Having gallbladder surgery next week-kinda scared

Nal

Yeah Crampster, thanks a bunch for the support! My only problem is going to be my 2 year old. Im a full time stay at home mom. She is going to Grandmas for about 2 weeks but still, its gonna be tough when she comes back. How do you not lift a two year old?

I have some friends bringing dinner the first couple nights. After that, its up to my hubby for a while. He'll do great I am sure.

Nancy

mommy2brandon24

i know what you mean about being a stay at home mom i have a 2year old to. i asked that to my surgeon because i cant really have anyone watch my son. my mom is taking the 5 and the 6 off from work thats it. my fiance has to go to work or were gonna be broke. and my 2 year old is very active and weighs almost 40 pounds. but the surgeon said i can lift him a little bit but to try to be careful. i guess only one good thing me and my fiance live above my mom shes in the same house diffrent apartment shes works at night and my fiance works during the day so were gonna try to work something out untill i get a little better.

crampster

Awwww.... poor little guy. Perhaps you can get your husband to build a layered area up to the couch so he can climb up and sit next to you. Cause believe me .. you won't be able to deal with him in your lap. The first week is spent sleeping and wishing you could stand erect again cause the tummy is so tender. Second week you start feeling better... but here is the kicker... if you do something wrong you can go backwards.... so take it easy ...or... I think it takes longer to recover.

I'm sure your hubby will do great... just tell him to take it easy on the fatty foods.. they can be hard. You will probably spend the first couple days sleeping... then maybe watching a little tv... hang in there!!!

Crampster

crampster

Just make sure you have a heating pad or light weight hot water bottle to sooth the tummy... I'm not sure I would be climbing too many stairs. If you eat and have D..... make sure you drink water so you don't dehydrate.

The first couple 2 to 3 days are the hardest because of the tenderness and the gas pains... plus the insides trying to settle back down after surgery.
Hang in there guys. It does get better. Anything you can plan and do ahead does help.
crampster

mommy2brandon24

thank you for advice we have a baby gate so ill just put it up in the living room while everybody is working. my mom will probily always be upstairs all day for awhile before she goes to work because there is alotta of stairs to climb. and my fiance gets home around 5 or 6 at night my mom leaves for work around 2 so its only few hours ill be by myself with my son im hoping everything will work out. im sure my mom can take a couple extra days off if im that bad shes a nurse for 18 years so she has all this time that she can call in and still be paid for it so everything should work out.

crampster

Well hang in there... I know it is scary. I never had any major medical issues othere than IBS and reflux. ... mostly brought on by stress cause I took care of some many sick family members with cancer.

There are a couple of us on here who have just recently gone through the surgery and a couple who are getting ready to go through the surgery. I know that it helped me to do some (nesting) you know like when you are getting ready to have kids you do things just so stuff is squared away. Laundry.... putting things away and things like that. It helped me keep my mind off of it. Some of the other members on the lealthboard helped me... by answering questions... any help we can give... we are glad to give. We know how hard it is to be in pain and still be worried.
crampster

pbjmom

Hi Everyone!

I had my gallbladder out two weeks or so ago. Crampster and I have been posting a lot to help each other. She has been a great support to me and I would love to support you guys as well. IT does help to have others who have been there and done that to give good advice and to relieve you of worry.

Everything will be fine! I was home in 7 hours. I felt groggy, but good for the first few days. It did catch up to me as I thought I could do more. I really didn't do a whole lot, so be careful. You will tire easily. Eat as easy food for the first few days. Applesauce, broth, jello, toast...slowly add low-fat stuff. Drink lots of water and gatorade.

Try to prepare for things ahead of time if that will help ease your worries. You may want to go grocery shopping and stock up on the easy food. Then get frozen dinners or something for your family if they will need that. They can always go out to eat, you can't. So make sure you have provisions.

You all will do just fine! Please keep us posted on how you are doing and ask any question! We want to help.
pbjmom

mommy2brandon24

i didnt realize how gallbladder surgery is so common until i came on here and started reading all these posts. it is helping me relax knowing im not the only one going through this. im gonna take your advice about laundry and cleaning before surgery just so its done and out of the way and im gonna go grocery shopping probily the day before my surgery. im not worried about my fiance with cooking cause he does more cooking than i do anyways he loves to cook so i guess thats a good thing (lol). one question i have about the drugs they give you before surgery does it make you go to sleep or your awake but so groggy that you dont realize whats going on just curious because i just had my egd done monday they gave me these drugs that i thought i was supposed to be awake but i dont remember anything i dont even remember the tube going down my throat last thing i remember was asking the nurse when it would kick in she told me soon next thing im waking up in recovery. it was sooo weird. i was just wondering if that happens to when you get your gallbladder out to?

crampster

Hi Mommy2Brandon,
Sounds like you are regrouping and getting ready.... I don't remember much about the surgery so they pretty much knocked me out... one minute I was on the gerney and a little nervous then they wheeled me in had me slide over to the other gurney covered me up and brought me extra blankets cause I was a little chilly. They do have you remove everything which may sound strange... but they do and you have a hospital gown on.
So just be aware of this if it is your time....

