Feeling rough weeks after gallbladder surgery

[Harry1603]

I had my gallbladder out in May and it seems to be taking me longer than anyone else I know to get over it! It was keyhole surgery but I ended up with 4 weeks off work as my stomach was so upset.

Even now I still don't feel right - I still ache inside (I don't think I helped myself by giving DH a hand to lift something heavy at the weekend) and I can't eat anything that's high fibre as I end up running to the loo. (Strangely enough I can eat sausages, bacon, chicken shashlick!) I feel tired all the time and I'm worried I'm not getting the right nutrients as I can't eat fruit and my veg is very limited. Is it worth taking a multi vitamin?

Has anyone else felt like this? I've looked online (big mistake!) and I can only find stories from people who have very bad reactions or who have recovered quickly, neither of which applies to me.

Sorry for the long rambling post and thank you in advance for any advice.

[Harry1603]

Oh I should add that my consultant said that I can expect to ache for 2-3 more months but I've never heard this before so I'm wondering if I'm normal!

[uggmum]

I had 8 weeks off after my surgery. But my case was slightly different as I had septicemia and liver failure before my gallstones were diagnosed and had to recover fully from this before surgery. I had 6 mths off work in total.

However, even though it's keyhole surgery it is still an operation and early days yet. Lifting anything heavy can really pull inside and be very painful.
I lifted the vacuum cleaner after eight weeks and thought I had ripped my insides it was so painful!

I would take it easy. Don't lift anything for a while. When you stand up make sure you stand up really straight and try not to slouch. I found this helped the internal healing. Keep moving, but gently.

Hope you're feeling better soon

[Harry1603]

Thank you uggmum. I'm sorry you had such a rough time - I had pancreatitis and gallstones are the work of the devil without any other complications!

I expected to be fully fit within a couple of weeks but I'm going to have to be patient. The lifting on Sunday didn't help but DH has sciatica and there was no way I was going to leave him to it.

[themonsteratemyspacebaragain]

I had mine out in May too, but im afraid to say i was one of the fast healers. Sorry!
I have only just got a letter for a follow up later this month, have you had yours yet?
I have been absolutely fine but on Saturday i had an attack that felt exactly like it did with my gallbladder, searing heartburn and agonising back pain. Had to take tramadol for it to even touch the sides . Also since the op i have had like a tugging feeling on the left hand side of my stomach? Have you experienced anything like that?

[Harry1603]

I had my follow up a couple of weeks ago and the consultant is happy with me and doesn't want to see me again. Sorry you had another attack monster. Did the surgeon check for stones in the bile duct?

I haven't had anything on the left side but today I ache all up my right side. I've also found that if I bend down I get an ache where (I think) my gallbladder used to be.

[comeawaywithme]

Quick post as on phone and takes ages to type. Had gallbladder removed by keyhole surgery end of March. Took 6 weeks to feel remotely normal. Can still feel it pulling inside sometimes when I lift DS and when I lie on my side in bed. Can mostly eat a normal diet but had bad stabbing pains in gallbladder area after eating fish and chips.

I was frustrated during recovery as I read how everyone seemed to heal really quickly and were back to normal activities in no time. I did have a gangrenous gallbladder so was fairly ill, but I also know I just seem to heal slowly (recovery after c-section also seemed to take a while ).

May isn't that long ago. I would still try to take it as easy as you can and maybe just make a note of food that doesn't agree with you. During my reading I found that a lot of people said it could take a few months for things to settle down in that department. Hope you feel much better soon!

[Harry1603]

Thanks comeaway. It's good to hear from other people who have had it done. As well as pancreatitis I also had a badly inflamed gallbladder so maybe that's delaying things as well. I'm not good at being patient though!

[Hayz18]

I’m so glad to read some of these as everybody I’ve spoken to seems to have recovered so fast but I’m still feeling sore and the pains where my gall bladder was too and was starting to worry it was something else! Thankfully reading this thread has made me feel better and just needs a bit longer than I thought so thanks guys x

[PMSMITH]

Just came across this forum when trying to find out about after gallbladder removal. I had mine out on 1 July this month. Pains went straight away . They said everything went well. I went home and rested for 2 weeks, but occasionally got some tummy pains. I went back to work this week as a TA assistant making sure not to do anything strenuous. Done a couple of shops - lifting bags into car and hoovered up. But my pains seem to be getting stronger - feels like a bladder pain. Is this a normal feeling. Everything else healed well, no problems but don’t know whether to go to docs.

[Grannygreybird]

Hi I had my keyhole for gallbladder start of September.I have been very careful to not lift anything heavy etc.I have been having episodes of dizziness,since I got out of the hospital even whilst sitting.I have little to no energy and I can't sleep properly at night.I am not suffering pain and the wounds have healed well but I am just so exhausted all the time.Its really frustrating as I hate sitting about so much.