Gallbladder surgery! Give me your experiences!

[CoconutSky]

Im going in for a gallbladder removal on Friday via keyhole.
I’ve had issues with my gallbladder since about March, after an episode of cholecystitis and jaundice I was put on the priority 2 list and was called on Wednesday with a cancellation for this Friday.

I am absolutely shitting bricks. I’ve had a child born via C Section with GA and I’ve had a GA before but for some reason I am really scared with this one.

Weirdly enough I’m scared mostly about not waking up quickly after the op and sleeping for hours and hours with no way of contacting anyone (don’t ask where that’s come from as I have no idea!)

People who’ve had their gallbladders removed, what was it like? Recovery? How quick did you wake up after surgery and do they wake you up?

Thank you

I know that everyone will experience it slightly differently, but mine is a nice example of going in to surgery at lunchtime and going home at dinnertime. I was woken gently in the recovery room with a cup of tea and a biscuit, and moved to a ward for a couple of hours until my surgeon had popped in to see if I was ok. Honestly, I felt very well that afternoon and got changed and had a sandwich before going home. I took paracetamol and ibuprofen (as much as I could) for a few days, but that was enough. Good luck, I hope you feel better soon and the removal is a relief for you too!

Thank you so much for sharing. And I’m glad your experience was straight forward and you’re out of gallbladder jail now 🤣

Im more scared they won’t wake me up, which makes no sense whatsoever.

Had mine out on Tuesday so still very much recovering! Tuesday was bad for me as kept being sick and couldn’t keep pain relief down so struggled a lot. Since Wednesday the pain has been more manageable and I haven’t taken strong pain relief since Thursday. The gas pain wasn’t easy but I’ve had a hot water bottle stuck to me since Tuesday and many peppermint teas which I think have helped. I was dreading the op and kept thinking about pulling out but so far, so good! Just to add I went down at 9 and was woken up at 11, was in the recovery room for 45 minutes due to nausea but a few people were in and out of there faster than me so think it depends how you react

Was the sickness from the GA?
I’ve never reacted to anaesthetic before so I’m hoping this time will be the same.

Absolutely scared stiff. Can I ask how you came round from the op? Glad to hear it went well and hopefully you’re completely pain free soon!!

Had mine out. Best surgery ever. So easy and gets rid of the manky problem ridden thing🤣. I was in overnight but many go home the same day. Anaesthetic was great, I love them, it’s like such a restful sleep. In the ‘modern era’ I’ve only had one which was problematic afterward but my surgery was around 9 hours. For the usual quick and easy stuff such as gall bladder you get the lovely rest effect without the more untoward side effects. It really has come such a long way from the anaesthetics decades ago which were pretty rugged to recover from with most people vomiting afterwards at minimum.

@CoconutSky I'm due to have mine out the end of the month. But I have a bad reaction to the general anaesthetic and end up being violently sick so I'm on the fence

I’ve had 25+ surgeries for a whole range of issues - gall bladder removed last year. It’s not a long procedure, they woke me in recovery. My surgeon keeps you overnight in hospital just to make sure all is ok - thankfully in my case as whilst surgery was fine, I reacted poorly to whatever pain meds they gave me and was vomiting until they put me on anti nausea meds and kept iv fluids in overnight.
The site wasn’t overly painful but the shoulder/gas pain was terrible - by about day 7 I was completely fine.

They will wake you up, they need the bed.

I arrived around 8:30, was in bed and gowned by 9, went in about 9:30, woke up around 11ish, was in a day bed but half sitting up and it took about an hour to fully wake up. I was given a biscuit and a cup of coffee and when I'd had those was told to use the loo and as soon as I did they called my OH. He picked me up by 2, and was home at 3 after a slow drive home over speed bumps in friday traffic. I climbed the stairs when I got in to use the loo and then came back down to recover in front of the telly.

I spent about a week really just recovering, and really just enjoyed sitting there and being warm as it was early June, just a few walks to the garden and back. Then I drove I think the week after, just to the allotment to check on all the stuff.

All in all the worst bit was the referred shoulder pain, just take it slow for a bit.

I think so! I’ve only had GA for a small gynae op before and that made me feel ropey but wasn’t actually sick, think they just gave me more this time 😊 I did have nausea and pain when I woke up but the nurse said more to do with my ibs than the op and they gave me buscopan to help so hopefully you will avoid that! Good luck

They will wake you up 😂 Once I was awake myself, I saw others come in and get woken up. They basically wheel you in to the recovery suite, and give you a little shoulder shake/rub and lift the head of the bed a bit straight away. Then a couple of minutes later have another go a bit firmer with a bit more chat. Some people seemed to be groggier than others, and the lady next to me was quite a lot older and struggled, so she was left lying down but she was definitely awake.

I was just left to wake up naturally from the GA. I woke up quite quickly after entering the recovery room. I had a headache when I first woke but they gave me some meds and I fell back asleep (because I wanted to - I could have called someone) and woke up with it gone.

No sickness or nausea. I was eating normally the first evening. I was very sore the first night and didn't get much sleep, but it wasn't as bad as a gallbladder attack. I went home the following day and was already feeling a lot better. As long as I kept up on my pain meds I was fine through the next week, though I slept a lot and had a laptop next to my bed to watch TV on in between naps.

After a week I was pain free and back to normal.