But things were all worse in my mind cause I had all kinds of test of last 4 years trying to figure out what was wrong with me... 2 hida scans, ultrasounds, ct scans the whole bit... it wasn't until I got a new GI doc that he said ... the tests are not always right. Well he must have been right cause I sure feel a lot better. It sounds like you might also.
I tried to have a couple of books I wanted to read and other odds and ends to do cause even after the first couple of days you still can't do too much. You get a little tired of resting... but you need to let the body recup... try to think of it as a little mini vacation. But in honesty I think it wasn't any different that having kids... if you plan ahead you can do what you are supposed to do relax and get well.
crampster

mommy2brandon24

how long did you stay at the hospital? i know the surgeon told me ill be out the same day as long as there are no problems. thats what im worried about to i really dont like hospitals and so nervouse there gonna tell me i have to stay. im hoping ill do ok but i still remember last week i was nervouse about getting the egd done i was afraid of a scope going down my throat than nervouse that day when they had me fill out all these papers just incase anything did happen to me. but actually wasnt as bad as i thought because i dont remember it i never even seen the tube they had down my throat. all i remember was the nurse bfore they gave me anything and the nurse in recovery. so im hoping thats whats gonna happen when i get the surgery.

crampster

I was able to be outpatient. It didn't take anywhere as long as I thought...
I hope you will be able to go home also. The always tell you that there is a possibility that instead of doing the laproscopic they have to do the full blown operation. I think it is just a way of covering their butts.

GB surgery is one of the more frequent surgeries down now a days. My docotr had done something like 500 surgeries... scary... that there are all those other people that had to have their GB removed.

Scary that all those people were in pain also. I'm sure you will be fine.... just do your planning ahead. That helped me a lot. I called it my nesting... like what you do before you have a baby. Got everything clean in the laundry room ran the vaccum... even did a little dusting. Stocked up on foods I would be able to eat that are low in fat and even some vegies and fruits.
Though I understand from one of the other threads that some people encountered issues with banannas. I haven't had any problem with those yet... but then I prefer apples. If you have reflux issues stay away from citrus fruits.

After you get everything you want done.... just try and relax. The WORST part is what are minds do to us thinking about the whole thing. It's kinda like some of those tests we have had to have done... fear of the unknown.
crampster

pbjmom

I was awake when I went into the surgical room, but very much asleep when they put the tube in. I have had prior surgeries that I was knocked out before I even got into the surgery room. It really will depend on your doctors and all. The anesthesiologist (sp?) offered a sedative to me before going in, but I figured that it wasn't necessary. It was different for me to see all that went on before they put me under, but it was actually nice to see the nurses and know there were 3 of them, plus the surgeon and the anesthesiologist all there. I mean, 5 people were tending to me for what turned out to be a 20 minute surgery. I took great comfort in that.

Keep up your positive thoughts! You will come through this just fine!
pbjmom

Gigi D

Nal,

I recently had gallbladder surgery, and like you I wasn't sure if it would help all of my abdominal problems. Unlike you I had a large gallstone, and never had the Hida scan done, but when it was removed it showed signs of being chronically diseased, so it definitely needed to come out. I'm still experiencing the same problems of abdominal pains and cramping, etc., so all my issues didn't disappear when my gallbladder did, but if I didn't have it removed it could have become a much bigger issue down the road.
Your gallbladder isn't functioning properly, so it should definitely come out. It may or may not alleviate your symptoms-but you'd probably be better off without it in the long run. I was afraid that my intestinal problems would get worse afterwards (diarrhea), but it was bad to begin with so I don't know that it's really changed anything.
Anyways, good luck Friday. Try not to stress about having surgery-I've had 3 surgeries just this year and have come out just fine from each, I'm sure you will too . The hardest part about any surgery is the recovery-take it easy for at least a week afterwards.
Everyone here has given you some great advice, and I really don't have anything to add to it other than to express my own wishes for a successful surgery and speedy recovery for you! Let us know how you're doing.

Nal

generally for gallbladder surgery you are put completely out under general anesthesia. Im like you though too, I dont remember a thing about my EGD but that is still only considered "consious sedation".

Im heading in tomorrow so wish me luck guys!!

Nancy