keyhole Gall Bladder removal!

[jaspen]

have to go to OB appt right now but will come back later an fill you in if others haven't - biggest of all don't panic (responded to your other thread) its pretty straightforward- please!!!!!!

BBL

[briggsy's girl]

i've had this done, and found it to be pretty easy to be honest. pain afterwards was reasonably minimal - felt pretty much the same crampy feeling as i'd had beforehand when the gallbladder was playing up! i had to stay in overnight for monitoring, but that was related to the fact that i have tachycardia and they wanted to make sure that had settled down post-op - but i was off pain killers within 24 hours and back to normal life within a couple of days...

it's not something to let yourself stress about - good luck!

[Kaydee]

I also had this done about 18 months ago. I was very scared as i hadn't had an operation before. It wasnt as bad as i thought it would be, i was just happy to have it out - i had alot of pain because of the gallstones, so i was so glad that the cramping was gone. When they took it out they found it was infected, so they put me on strong anti-biotics. I felt really queasy after the op - which for me was worse than the pain (i HATE feeling sick). Good thing was that i was able to catch up on my reading in the hospital and finish the harry potter book i was working on
I think i stayed in for 4 days (but I had it done in Germany, Oz might not be the same).

The scars are still sensitive and i hate anyone touching them. That's the only thing that bothers me now. But i suppose it's different for everyone.

Very best of luck. Don't stress!

[Catastrophic]

Thanks from the sounds of it i'm worrying over nothing.
The hospital is keeping me in over night i've already been told that one. They'll do the operation on the wednesday and i can go home Thursday.

What about when they put you to sleep what do you feel? Can you feel them putting the tubey thing down your throat? is that out before you wake up?

Does a catheter (sp?) get put in? what does that feel like?

What about the drain in the stomach? What does that feel like?

So for those who recovered well and return to normal actiites within a couple of days does that include lifting a 1yo? driving?

In my little pamplet it did say that i can't drive for 7-10days. and not to lift anything over 3kg for 2weeks.

Sorry for all the questions!

[Lisa]

I had my gallbladder removed 10 years ago after 6 months of weekly attacks.
My op was for 7am... when I got to the hospital, I was given a gown, and paper underwear (sexy) and not long after, I was given tablets which had a sedative effect. I then had the catheter inserted.
In the theatre they put white stuff into my catheter and I went to sleep. All I can remember is waking up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck (I don't take anesthetic very well).. my throat was a little tender and I could feel my tummy was bloated (this is apparently from the air they put into you?) I went back to sleep, woke up again in my room where they gave me my stones to keep in a jar, and they washed me down a little (I had been sick). Later, I was told to get up and walk to the toilet with a nurse, and that was a little painful but I managed it... I had to get up and walk around every day. The drain in my stomach was a nothing really... I remember being really really paranoid about them taking it out, I cried and told them they weren't allowed to because it would hurt... it didn't hurt a bit!!! lol
I was in hospital for 3 days... and when I got home, I had a 5 month old and a 4 year old to look after... I didn't pick either of them up for about a week after I got home, and then it was only my 5 month old. I didn't drive for a few weeks either. After a week I was fine though, It was a relief to not have the attacks anymore too!!!
You'll be fine Cass... wishing you all the best

[Miss K]

I had mine taken out nearly 12months ago and I have still not recovered from it.. I was in hospital for a week and I couldn't do anything for 2 weeks after I got extremely sick after it also though my stone was the biggest the dr had ever seen and my gallbladder was 4times the normal size so I may have had worse due to it being soo bad ... Also be prepared to sleep alot because you will definately need it...

Please don't think I am trying to scare you but I was told it takes a good 18 months to fully recover

[Caramello]

I had my gallbladder out in 2006. I also stayed in hospital for a couple of days.

I was also sick shortly after the operation.

The hardest part was getting up after the operation and going to the toilet.

However I was so glad to get rid of the thing I didn't care!

Never do I want to have the vomiting and diarrhoea attacks that I had before that operation - they used to scare me so much!

I still can't believe it took 3 years for a doctor to listen to me and correctly diagnose the problem.

My gallbladder was absolutely riddled with stones.

It took me about a week to fully recover.

So what I'm saying - the small pain of the operation is nothing in comparison to the pain with a stone riddled gallbladder.

[Lisa]

Please don't think I am trying to scare you but I was told it takes a good 18 months to fully recover

I completely agree with this.
It took me around 18 months to be totally recovered, but a little over a week to be back to doing regular things.

The thing you need to remember is that your body does still produce stones, and both myself and my sister have found there are certain things we eat that can give us reeeeeeeally bad pains... they are usually greasy foods like take away fish & chips, pepperoni pizza... but it doesn't happen all the time.
You'll be fine... you will feel so much better than you did whilst having the gallstones... for me, it was a relief to not be walking on egg shells wondering when I would end up in the hospital again... my attacks were set off by my diet and by stress... not fun with a newborn baby!
All the best Cass