I had mine out some time ago and it's such a relief to be rid of it. The surgery was quick, I came around about two hours after the op started and was sleepy for the rest of the day but had no side effects. Had to take it easy for the next two weeks and the first week was a bit rough in terms of tiredness and pain. Couldn't carry anything heavy for several weeks. It's not even a tiny bit comparable to a CS in terms of recovery, GB removal is far easier. Good luck!

I had an absolutely great experience, first on the list, walked out of hospital, feeling comfortable to do so, by about 4pm the same day. I was driven home and went in and was well enough to make my own supper and get myself to bed. My mum had come to stay for a week to help, but only stayed a few days as I was completely fine! I credit the surgeon, couldn’t have asked for better.

Very good luck. I really hope you sail through.

Similar to my experience but I didn’t need any pain killers

I had mine out on Wednesday via keyhole after 2 years of attacks and then in March, a blockage of my bile duct that landed me in hospital for 11 days. The attacks and the blockage were literally the worst pain I’d ever been in.
I had never had Ga prior to this but had had a planned C section.
The op was quick, about 45 mins from going into the anaesthetic room to coming around and a nurse was there when I came around. I was very sleepy and just dozed on and off on the ward. I had some oramorph for the pain immediately post op and I went home the same day with cocodamol and ibuprofen.
I’d say recovery has been more difficult than I thought, my c section was definitely an easier recovery.
I can’t stand fully upright yet or breathe deeply as I get a deep stabbing pain and pain in my shoulders (this is from the gas they use to fill your abdomen) but that’s getting better each day.
I’d say hot water bottles/heat pads for your shoulders and gas pains will be your best friends. Sleep/sit upright propped with lots of pillows. Plenty of fluids including peppermint tea and water and move every couple of hours if just to go to the bathroom. If you’ve got someone at home to help, I’ve got my DH to pull me up from sitting/lying as that hurts my tummy muscles. Laughing/coughing can also be uncomfy so a pillow on the abdomen is helpful - also same tip on way home in car!
Keep up with your pain relief - it works better if taken before pain kicks in and just take it easy.
I’m on day four now and managed a shower yesterday and put normal clothes on today. I’ve got 3 littles so DH is still doing most of that and letting me rest.
The pain is 100% more manageable than gall bladder attacks and you’ll be fine!
Good luck!

They woke me in the operating theatre after the procedure, and then again in the recovery cubicle. Went home and I was fine until the pain built up, ended up back in for 5 days - they left a stone in.

I was back gentle cycling after 3 weeks, back doing 20 miles plus at 5 weeks and badminton at 8.

You'll be fine Op, don't overthink it and wishing you a quick recovery💐

Fairly easy compared to other surgeries. I did have complications but that's because gallstones had permanently damaged my pancreas so ended up having some of that removed 5yrs later. Get it removed - those little stones can cause a lot of damage. The surgery recovery from gallbladder removal was very straightforward.

I had mine out last year - was really panicking about it for a long time, but forced myself to go through it. It was all absolutely fine - just a bit tender after the op, but I took advantage and spent a week pretty much on the sofa watching tv I don’t normally have time to watch. And I have had no problems since - I can’t really tell I no longer have a gall bladder, there are no issues with it at all (and I hadn’t realised the gallbladder was grumbling so much until it has completely stopped!). Re: waking up, I had a gentle waking up in a recovery area, with a nurse sitting next to me. It was absolutely fine. I’d not had GA for years, and had forgotten how one minute they are asking you to count down from 10, then the next thing you know it is all over and you are waking up. Perfect. Couldn’t be happier with my experience, or the after-effects :) Good luck!

I had mine out recently. It was fab. No pain and great recovery. My holes sealed up nicely. No side effects at all. I'm very happy I've done it. You'll be fine, don't worry!

I was glad to have it out as it was giving me loads of pain.

op went ok, reaction to anaesthetic so stayed in overnight: pain was quite high after and then a week of being uncomfortable.

Thank you! That’s the only thing I’m scared of 🤣 being left to sleep for days in recovery

I had mine out over a decade ago and had a good experience. The only soreness I had was my navel as apparently this is where the gall bladder was extracted so it felt more bruised than the other small incisions.

No pain at all from the surgery but just took me a couple of days to get over the GA (this is normal for me though).

Hope all goes well on Friday.

It was fine. I was off work for 2 weeks but pro ably should have waited a further week.

DH had a gallbladder removal recently. Was awake upon return to the room and soon watching Star Trek on tv! Needed a bit of TLC for a couple of weeks but otherwise fine. It’s a very common operation and your surgeon will probably have done loads before. When I have surgery I try to remember it’s a huge deal for me but just another day at work for them!

I was scheduled from the morning but actually not operated on until the mid-afternoon, so I ended up staying in overnight. I woke up in a recovery room with beds all round the walls facing each other and they immediately sat me up and gave me a drink, then off to the ward - I was quite disoriented at first though. People were being brought into the room and then waking up within a few minutes so I presume once you are off the gas mixture or have been injected with antidote to the sedative etc (no idea what technique is used) you wake up pretty quickly on your own. I had awful pains in my shoulders that evening and couldn't even raise my arms to hold a glass of water. which is apparently normal as the air they use to inflate your abdomen during the surgery works out, but once that had passed going home was OK (as long as you don't plan to go straight into lifting bags of cement around or doing a marathon that afternoon) and the surface wounds were tiny and healed up super fast.