keyhole Gall Bladder removal!

[Catastrophic]

Hey, I'm having my gall bladder removed next wednesday. And really stressing out because i don't know what to expect. I don't have pre-op untill Monday.

any of you had your Gall Bladder out by Keyhole surgery? Can you tell me what to expect, Like going into the operation? what the pain is going to be like afterwards? How long it took you to recover? What are the do's and don'ts after surgery...

Any help would be greatly appreciated and hopefully settle some of myt nerves!

[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