Which reminds me - that drainage tube is a PITA and will be in the way of everything you try to do until they remove it – which only takes a few seconds, but hurts like the dickens. That one took the longest to heal.
I vomited 19 times in one day. There is no pain like gallbladder attack pain. The doctor said he’d seen it bring grown men to their knees, and I believe it, because if they had said, ''Sorry, we can’t do surgery right now, how about we just shoot you in the head instead?" I’d have taken the bullet. They gave me morphine, it didn’t do shit. I’ve seen so many people brush off gallbladder issues, and I’m like, no, man, trust me. You do not want to wait. The only thing good I got out of the experience is that every painful thing that has happened to me since, I have been able to say, ‘‘At least it’s not my gallbladder.’’ Fortunately, I had no time to worry about surgery. They said, ‘‘Hey, we got your test results back. You have a massive infection. Here’s a consent form for surgery’’ and I was in OR in less than 30 minutes. The only thing I felt when I came out of surgery was pure, sweet relief. Fortunately I was well out of the danger zone before I realized how close I had come to dying.
Did you have laparoscopic surgery or did you end up having open surgery with a big scar under your ribcage? Your recovery story is unusual for routine lap surgery if there were no complications. I had no drainage tubes, only a tight velcro/stretchy belly wrap that I wore for a couple weeks. Due to the IV fluids I was on, I had to pee every 2 hours and got in and out of bed myself from the beginning. Was only told to be careful lifting and to let the discomfort self-limit - basically if it’s uncomfortable that’s how much not to lift. Was at my desk job in a week and back to full duty at my ER job within a month.
One thing I learned was the use/value of blood tests. In my own research leading up to my doctor visits, I learned that cirrhosis can be present despite nothing abnormal showing on a blood test. It can present no symptoms until it’s basically ready to kill you. So it makes me think that blood tests should always, despite the results, be used as a starting point in diagnosing any potential problem. It should never end with the bloodtest, unless the patient shows no other symptoms.
I originally thought that I had cirrhosis from a medication I’d been prescribed for more than 8 years. This med is known to have the potential to cause liver problems, for this reason I had bloodwork done every six months. Nary a problem. But I had begun to experience discomfort in the area of the liver (upper right quadrant) so I requested earlier than normal tests. Which came out normal. So, perhaps naively and obviously ignorantly, I was satisfied that I was in good health. The medication had been serving me so well, I did not want to have to consider stopping it.
Until the problems came back, more intensely this time. I immediately scheduled an appointment with my doctor. She took more blood and sent me to get an ultrasound. Well, surprise surprise, the blood tests showed me to be in good health. It wasn’t until the ultrasound that my gallstones were discovered. So I believe bloodtests only provide useful information if they show abnormality/problem. A bloodtest that shows everything as normal is about as good as, well, I don’t know but it ain’t much.
*This post is more of a rant, so any medical professional please correct any misconceptions I may have.
I had laparoscopic surgery, but also a drainage tube. I could get in and out of my (head-elevated) hospital bed on my own, but not my bed at home, since it lies flat down. I’m guessing recovery time varies from person to person? And again I have no idea if the severity of my case impacted any of this. I had two gallstones blocking my bile duct on top of the infection. They said it was the worst they’ve seen in years. It went right over the CT scan because they were looking for inflammation, not shriveled dead organ. Fortunately, they did the HIDA scan as a precautionary measure and saw a serious problem.
It hurt much less than expected. When I wasn’t trying to sit up or stand up, it didn’t hurt at all. I could move about after a couple of weeks, but it took a good three months before I had no pain whatsoever. Wearing bras was a particular challenge because I had an incision pretty much right where my braline is, and my bras are like a tight sports bra with the clasps in the front. So that freaking metal clasp would rub right up against the incision. I remember one month later, I had to leave my husband’s Ph.D. graduation party early because I was in pain due to my bra, and felt badly about it.
It wasn’t the end of the world, but it was my first major surgery, and I was also between jobs, so I was probably extra cautious/lazy during recovery.
My brother’s went like this. Actually he did have one more angle to it - I guess they pump some air in to you to be able to reach everything. The air has to come out with time. He was more uncomfortable from this bloating (that hurt worst up around his shoulders) than anything incision-wise. It took quite a while for the air-related discomfort to go away.
I had a laparoscopic cholecystectomy 20 years ago. I’d ignored my problem for years, but finally got very sick and had to see a doctor. I had a Jackson-Pratt (bulb suction) drain for a few days post op due to complications from my gallbladder being so huge.
I was hospitalized for a week, but others I know went home the next day.
I followed the dietician’s restrictions for about a month, then just went back to a regular diet.