Gallbladder removal - pain relief after op

[OwlBeBack]

I'm due to have my gallbladder out soon (keyhole op).

Does anyone who has had this op know if painkillers will be provided on discharge by the hospital or will I be expected to get my own? I'm trying to plan ahead as I'm a lone parent and need to be prepared!

I have gall stones and know the awful pain they cause depending on when your op is ask your doc for Omeprazol that will keep the pain at bay.

Omperazole isn't an analgesic and a lot of gall bladder PTs don't need it, it can help with one of the painful symptoms but acid isnt one everyone gets. Always worth asking for though especially if they give you something like ibuprofen or naproxen (we dont here but I'm not sure what other hospitals do)

I was discharged with paracetamol and diclofenac (plus ranatidine to avoid stomach problems). I also had antibiotics, but that was due to my manky, infected gallbladder that necessitated open surgery!

I was discharged with tramadol (private op if that makes any difference).
I needed tramadol for several days and like others was exhausted after it. Took me a couple of weeks to feel normal.

As for diet, I can eat what I want really. I was told just to be careful at first but then eat anything that I felt up to.

I followed a low carb high fat diet before mine was removed and after a couple of weeks returned to it. Some people have problems with fat, I don't. Try it and see, but introduce things slowly, your digestive system takes a while to adjust to no gallbladder and the operation itself.

I was sent home with paracetamol and codine, but already had tramadol and morphine from before, didn't need it though, pain after the first 24 hours was quite manageable. Although I was drugged up on tramadol for 3 weeks before my op, so it was relative!

Paracetamol from the NHS is horrid though, the cheap stuff that is chalky and hard to swallow. Buy your own and refuse the NHS stuff.

I second the poster who warned of the tiredness. I had to rest and take naps for about a week. I also discovered I had an allergy to I brufon, it's not something I ever took or my parents had in the house as my sister was badly allergic. My face and lips swelled up so bad.
To be honest I was surprised at the post op pain, I found it terrible for two days but it subsided very quickly after and I stopped taking painkillers after about day 4. I did have a complication. I developed sepsis from the site of the canular in my hand which infected my vein and spread. That was way worse than the op itself.
It was all well worth it though as I have been pain free ever since.

Just wanted to give my sympathies on your current attack but the operation is so completely worth it and soon you won't have to go through this ever again!
My gall bladder flared up when my youngest baby was 1 week old, I was recovering from the CS when this horrendous pain started one afternoon, it still makes me feel sick to think of it!
Good luck with the op, hope you get through this evening ok!

Standard procedure in my hospital is that you have to buy your own paracetamol and ibuprofen and nothing else is provided. I think that's a bit mean so I always give patients codeine to take home (they still have to buy the others).

You can eat whatever you like after the op (although a small number of people have trouble digesting large amounts of fatty food in one go, it gives them diarrhoea, which usually improves over time anyway).

I got tramadol which was the only thing that worked for me.

During my first attack, I asked about fat free diet and was told it was up to me; it helped some people and not others.
Was discharged with no pain relief the day after surgery and I took the occasional paracetamol. The tiredness was a real surprise - needed a nap every day for about 2 weeks and then fine; in fact I remember feeling I had so much more energy than before.

No mention of dietary restrictions on discharge and I haven't had any problems as all - although I didn't before surgery either.
Best of luck!

I had mine out last year. Paracetamol was prescribed but to be honest I hardly had any pain.