Gall bladder surgery

[Bunny]

Has anyone had it? I know I need to have mine removed, in fact I'm going to the doctor this afternoon to talk about that. Can anyone tell me how involved is the surgery, how much time will I be in the hospital, how much time off from work will I need, etc.? Thanks.

Not asking for medical advice, btw.

[MissMillie]

1. I had mine removed in 2001.

It's day surgery, if they can perform the procedure laproscopically.

Depending on how physical your job is, you may need as much as a week off from work.

[VenusRising]

2. I had mine out at 19.

I was out of the hospital the same day as my surgery, and I was ready to go and be with my friends within the week. I was in school and didn't have a job at the time and it was during summer break, so I was lucky in that I got all the time I needed to recover.

Good vibes and hugs to you!

:hug:

[AlCzervik]

3. i had mine out about 20 years ago, the old way so my recovery was a lot different

from the surgery they do now. If you have it done vie laparoscopic surgery your recovery should be pretty fast and fairly pain free but you need to follow the post op instructions.

[Midlodemocrat]

4. I had mine done laparoscopically.

Only stayed one night. Very, very little pain. Almost none.

[LibertyLover]

5. Had mine out in 1996

It was done via laproscope. After a day or so of discomfort from the surgery itself, the only down side was the pain from the CO2 working its way out of my body (and that for only a few days). What happens, according to my surgeon, is the CO2 molecule is slightly larger than the capillaries it's moving through while attached to red blood cells and that's what causes the pain. I had mine out on Monday and had I needed to, I could have gone back to work on Wednesday. Thankfully, I didn't, and, since I had it out the week before Labor Day, had a nice long period to recover. I was back driving on Thursday. A piece of advice - after the surgery, for several days afterwards, if you are lying or sitting down and want to sit up or stand, take a pillow and hold it against your abdomen before attempting the move. It will help with the pain.

Actually the worst part of the whole thing was that my aunt was dying from a stroke in a hospital room across the hall from where I was. So the family would visit her and then come into my room to cry. There were some amusing parts to that situation however - the day after my surgery, while waiting for the surgeon to release me (I went in on Monday morning, had it out and was released as of Tuesday morning - technically, for insurance purposes, less than a 24 hour hospital stay, although I didn't really get out of the hospital until Tuesday afternoon), I grabbed my IV pole and walked over to her room. The wife of one of her friends was there, a lovely, older, old-fashioned Southern lady named Alice. Alice and I chatted for a few moments and then one of my cousins came over and asked how I was feeling. I said that I was in some pain, but was looking forward to going home that afternoon. Alice looked slightly puzzled and, seeing that, my cousin mentioned that I had had surgery the day before (now mind you I'm in a hospital gown, slippers and have an IV pole attached to my body). Alice then smiled, nodded her head and responded that now it made sense to her - she was wondering why I was paying my aunt a visit so informally dressed. :rofl:

Anyway, I would plan on being out from work a week. The first day or so after you get home you probably won't feel like eating much. But after that, you will feel so much better - especially if you are having attacks of gallbladder colic now.

[dropkickpa]

6. Had mine out

Laproscopically 5 1/2 years ago. I was at the hospital a grand total of 7 hours (they gave me the option of staying overnight or going home, I just wanted to go home), was doped up good on tylenol w/codeine for 2 days, had shoulder/back pain from the gas they fill the belly with for 2-3 days (normal), moderate soreness for about a week, I was off for a grand total of 9 days (I was in school at the time and scheduled the sx to coincide with my 8 day summer break, so I only missed 1 day of class), pretty much all normal by that point. Ask for in depth answers about possible after-effects of having no gallbladder, I didn't and I regret not doing that. It wouldn't have changed my decision to have it out, but I wouldn't have been blindsided by my issues (my surgeon wasn't the most honest guy, he just told me "Oh, you'll be great afterwards, no issues"). The majority of people have no effects or issues afterwards.

[Bunny]

7. Thanks to everyone for your comments.

I had an ultrasound today, the tech didn't see any gall stones, but something sure as hell hurts! Anyway, they gave me Dilaudid, if you can believe that! Wheeeeeee! :woohoo:

[greenbriar]

8. piece of cake if they do it laser

a couple of small little places


can work in a couple of days


the worse is the adjustment after...


get ready to poooooop a lot

[Joey Liberal]

9. A friend of mine had the procedure

He's an older guy, but he said it was no problem at all. Good luck with the surgery.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

10. It's a breeze.

It's very easy. I had mine out friday came home saturday and worked 10 hours on monday. Lifting and stuff. But I've had some really painful surgeries in the past like C sections and crushed joints pinned, so having my gall bladder out was painless compared.

[Zoigal]

11. Husband had his out in early '90s

Laparoscopic method...home the next day...
very little discomfort. Wishing you the best,,,z

[Lyric]

12. I feel kinda awkward, but I had a different experience

than pretty much everyone else here.

I had mine out in September of 2005, done laparoscopically, but I went through hell with it. To be fair, I had a complicated case that involved a hugely swollen and infected gallbladder that had spread inflammation to the surrounding organs, and I had to have a drain tube inserted into my abdomen for about a month before I could have the surgery done, because the inflammation was so bad that my gallbladder was "adhering" to the organs surrounding it. If they'd have tried to take it out immediately, there would have been damage to my large intestine, liver, and common bile duct.

If my surgeons had been any less amazing, I'd have been forced to have an "open" cholecystectomy because of my complications. But I was fortunate enough to have two of the best laparoscopic surgeons on the east coast working on me, so they managed to do the impossible and perform the procedure with the laparoscope. Even still, I was in the hospital for 5 days afterward, in terrible pain, and I was practically an invalid for about 6 weeks. I had to stay on powerful antibiotics and pain medication for about 3 months total, which contributed to my pain and misery with extra gastrointestinal side effects beyond what my condition caused.

The reason my case wound up being so complicated is because I was afraid of the surgery, so instead of getting it done when I had my first gallstone attack, I waited over a year. That gave my gallbladder an entire year to get really inflamed, so when the infection set in, it just spread like wildfire. I was lucky that I didn't die, because my gallbladder was so swollen with infection that it had started to perforate (rupture) by the time they found it. If it had fully ruptured, it would have caused the same kind of life-threatening infection that a ruptured appendix can cause.

Learn from my awful mistake, and get the surgery done now while it's still mild and uncomplicated. You'll avoid a lot of horrible pain and emotional trauma. :hug:

[AwakeAtLast]

13. Mine was summer 2003.

Laproscopic with a side order of liver biopsy (negative, yea!). The surgeon saw a spot, so he decided he better check it. The pain from my liver being poked was worse than recovering from the surgery!

My surgeon said I should be off a week, no driving - but if I had felt better (biopsy stick remember) he would have made that shorter.

Hope yours goes well whenever it happens! :hug:

:hi: