gallbladder op for 27th Oct and I'm terrified of post op problems :-(

[ZingOfSeven]

I had biliary colic in August. I had pain in my liver, stomach & back infection and got jaundiced, so after I was admitted to hospital on the 29th August and given lots of painkillers I had a scan which confirmed gallstones.
had an MRI as well which showed no obstructions, so I must have passed the stone, but they said I need gallbladder out urgently.
I had two previous attacks. the one in March, when still pg with DC7 was considered indigestion, the one in July, when BabyZing was just 10 days old, was explained away as gastritis.

I was discharged on 1st Sept and on a low fat & non-dairy diet (well I have some low fat dairy as I bf) and been absolutely fine since, so I question if I should even have this surgery.

I'm terrified of having it out then ending up with constant pain, indigestion, recurring D&V and having to be on a very strict diet for the rest of my life. I really worry what I will do if that happens. we have 7 children, baby's only 2.5 months and I can't face a life of being obsessed about food and having diarrhoea every day.
because I spoke to relatives and friends and the reality is that these things could easily happen to me.

I can't stop crying. I don't know what to do. I feel like I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't.
I'm painfree now and have no toilet issues - which other have before op. I might never have any problems again. or is it likely that I will because I've already had biliary colic& jaundice?
what the hell should I do? I think I will go ahead with op because potential risk of pancreatitis and other complications frighten me to but I so worry that "my quality of life" will be ruined, everything will be worse than it is now and that I will regret having op done.

This is driving me nuts and makes me very upset

ickle

I'm expressing milk right now, for third time. not bad going as I could only manage first session at 6pm yesterday.
did it again at 11pm
was going to do one early hours as I normally wake up then - and I did wake up at 2am but decided to sleep instead.

Plan is to express again at 11am, then 2pm, unless I'm home.

Good to hear you're doing so well and are now confident that you made the right decision.

Hope they send you home soon [grapes]

Zing I'm pleased to hear that it has gone ok and had some confirmation that it was worth getting it done sooner rather than later.
Hope you get feeding soon.

Am so pleased to hear you're feeling so well afterwards, you must be so relieved, especially after hearing about the inflammation.

I'm seeing the surgeon on 17th Nov. I will follow his advice re: surgery. The operation itself does not bother me so much (after 3 general anaesthetics, 2 ERCP's for miscarriages, wisdom teeth removal & 2 EMCS, I'm a surgery veteran!!

It's more the recovery with my 18 month old & DP working away, plus no family support. But we do have private health insurance so that might enable me to pick a more convenient time.

Keep resting up & taking it easy!!

we got home this morning at 11am and I fed Elijah straight away - that's all I wanted, just get back to him and bf.
(sorry my other lovely chidren I'm happy to see you all as well)

I don't feel bloated at all and nausea is totally gone. I still feel woozy & weak and legs are a bit shaky but nothing unexpected.
as the pain killers wear off the achiness suddenly becomes quite strong pain, from feeling ok to can't talk in a matter of minutes which is surprising.

Glad you are home now and recovering so well. Well done!!

Good to hear it all went well Zing! Just caught up yesterday and today.
I had my gallbladder out about ten years ago (I was 23 I think) and DH had his out at a similar age. No long term effects.

Just go easy on the peppermint tea. It's not good for your milk supply v

Thanks MrsNuts good tip. I'll stop then.
I don't feel bloated so there's no real need.

(although I have been burping a bit, naturally)

'Try not to worry' is a good mantra

'Peppermint tea is good if you feel bloated'

'Go easy on the peppermint tea, it's not good for milk supply'

Fabulous!

Get lots of lovely sleep and baby cuddles Zing

I know Bee

I'm not allowed to lift him though for first week, he's almost a stone!
I have been lying down so much, both to nap and bf that my butt is hurting now

DH is away tomorrow night so a friend (let's call her Kate) is coming over for the night, just in case.
my mum can't drive, nor speak English so I feel safer with Kate being here in case there's an emergency.
her son is DS3's best friend, he is coming too, boys will be happy.
not sure about their behaviour, but Kate will handle them, she's done it before and she's brilliant.

pain really kicks in at times, especially after standing up for over 5 mins or going upstairs, but I'm taking painkillers regularly so it doesn't get too bad for too long.

bf is going fine.
weird to have a pillow between us (to protect me from his movements) but it's necessary.
I hate it that I can't cuddle him properly just yet or sit him on my lap to burp him etc.
I know I just need to be patient.

Found you
So glad you're doing well and you've been able to BF.

Your doing brilliantly and glad you have someone to come help. Take it easy and keep taking lots of painkillers x

I had my gallbladder out nearly 12 years ago when ds was 3 months old. I too had bad pain and was hospitalised several times.

Having it removed was the best thing. I had keyhole surgery. For a good while afterwards if I ate something too fatty I would get diarrhoea but that gradually stopped. The only thing I can't eat now is a fry up.

I remember between the pain attacks and the removal having to watch my fat consumption so much and being so afraid of another pain attack. I was so relieved when the op was done that that danger was gone.

When I do vomit now I find my stomach never empties and I end up throwing up bile and thats a bit gross. (sorry if thats tmi but thought I would be honest....)

Inks

thanks for being honest!

I don't know of CoDrydamol is supposed to make people constipated but after being worried so much about diarrhoea nothing has happened yet. not a peep

I'm guessing it's partly because of effect of GA and other drugs. And of course it doesn't mean I will be trouble free later but maybe it's a good sign? [hopeful]

the scar in my belly button is the most painful. I wonder why. it's the biggest and today looks a tiny bit swollen. There are no stitches, the skin is glued (thick layer of what looks a piece of gauze stuck on) so I can't judge scar healing. it's all clean & dry so the mild swelling is probably normal.

I downloaded the hydro app again. It's great for keeping a track of consumption of liquids - I managed 2.2 litres yesterday. pleased with that.

I'm going to sleep a bit more.

Hi zing, pleased its all gone well. And you got to bf your baby as you wanted

Also found you!!

Keep an eye on your scar, if it swells a lot or remains red and inflamed then best to get it checked, just in case.

Meant to add, glad to hear it went well and you are okay apart from that and are now home. Great news!

I don't feel very well right now.
been in bed most of the day coz I feel very dizzy/sleepy/weak again. worse than yesterday tbh.

Could that be the Codrydamol?

I'm sorry you aren't well today Zing

It could be the medication you are on (Ive never heard of it but maybe others have?) do you have a temperature or anything like that? If you did then it maybe a good idea to contact someone due to possibility of infection? Of course you might be ill from other things but it's best to make sure.

Hope you feel better soon. Take care!!

Thanks Becca

no temperature. just feeling very drowsy.
Co-Codamol does that to me too, but it makes baby sleepy as well so they prescribed CoDrydamol instead.

the effect seems to be the same as active ingredients are similar if not identical.

the bedrest carries on. after all I can't expect to be perfectly fine 2 days post-op!

I thought that had dihydrocodiene in it? That's much stronger than codiene and yes would explain your symptoms.

I'm glad you don't have a temperature!

Bed rest sounds good (and necessary) and feeling fine two days postop is a bit optimistic

yes. that rings a bell. ok then.

I just have to keep taking them and feel like I'm hungover. if day 4 is worst I expect after tomorrow/Friday I will be able to switch to paracetamol.
I'm taking nurofen as well.

I hope you feel better soon. I must admit that I didn't take any of the drugs given to me by the hospital, I only took paracetamol and ibuprofen. I was still constipated until day 4 though when I decided to try apple juice and dried apricots - not a good idea to take together...

I felt pretty good the day after my op, worse on day 2, better on day and 3 and bloody awful on day 4 when DH thought he was going to have to call an ambulance as I nearly passed out and was sick. After that I started to improve so I think it was the last of the general anaesthetic coming out of my system.

Take care and don't overdo it

Hi Zing, hope you're feeling better today?

I had my gallbladder out a year ago and whilst I never ever regret it had a few complications. Thankfully, they were easily sorted. Like a poster above, I didn't take anything stronger than para and ibuprofen.

Reckon tis the drugs that are making you feel so rough! Wishing you a swift recovery coupled with some good grub! Great time of year to have the old 'bladder oot!

oh I'm sure it is the codydramol. I've decided to take a few more doses today in between the nurofen but will start replacing it with the paracetamol from tomorrow.

the good thing about feeling woozy is that it forces me to lie down and rest so by default I can't overdo it. very cunning!

a lot of gurgling coming from my tummy. still waiting for -to put it delicately- the "hammer to fall"

my belly button scar is definitely the most sore, it looks the biggest of he four. the one nearest my right hip I don't even notice.

I managed to bf BabyZing in the normal position (across & in front of body) yesterday, with him being propped up by lots of cushions. but I'm not lifting him. I almost dropped a plate of food at lunchtime as my hands suddenly started shaking and felt weak - no way I will risk injuring him.

I don't feel hungry but will eat something soon. still in bed and plan to do stay in bed most part of the day. will progress to sitting on sofa tonight.