Share your post gallbladderectomies stories with me

In My Humble Opinion
1

So, after a few weeks of vague distress followed by rt upper quadrant pain, my gallstone declared itself and was evicted the next day. All went well, I’m home and dry, and I’ve gained enough insight from the other side of the bed to help improve my nursing practice. But…

The question of best dietary practices after they’ve taken your gallbladder out has varied answers and so I turn to the teeming millions to survey their experiences. Annecdotes encouranged, I’d like to hear about your complications, want you tried and how it worked, or didn’t. Thanks everyone, it’s good to be alive,
Larry

2

I really haven’t had any dietary problems since I had mine out. I avoid Mexican food, but I can’t really say for sure it’s gotten worse since then.

3

During the week immediately after having my gallstone removed, the nurses encouraged me to eat slowly, and try to eat a lot of fibre-filled foods - fruits with the skin on are great, pear juice, etc. The first couple of days I only ate saltines and drank apple and pear juices. By day three I was eating vegetable soup. I took it pretty slowly, not eating much more solid than maybe stew (and even then just didn’t feel like finishing it - my appetite has changed completely since I had my gallbladder removed). About a week and a half later, I went to see my surgeon for the follow up (pathology report, having my bandages removed), and there were no problems found. The doctor told me on that day that I had no more restrictions. That was this past Friday. I had my gallbladder out two weeks ago today. And today? Hell, I just ate a Mr. Goodbar. :stuck_out_tongue: I had macaroni salad and fried chicken for dinner tonight. It was divine. (I haven’t been able to eat bad food since July, when my gallstone was found. My surgery was elective, but it would still eventually have to be removed. I was a walking timebomb - anything could set it off. If I slept on my right side, I’d wake up in tears from the pain. I put off the surgery until a couple weeks ago because I wasn’t insured last year. I got insurance in January, but still decided to wait, since it was elective, I just toughed it out. Never. Ever. Again.)

That first week after having it removed, I was constipated for a couple of days, but with all the fibre I was eating… well. Nature took it’s course in a couple of days. I had some mild digestive “adjustments” that took place, but now, two weeks later, I am functioning normally. If you still are having any bowel troubles after a couple of weeks, be sure to mention it to your doctor. It may be nothing, but it may be a sign of something needing to be fixed - a clamp not on properly, or something like that. I don’t for sure, I just know you’re suppose to mention it to your doctor.

I do find I eat less, now. I don’t feel hungry all the time like I used to. I’m losing weight very quickly. But I was a fatty with my gallstone, so I can afford it. :wink: Also, I no longer have heartburn - I had no idea I could sleep through a whole night without waking up to mucnh on Tums! Hooray! Another odd thing - I’ve been lactose intolerant all my life… or so I thought. Ever since the gallbladder came out, I can drink milk 'til the cows come home (ar, ar!), and eat any dairy product… no problem anymore. I don’t know if that is typical, however.

Anyway, I don’t know how long it’s been since you had yours removed, but as you are probably aware, you heal up quickly (thought those first few days feel icky - thank god for pain drugs!), and you should soon be able to eat normally. Some people mention that certain things bother them after the gallbladder has been removed - I myself, like Smeghead, tend to avoid Mexican food, and anything spicy. I don’t actually know if it will cause problems, I just suddenly don’t have an appetite for it anymore. However, some people say it gives them bowel trouble.

Enjoy your stone free body!

4

The year before I got my gallstone, I’d been in the habit of eating too much butter. I remember my sister watching me snacking as I put butter on everything, and warning me I was asking for health problems…

By the time I made it to the hospital, my gall bladder was too far gone for laparoscopy. I got a two-inch incision. I was under heavy sedation for the first 24 hours after surgery. My incision took a few weeks to heal. About a week after the surgery, it suppurated, nothing a little peroxide and cause couldn’t fix.

My surgeon was a doctor from Iraq named Rafal Badri, I will praise his name to the skies, because he was kind and courteous to me when I was in severe pain, as well as being totally professional and efficient. The only male doctor I’ve ever felt comfortable with; usually they try to intimidate me. This was in April 1991, right after the first Gulf War. I am really, really pissed off right now over what Bush has done to Iraq.

