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

Hi, I've just seen this thread, but thought I'd add a few words.

I had my gall-bladder out on 12th November, nearly 2 years ago. I'd had symptoms for nearly 30 years but had pushed them away, having been told it might be stress, so tried not to focus on them.

Unfortunately, I did a little too much when I came home 3 days after the operation and ended up with 2 hernias on the mid-line, between 2 little incisions. Ouch! and then some. I was given 4 Ixprim a day (Tramadol) a day, but no warning about the side effect of constipation. D'oh! Had no dietary advice, either. Due to the constipation, I tried everything, including really hot curries, lentil dahls etc.

After 10 days, I went to the doctor, who nearly cried laughing - in a nice way - and prescribed me something called transipeg, which is rather like movicol. It worked.

The other thing is that I had experienced problems with unpredictable diahorrea, and last year had a colonoscopy. During this, they found an intestinal polyp which was removed. Since then, I've not had any more problems.

I also found it rather uncomfortable to wear clothes like jeans, so lived in leggings for a while until the scar was more comfortable.

Hope you, and everyone else who has this operation recovers well.

The only thing I've noticed is a sort of clenching feeling inside, around the scar when I'm rather stressed. Not sure if my surgeon was the best, so perhaps I've got a small adhesion in the muscles, but would rather leave it be.

Thanks tb

I have started to become a bit more regular

in fact I thought I'd go for broke and test it out - I had 3/4 pizza last night and nothing I had previously feared happened!
so despite being only 12 days post op I think maybe I can relax about diarrhoea. it's not happened so far, I don't think it's likely to start off now.

one thing I noticed that my stomach makes very loud gurling noises at times. bit odd but really not a problem.

scars are healing nicely. I took steristrips off of 3 smaller scars yesterday before shower and checked belly button scar today. It's not covered atm, but a bit of the skin is quite sensitive so might keep it covered.

If I can manage it I will drive to church tomorrow morning. I feel ok to drive now.
still feel exhausted, but not in pain generally.

Zing darling, glad everything is working properly and you're feeling better.

But, you still feel exhausted so don't do more than is necessary.

If you don't have to drive, don't.

Thanks Bee

It looks like I'm just hanging about like a lazy couch potato, but, however frustrating it is to hold back I'm not a fool (who knew? ) and I won't push anything.

Glad you are recovering so well, don't overdo it though.

Back to the doctor for me tomorrow see if there is any work left in me.Part of me is happy as it means its not just me and the dogs all day another part is eeek work how am I gonna get through a full day.I work in primary the kids are the height of my still sore middle. Maybe I should ask for year 6 they are all taller than me!

I doubt very much that it looks like that Zing.

Have a good week

Could you wear a rubber swimming ring cloud?

Maybe not so good for your credibility?

cloud

how's your week been? I hope you're not in as much pain anymore

I feel well and eager to get things done, but my body is clearly not ready as I'm still exhausted.
I had to have big naps on Tue & Wed.
I've been driving since Monday, no problem and I can eat everything.
I have put on a couple of pounds since op, which is not surprising, given I don't need to be careful.
but just yesterday someone complimented on how slim I looked (well, compared to 9 months pg when she last saw me ) so I'm aware that I have to reign it in.
I have now "caught up" with my favourite treats so I'm ok not having them again for a while.

although I don't have digestion issues as I had feared I noticed 2 things - I have wind more often and about half an hour after eating something very high in fat and/or sugar I do feel a little bit sick. not horrible, just uncomfortable mild nausea.
I think I'm better off avoiding those foods for a little longer, and if I really can't resist I will just have a small amount - see if that makes a difference.

my belly button is still sore, but otherwise I'm painfree.
I'm so glad it all turned out ok. phew

So glad you're doing well zing

I had my ultrasound on Friday and.... No gallstones! So no idea what was going on but hopefully I won't get any further issues.

Hope you have had a good weekend Zing, are you getting plenty of rest, difficult I know with small children.

Hope you continue to recover during the week, take it easy whenever you can.

All

yes, thanks, we had a good weekend! had friends over yesterday which was lovely.
MrZing and I talked more about house extension and started designing floor plan. all the things we want won't work. it's a very frustrating challenging activity atm.

I feel ok, it's weird that op was only 3 weeks - feels much longer.
I lifted DD up a few times (about 15 kgs?). I can do it, but I'm really not supposed to lift her for at least another 3 weeks.

my mum's here till Sunday so schoolruns are easy this week as I can leave the two youngest with her.
But next week will be tricky, I just won't be able to push double pushchair (same as after C-section, they warn you not to lift anything really heavy for 3 months).
so I have organised help with afternoon school pick ups - which means I can drive and park in front of junior school (DS3 & DS4) and each day someone different will walk DS5 there from infant's. (other two walks out on their own to car so I don't have to lift anything/anyone).
I think I'll have to keep that arrangement till Christmas. people don't mind helping, they have kids at both schools and walk that direction anyway, but I'm paranoid about lifting and causing a problem that will set back recovery (or cause pain or injury).

Nancy
I'm glad you haven't got gallstones but it's puzzling that there's no answer to what caused pain. are there any tests or an MRI they could do? are you still in pain? hope not

Hello all, glad everyone seems to be healing ok.

From your experiences, how long do you think you've been out of action for? I mean house bound and bed bound etc?

And I hadn't realised about picking up heavy stuff - my ds (4.5 yrs) bedtime routine has become 'fall asleep in my bed & then I carry him asleep to his room so I can get comfy in bed. I know it's not ideal, but it's a step forwards from cosleeping and he's had a rough time and needs to be close to me.

But sounds like I won't be able to pick him up for ages? Arggghhh...