Hi,

I also had my gallbladder out in March last year. I had keyhole surgery (I think this is pretty much the way it's done these days) and stayed in that night then home the next day. Dh had 4 days off work then it was back to normal. The pain wasn't too bad at all, nothing panadol couldn't fix.

I thought I escaped relatively well with the food restrictions, I kept a low fat diet for about 4 weeks after the op then slowly introduced fatty foods to see what my body would do. All was fantastic until I became pregnant!!! Now I can't tolerate high fat foods or it has me on the toilet for a while! (Sorry if TMI).

Tramadol is a strong painkiller, stronger than panadine forte, I would maybe ring the Nurse on Call or even the hospital and ask them to explain how/when you're supposed to take them. Or if you have a nice chemist maybe pop down there?

You'll be fine through the surgery, I think it's only a 30min operation! Nice and quick! And fingers crossed recovery will be easy. Just be gentle with your body afterwards, take your time eating foods and try new foods at home first to see how your body will respond!

Good Luck!