The only effect of cholecystectomy on my digestive system was a remarkable ease of regularity. I attribute this to the sudden unchecked flow of bile direct from my liver to the small intestine, since it was now routed away from the nonexistent gall bladder. But this soon regulated itself as my liver apparently adapted to producing bile on a new schedule now that it couldn’t be stored in the gall bladder. After that I noticed no difference at all… except for no more excruciating pain. :slight_smile:

The long term effect of the surgery is that my abdominal wall never healed quite right. For years, the site of the incision sometimes spasmed into painful muscle cramps when I stretched too suddenly. Fortunately, yoga took care of this problem and it doesn’t bother me any more. So my advice is definitely get laparoscopy, hands down.

5

hey, I just started a thread in MPSIMS about this, so I am interested as well. I am waiting to hear back right now if I have a stone. I am supposed to leave the country in 2 weeks so if it is a stone I want SURGERY NOW.

Good to hear you all are doing well after a week or so.

6

FYI, the name of the surgery is cholecystectomy.

7

OMG the poo, it’s orange and flakey.

(yes fun new poo colors and consistencies are yours for the cost of a Gall Bladder)

Certainly there is a fair amount of rapid restroom requirement, but I had that before the surgery as well, I think my Gall Bladder had given up doing anything other than stone production some time before the surgery. Still the color and consistency changes only occured after the surgery.

8

Thanks all,
Yeah I’m glad I qualified for laproscopic. I was actually surprised it was my gallbladder, I don’t have many of the risk factors, and the symptoms weren’t that typical. For me the stone was lodged and had irritated the tissue enough that they said it’s best to just get it out. Interestingly the ultrasound tech tried to dislodge it by wiggling here probe with me on my left side, not pleasant, but I would’ve loved it if it’d worked.

9

I’ve never experienced that.

10

Me neither! :eek:

Had a day or two of the runs, after being constipated… however, I uh… did kinda take a laxative. The nurses told me it would be okay if the fibre wasnt doing the trick (forgot it in my first post). But ever since then, everything is back to normal. So even that “trouble” I had was mostly my own doing.

And always a hearty thank you to picunurse for the proper terminology… I’ll have to memorise it this time. The doctor, anaesthesiologist, and nurses all had a lot of fun trying to make me say the name, mostly because I kept popping out with things like “cholysistemectamy” or “cholerastitotymy”. Between that and me singing *Mairzy Doates * or *Mares Eat Oats * or whatever the heck it was as I went under, I think they had a lot of fun with me. :smiley: Not to mention the little misunderstanding we danced around with on April Fool’s Day - I didn’t do it on purpose! (I was also wrong, btw, about it being the biggest cut - I thought it was, because it was the one that hurt the most, but the biggest one was just below my bellybutton - a whole inch and a half!)

Actually, I should link you to the whole MPSIMS thread, which I started a week before my operation, and the Dopers came in with their experiences before, during, and after, and I found it to be quite reassuring and helpful. Granted, your operation is over now, but you can see that people have varied experiences following their surgeries.

11

Hey, I said “cholecystectomy” first.

12

Whoops. Then I thank you first, and picunurse second. She linked. Made it look all blue and stand-out-ish. Look, I’m the one that calls it “clearistictectomy”, I won’t recognise it unless it’s all blue and stand-out-ish! :wink:

13

I’m just glad you’re better, hon. :slight_smile:

14

Velma, I had my gallbladder taken out on March 10, and was due to travel to Mexico on March 24. The doctor seemed very concerned that I not fly until two weeks following the surgery. IIRC, it was something to do with anesthesia and cabin air pressure, so you might want to be sure to mention to your doctor when you’re planning on traveling, and how.

As for the follow up care, my youngest son was in the hospital with pneumonia when my scheduled date for surgery came up. I went in at 8 am, and was back at my son’s bedside before noon. Granted, I was pleasantly medicated. The only way my diet has changed is now I can eat things other than dry toast and broth without it making me ill. My surgery was laproscopic, and they sealed me up with super glue! I had one lone band-aid that I was told I could take off that evening (from the small puncture where they told me the camera went in). The best part of the whole deal was the nurse numbed my hand before she put in the IV. That was awesome.

15

Sorry for the late reply, but I did end up having surgery yesterday. My surgeon didn’t seem fazed at all when I told him I wanted to go on vacation in 2 weeks, as long as it was a ‘type B vacation’ as he put it. I ended up not showing any stones on my ultrasound, but more testing showed it just wasn’t working. Lazy, lazy gallbladder. Output was only 7% (between 35 and 50% was normal for that test.) So out it came. Long story short, I am home again and doing pretty well.

16

congradulations,
they kept me in for 48 hours, I’m a week post-op and I still tire easily, don’t feel mentally sharp, and get night sweats. Pains pretty well managed, I think, I don’t have much frame of reference
Larry