retention, I’m going to go ahead and ignore all the advice to take my Percocet for now. Especially since the sonofabitching shoulder pain doesn’t respond to it anyway. I’m following urologist’s orders - Flomax and in&out cathing, and I feel like I should be peeing like a champ by tomorrow or so. I’m pretty sure Tylenol will keep things under control, but if it doesn’t I’ll crack open the narcotics. > > Don’t worry about me trying to do too much - I’m so going to milk this. As a SAHM it’s rare for me to have true time off, so I’m taking advantage of the opportunity! > > Thank you everyone - it’s nice to know lots of people have been pulling for me, and the advice is wonderful as well. Huh. Any time I’ve had same-day surgery, they wouldn’t let me go home until I could pee on my own! Well, I hope you’re feeling better soon, but not too soon to get a good ‘vacation’ out of it! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/23 "2009-10-21T21:44:46Z")
Alright! Glad to hear that you’re done and resting. Do you have any books that you’re going to catch up on? Any videos? Not that resting alone isn’t a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/24 "2009-10-21T22:06:32Z")
Wow! Too cool. They \*told \*me I would get out the same day when I had my GB out, but then they kept me. :mad: Glad you are home, it went well and you are in minimal pain. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/25 "2009-10-22T00:58:10Z")
Yay! That sonofabitching shoulder pain really doesn’t respond to pain meds, does it? I recall that it didn’t last too long, though. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/26 "2009-10-26T17:35:54Z")
Bump. How are you feeling, **Cin**? ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/27 "2009-10-26T23:53:12Z")
Thanks for asking! I’m much better - I stopped taking my pain medication yesterday, and I’m feeling largely back to normal as far as pain internally and at the incisions. I still can’t pee right, but I’m getting there, very slowly. It’s frustrating, but I’m trying to stay calm about it. Checking in with the urologist tomorrow - I expect he’ll say, “No worries, you’re getting better, keep taking your Flomax and give it some time.” (It’s easy to say that when you don’t have to jam a tube up your urethra several times a day.) ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/28 "2009-10-27T00:09:44Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > Thanks for asking! > > I’m much better - I stopped taking my pain medication yesterday, and I’m feeling largely back to normal as far as pain internally and at the incisions. > > I still can’t pee right, but I’m getting there, very slowly. It’s frustrating, but I’m trying to stay calm about it. Checking in with the urologist tomorrow - I expect he’ll say, “No worries, you’re getting better, keep taking your Flomax and give it some time.” (It’s easy to say that when you don’t have to jam a tube up your urethra several times a day.) Glad the pain is pretty much taken care of! As for the peeing, is this normal? I’m sure your urologist will tell you. I can’t help but wonder if you have some sort of secondary UTI or something. Then again, having had chronic kidney issues for more than 30 years, that’s where my brain automatically goes (what’s the old saying? ‘When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail’?) Glad you’re seeing your urologist, and hoping your recovery continues to be smooth! ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/29 "2009-10-27T01:02:48Z")
Hi **UC**. I’m not familiar with your case, but my wife’s doctor suspects she may have gallstones, and wants to refer her to a specialist. I kind of hope she has, as it might get to the bottom of her symptoms - every once in a while (and more frequently of late), she gets episodes of severe bloating and stomach problems, with vomiting and diarrhoea. She was initially diagnosed with IBS, but now the doctor’s not so sure. I wonder if surgery might sort her problems out. Edit: just read your previous thread. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/30 "2009-10-27T17:26:53Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Hi **UC**. I’m not familiar with your case, but my wife’s doctor suspects she may have gallstones A quick ultrasound will determine if she does. I’m surprised he had to refer her to a specialist. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/31 "2009-10-27T18:33:15Z")
> [@Surly\_Chick](#): > > A quick ultrasound will determine if she does. I’m surprised he had to refer her to a specialist. Well, AFAIK there’s no ultrasound in our local medical centre. Referral to the local hospital is what I guess he means. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/32 "2009-10-27T18:56:23Z")
Hey, thanks for the interest and concern. I just got back from the urologist, and he doubled up my Flomax and gave me Cipro for a possible imminent infection, so I’m hoping that will help a lot. They also set me up with a catheter delivery service and gave me a fistful of single-use catheters. I asked what is wrong with me, and he said I have a lot of tone in my urethral muscles. So in essence they clamp down whenever there’s any trauma in the area (or perhaps in this case due to being catheterized during surgery?). Anyway, he also said the stress and anxiety after surgery can exacerbate it too. So I think I’ll be pursuing my meditation practice more vigorously - if it can lower blood pressure, it can probably help me, in the words of Hedley Lamarr, rest my sphincter as well. **Colophon** , as to your wife’s situation, it sounds like it could be gallstones - I read that vomiting is a more classic symptom than diarrhea, like I had, but both can be caused by that. If she gets an ultrasound, they should easily tell whether there are any stones in there. ---
**Author:** ![ThirdOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@ThirdOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThirdOne)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/33 "2009-10-27T19:05:36Z")
Sounds like you’re healing up quite nicely! woo hoo Sounds like you have the right tools to get your peeing back on track. Colophon, yep, personal experience here. I had all of that. I had a good year of intense belching (gross), abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Usually worse when I had a meal with high fat content. As I mentioned, I think, the final episode was from eating a very high fat meal. I wanted someone to just shoot me and put me out of my misery. Following surgery, I felt like a million dollars! ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/34 "2009-11-01T13:51:07Z")
I had my follow up with the surgeon and everything looks good! I had stones up to 1/2 inch diameter, plus a polyp and “chronic inflammation.” No cancer or suspicious stuff. I still have mild but noticeable pain, which he said can continue for up to two months. I’m using Tylenol very successfully during the day (I can really tell when it has worn off!), and weaning myself off Vicodin use at night (sleeping on my right side is still moderately uncomfortable). So far so good with eating - super high fat seems to bother me a bit, but really no human being should eat at Chik Fil A and Red Robin in the same day anyway. 🙂 And I can pee! Everything seems pretty much back to normal, which is perhaps the greatest relief. Thanks so much to everyone for their kind wishes and advice through all this! ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/35 "2009-11-01T14:52:20Z")
Terrific news, **Unauthorized Cinnamon**! I’m glad to hear that you’re feeling so much better! Happy piddling! ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/36 "2009-11-01T17:25:31Z")
Glad to hear you’re feeling better! As far as weaning yourself from the Vicodin, here’s a method that has been repeatedly successful for me: instead of a whole Vicodin at bedtime, try a _half_ of a Vicodin, plus a dose of naproxen sodium (Aleve) or ibuprofen (Advil). Because the Vicodin contains acetaminophen, you don’t want to take it with anything else that contains acetaminophen. But per all my doctors, it’s not a problem to take it in concert with a _different_ OTC pain reliever. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/37 "2009-11-01T19:03:44Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > I had my follow up with the surgeon and everything looks good! I had stones up to 1/2 inch diameter, plus a polyp and “chronic inflammation.” No cancer or suspicious stuff. > > I still have mild but noticeable pain, which he said can continue for up to two months. I’m using Tylenol very successfully during the day (I can really tell when it has worn off!), and weaning myself off Vicodin use at night (sleeping on my right side is still moderately uncomfortable). > > So far so good with eating - super high fat seems to bother me a bit, but really no human being should eat at Chik Fil A and Red Robin in the same day anyway. 🙂 > > And I can pee! Everything seems pretty much back to normal, which is perhaps the greatest relief. > > Thanks so much to everyone for their kind wishes and advice through all this! Go easy on the fats and grease for a while. I think the body just has to get used to its new configuration. It will settle down in time–mine took a few weeks to adjust. Tidbit: don’t be alarmed if some of your surgical staples pop out. I lost a few from the navel incision, but since it heals from the inside out, it’s fine. I also found it comforting to hold a small soft pillow against my abdomen for a while and when I was in bed. Glad to hear you got rid of the little rascal. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527/38 "2009-11-01T19:31:48Z")
Glad to hear it is all progressing well! Good luck with continued healing! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cholecystectomy-tomorrow-at-9-30/514527.md?page=1)