New to board with questions about gallbladder removal surgery!

Hi all,
My name is Tanya. I was recently diagnosed with gallbladder dysfunction and I'm going to see a surgeon on Monday to talk about having my gallbladder removed. I had a couple of questions about the surgery for those of you who have been through it. First of all, a little bit about myself. I have been suffering from severe acid reflux and bloating for a year now. I recently about a month ago started having pain in my right side under my ribs along with the bloating and reflux. It has gotten progressively worse by the week. This past Sunday, the pain sent me to the ER at the hospital where I work as a Certified Nursing Assistant. The doctor in the ER told me that I probably had a bad gallbladder and told me to come in for a ultrasound on the following Tuesday since Monday was Memorial Day. By Monday night, I began vomiting. Everytime I ate anything, I vomited and had severe pain. I went in to have the ultrasound on Tuesday and no stones were present. I went to my PCP on Tuesday afternoon and a HIDA scan was scheduled for Thursday. I went in for the HIDA scan and had the same severe pain and nausea after the injection of CCK. My ejection fraction was 27% so today, my PCP made me an appointment with the surgeon on this coming Monday. Not soon enough. I'm still in alot of pain and have nausea and vomiting everytime I try to eat anything. Even boiled chicken caused an "attack" this evening. My PCP gave me Lortabs and Phenegren for the pain and nausea. My questions are, do you have to have a full system clean out before surgery. i.e. taking all the laxatives and stuff, or, are you just told to not eat after midnight the night before surgery? Also, how long after surgery are you allowed to return to work? I work in a hospital, you would think that I would know this stuff. Although I have been a part of the recovery care for this surgery, I don't know alot about it. And, how bad is the pain post-op? If you all could please help me, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks
Painful in TN

My problem was stones in the duct blocking the bile. I had similar problems with eating as you do. I was down to liquid diet for about 2 weeks prior to ERCP which cleared the blockage and digestion started to return to normal. Try a liquid diet with no fats for some relief.

I subsequently did have GB removed. Surgery not bad at all (as far as surgeries go). The worst pain was from the CO2 that remained inside and migrated to shoulder. That was PAIN but it went away after a day.

Had surgery (lap cholysystectomy) on saturday AM. went back to work Tuesday. (I am an electrician). Boss gave me some lighter duty stuff for a couple days and then pretty much back to normal work duties.

I actually think this helped my overall recovery. It felt like I was developing adhesions and the stretching involved in my work broke them and kept them from reinitiating.

after choly; beware of foods containing any fat. Always know where a bathroom is. Urgency can become overwhelming and quite painful at times. Fats cause a lot of the problems with this.

No, no full system cleanout...just nothing after midnight. I had mine out on Monday, worked 1/2 day on Wednesday, full day after that. Jogged 2 miles one week after surgery. Was on pain meds the first two days and then Aleve after that...and really didn't need them the second day but just did it in case.

And yes, you need to move around. Not heavy stuff but it really will make the recovery faster and easier. Some people just can't manage it and some people have other issues that make it problematic. I really just didn't have any problems with mine. Just do watch the fat afterwards...and that means milk, salad dressings, anything with fat. I'm amazed at the things people will eat right after this and then complain that it really wasn't fatty so why did it give them problems? Guess people just don't pay attention to what is in the foods they eat...

The recovery varies greatly from person to person. Titchou must be a warrior to recover so quickly. My symptoms were like yours but my pain was never that bad, more annoying. My Hida scan result was similar 24% and during the CCK injection, I was miserable. That is suppose to be a good sign of a successful gb surgery. I am 9 days post op and my huge problem is nausea which is constant and nearly debilitating. I have eaten very little all week and have aboslutely no appetite. I don't really have any pain except some around the belly button but I also had an umbilical hernia repaired the same time so maybe it is from that. If/when I get over this #[email protected] nausea I think I will be as good as new. Like some else said you must must be NPO from midnight on. No cleaning out necessary. Usually people are off 1-2 weeks with 1 being more common I think. You are not suppose to lift more than 20 lbs for those two weeks.

Originally Posted by miknan

Usually people are off 1-2 weeks with 1 being more common I think. You are not suppose to lift more than 20 lbs for those two weeks.

Wow, sure glad the doc never told me that. He gave me the green light for work whenever I felt good enough to go. Since I do construction work (and he knew this) I suspect it is more an individual decision than a medical requirement or neccessity for limitations.

Since my work is considered heavy labor, returning to work the third day post surgery would have been a big concern to the doc if it were more than a personal decision.

light duty for me definately consisted of lifting considerably more than 20 pounds.

Not sure I would have undertaken jogging though. The shaking/jarring surely would let you know if you were healing or not.

The best suggestion I could give to the entire situation would be, if it hurts or you feel like it is too much, then don;t do it. Most people know their limitations. Use your head for a guide. A doctor deals with "typical" or "general" situations more than any specific one.

sorry to hear of your continued misery miknan. I had a voracious apetite immediately after surgery. Maybe the anesthetic is continuing to linger for you. I have known some folks that don;t tolerate it very well and feel bad more because of that than the actual surgery.

Not knowing what or if you are taking any pains meds, maybe you are reacting to a pain med. Again, known some folks that certain meds caused nausea as well. If taking meds, maybe trying something different may help.

I'm a long time jogger and weight trainer. My first question to the surgeon was how long before I could run. After examining me and talking about my running regimen, he left it up to me. So, I jogged at one week (planned to try it 2 days earlier but knew I probably shouldn't when the time got there!) and was out of the gym for 3 weeks.