[Jen]

I know there were a couple of people here who were having problems with gallstones and I was just wondering how things were going? My husband has his surgery for his gallstone scheduled for next week thank goodness. It has taken since
September to get a diagnosis and treatment in place. He cannot hardly eat anything and he is starving all the time. It is sad when you are scared to eat anything because you don't want a gallbladder attack. The only good thing is that he has lost tons of weight, it almost makes me want a gallstone!

[Sheila53]

No, thankyou, I already have one.

So I'm not even sure what a gallbladder does. If it can be removed, is it kind of like an appendix and just hangs around until something happens to it and it has to be removed?

I know you really don't mean you'd like a gallstone--it sounds painful. It's like when I was younger, I wanted to be "just a little anorexic." I guess what we really want is for the dang weight to come off easier and faster because this is so darn hard!!

[Jen]

The liver produces a fluid called bile which is stored in the gallbladder which then secretes the bile into the small intestine to aid in digestion. You can live without your gallbladder. All that happens is that your liver is constantly secreting small amounts of bile into your small intestine all the time.

[dowsx4]

I just had mine out 2 weeks ago and i am doing fine. The incision are really tiny and the worst things was the gas they bloat you with so they can see and trying to ly down after surgery i couldnt lie down flat for a week.

[Jen]

Just wondering how long was your recovery time? My husband's surgeon told him it would be 10-14 days before he felt okay. Just wondering it that was fairly accurate or a little on the high side. I know everyone is going to be different but I'm hoping that it is less time rather than more. Also how is your diet now? Are you back to eating normally or do you find you still have to be really careful what you eat? Lastly just wondering if you are running to the bathroom a lot (I'm sure you know what I mean). Please PM me if you don't want to answer on the board. Would really appreciate any info as we don't have much of an idea what to expect.

[dowsx4]

I was up and around the next day certainly not doing jumping jacks but i went shopping the next day and at 2 weeks a feel completely normal and i eat anything i want. I have had very managable pain for about a week after 4 days i was just taking advil. I have not had the side effect of running to the bathroom but with the low carb diet i had the opposite problem before. I even have had pork chops!! LOL.

[Jen]

I'm really glad to hear that everything is back to normal. My husband is so looking forward to being pain free and being able to really eat again. He has seriously been craving pastries of all kinds for weeks!

[Sandi]

I had mine out on Wednesday. Today is Saturday, so that makes it Day 3 after surgery. How do I feel. Still kinda Yucky. I am off the pain meds, and on Advil, so the incisions aren't really bothering me. But I feel tired, dizzy and sick to my stomach when I eat. I do OK as long as I stay VERY low fat, but when I eat something with even a little fat, I get so sick to my stomach. So I would tell your husband that he can look forward to the pain being gone, but he won't be eating pasteries any time soon. Everybody is different. I was looking forward to this being smooth sailing after hearing about Julie, but I think it depends. My surgery also too 2 1/2 hours and hers took an hour, so maybe that has something to do with it too.

[dowsx4]

I think surgeries do depend like sandi said. My sister has the gastric bypass and she is still not feeling as good as alot of people do the 4th week out and she is 2 months out. I was expecting to be in more pain than i was after surgery but i had a very non complicated surgery and i did have some nausia and vomiting in the mornings for the first 3 days but only in the morning (that kinda worried me....). But after the 4th day ithat was all gone.

[funnyhoney]

i had my gallbladder out in May of 99'. the gallbladder attack i had before they decided to do surgery was alot worse than any part of the surgery itself. surgery lasted for about 2 hours and after i first woke up i felt extremely sick to my stomach, but that only lasted for about a half an hour. long story short, i was walking the halls of the hospital within a few hours and released the next morning. recovery at home was pain free. the worst part of recovery was being so 'out of it' from the pain meds.
as far as long term things, i suffered from diarrhea for the first couple of years after the surgery. and there are some things that i still cant digest without a bellyache....tomatoes, green peppers...but all in all it was not a horrible experience.

[happy2bme]

I had laproscopic gall bladder removal 10 years ago. My first surgery since tonsils at the age of 3 - a LONG time ago!. I was most nervous about the anesthesia but the surgery went well. Actually when I woke up in the recovery room my first thought was that I had fallen asleep at my desk at work which really shocked me into being fully awake Once I realized where I was and I made it through surgery ok, I was in a "let's get me out of here" mood because I really just wanted to go home and rest. The anesthesia sometimes makes people feel nauseated after surgery but I must have gotten just the right amount because I was not groggy or feeling nauseated, nor did I have trouble breathing or that chest heaviness.

I was feeling well enough to go home - could have spent the night at the hospital but after a few hours of being awakened constantly GRRRRRR, I begged to go home. Got home around 6:30pm and conked out until the next morning. The pain was minimal, more of a stretch the skin pain, like having a bandaid on too tight and it's pulling the skin. I had prescription pain meds but only took one, didn't like how Vicodin made me feel and was able to get by with just Tylenol. I took 3 days off from work and went on an interview 2 days after surgery - the pantyhose were really uncomfortable! I felt good but surgery is a trauma on the body and you will tire easily. I was back at work on Monday and did well. However, I know others who actually had alot of pain for 3 - 4 weeks after surgery. I think it depends on how much "digging around" they do inside you to get the gall bladder out.

I will say that you do have to adjust your foods post surgery. Getting the gall bladder out is not a cure all and it introduces other issues. It's not like you can go back to previous eating habits. One of the things the gall bladder does is to metabolize fats. Eat a fatty meal and you will either get heartburn, diarehha (sp?) or those awful "verps" - the burp that has that burning awful taste.

For over a year after surgery I had terrible acid reflux after eating tomatoes, pizza, some spagetti sauces, mayonaisse or anything overly fatty. I still have problems but I do try to exercise moderation and have had to experiment with which foods affect me more than others.

My advice - rest after surgery. You might feel good but you've been cut and yanked internally and you need to let your body rest and heal. It takes longer to heal internally than externally. Over do it physically and you'll be in a world of hurt the next day. Everyone is different and while some people are fine in a week, it might take longer for others. Follow your doctor's orders. Take your temperature for a few days after surgery if they say so to monitor for infections. Slowly introduce foods back into your eating plan. If something's going to bother you, you'll know within a few hours. And I don't know of anyone who could totally go back to their pre-gall bladder eating habits. Everyone had to make some adjustments based on how different foods affected them.

Good luck to your husband!