Gall Bladder Surgery

[Criztea]

I am 25 years old and just had a baby 3 months ago. I am having headaches,sweats, dizziness, and pain under right rib cage and extreme pain in shoulder neck and back area. I went to the E.R. on Tuesday night and they did an Ultrasound and found lots of tiny gall stones....so now I have an appointment to see a surgeon on 23rd of this month so I can have my Gall Bladder removed.....What should I expect? I am nervous about being put to sleep:-(

[perrinmom]

I am also 25 and just had a baby about 5 months ago and I just had my gallbladder removed last Monday. I too was extremely nervous about being put to sleep. I know everyone reacts differently but it really wasn't as bad as I had thought it was going to be. The surgery was over before I knew it, I was a little groggy when waking up but that was it. I have 4 small incisions that are taped up, they are still sore now but every day I feel a little better. I had the surgery done at 7:30 am and was sent home by 1 in the afternoon. You will definately need someone to help you take care of your baby for a few days, you will be too sore to lift or carry him/her. I had help for about 3 days until I felt good enough to carry my son (have 3 kids to take care of!). I have heard that some people get diarreah but I haven't. I was told to go back to eating anything but told to stay away from spicy foods. The toughest part is how sore the incisions are for the first few days, it was tough to get comfortable sitting or sleeping. If you have any questions please let me know, I will try to help you out, good luck with your surgery!

[Criztea]

Thanks for they reply Perrinmom. I saw the surgeon yesterday. They will be calling me to set up the date and time for surgery. Just wondering how you are feeling and if it made a difference? Take care.

[perrinmom]

I just went to my post surgery appointment, I'm still sore, bending and lifting are still tough, so it looks like I'll be out of work a month or so.

I found I still have to be careful about what I eat, maybe that's just because it's so soon after surgery. At least it's not that severe abdominal pain, if I eat something spicy or really fatty (usually fried foods), I just kind of get an upset stomach.

Also make sure you have lots of sweatpants or stretchy pants to wear! I tried putting jeans on today and it was a bad idea, the incisions aren't as healed up as I had thought.

Hope you make out good with your surgery, when you feel up to it, post and let us know how your doing!

[yen99]

I had my gallbladder out in 1999 and it was the best thing I ever did. I had the surgery on a Friday, and I was back to work on Wed. The moment I woke up, I felt better. The surgeon told me I had a tumor on my gallbladder and that it should have been taken out years ago. And all of my sonograms tests came back with "small gallstones, no surgery needed."
After the surgery, I was sore, couldn't bend. I only had a little reaction to the gas. When they do the surgery, they "blow" up your abdomen with a gas, so it is accessable. I felt some of those "gas" pains for the first day. I was on the pain killers for only two days. It just depends on the person. Oh, by the way, I had the laser surgery.
I was 25 when I had my son and I had terrible gallbladder pain during my whole pregnancy. I had my gallbladder out when I was 28.
The only problems I have now are reflux, some diahria and I watch my spicy and fatty food intake. Those are manageable.
Good Luck on your surgery, you'll be glad you did it!