6 days post gallbladder removal

[BillyDaveysDaughter]

Mind if I move on to post-op now?

So I've got over the shock of the GA and a bad reaction to cyclizine 6 days ago, and post-op I have been extraordinarily lucky to have suffered virtually no shoulder tip pain, and only mild twinges at the gallbladder site. The incisions are already healing and the dressings are off. I can roll over in bed and sit up unaided. I drove today.

All good so far, right? I have been eating carefully and avoiding fat, and up until this morning felt no effects of all that fresh bile washing around my small intestine at liberty. I was waiting for some kind of impact, to be honest - God knows I've been a slave to me bowels long enough - but secretly hoped I would be one of those people who felt no difference at all.

This morning was my first proper loo trip since the GA (hurray) - and oh my goodness (boooo). Things started innocuously enough, but by 3pm I'd been in there 4 times.

It. Is. Bright. Orange. And it BURNS!! What monsters of biology created this lurid volcanic lava? It was doing the lambada in my colon let me tell you.

I'm trying desperately not to go down the rabbit hole of thinking I will be one of the 10% of cholecystectomees (I made that word up) who ends up never farting with confidence ever again, or has to take a complex cocktail of powders and husk and calcium supplements to ever travel more than 10 feet from the bog.

This is normal in the first few days, and sorts itself out after a while right? All I've eaten is soluble fibre - white bland food, basically...

I was the same. Settled down after a few days, though had to beg a friend to go out and buy me more loo roll as I was housebound (I had open surgery; not fun at all).

Oh that was bad luck fuckweasel - having to have open surgery I mean. Adhesions? I have been pretty lucky with all of it so far, I just hope this setback is temporary!

I'm going to have to put the loo roll in the fridge at this rate...

It was the unfortunate combination of a 5cm (!!!) gallstone and a manky heavily infected gallbladder. No prior indication it would be open surgery!

I had that too - it's grim . Mine settled down after about a week and only now returns if I have an upset stomach generally or eat something very rich like pate.

5cm, whoah! Mine was about 3cm at its widest point I think, but I didn't have any infection or anything. My keyhole incisions are tiny and neat, with hardly any bruising at all -
I'm getting more bruising at the cannula site!

Are you recovered now? Did your, erm, bathroom habits just go back to normal after a bit (sorry, personal question )?!

Oh hey Onefortheroad, did you? I didn't know it would sting so bad!!

A week, ok that sounds good...

Bathroom habits back to normal! All recovered now, though took a few months especially as my liver took a bit of a battering. Had mine out in January and scars are barely noticeable now (have keyhole scars as well as open surgery scar).

Sounds like yours was complicated! But glad you recovered well. I must admit that the constant gripey pain all around my rib cage is pleasantly absent now the damn thing has gone, so as long as my poor bowel can adapt to the influx of bile salts it'll be happy days!

Shameless bump

I am now 6 month-ish post op and it does settle... the first month i was worried, but then it gets better and 'normal'

good luck

I read that 10% of people who have the op have permanent diarrhoea afterwards so you'd have to be pretty unlucky to be one of those. I hope it clears up soon

Thanks TinyTear, that's promising. I don't work in an office, I go from client to client and spend a lot of time on the road (or on a train, or on a plane), so surprise diarrhoea and a ring of fire is not something I can deal with very easily.

If it's still playing up next week I may have restrict myself to working from home for a couple more weeks. Nothing worse than the shits in somebody elses corporate khazi.

Yes I'm hoping not to fall into that catchment of 10% Onefor. I've just eaten some porridge, so let's see what happens today...

Hope you feel better soon Billy I remember your other threads so thanks for updating. I'm due to have mine out soon but still umming and ahhing about it!

Hi Snoopy, oh do you, god I hope I'm not being too tedious haha!

I think I posted back in February or thereabouts, something like "What is this abdominal pain" - I got an avalanche of responses saying it sounded like a gallbladder issue. I'm a right health bore but that had never even occurred to me!

So since a bad attack in April I've seen a GP, had a scan within a week, results in less than 24 hrs, a consultant appointment within 3 weeks, and surgery within 18 weeks.

The NHS really has been phenomenal, I can't fault them and I'm truly grateful for getting the treatment I needed early, before I ended up with some really serious problems (like fuckweasel had).

What's making you hesitate? As much as I'm complaining about a bit of diarrhoea which is most likely temporary (fingers crossed - feeling better today), developing an infection, pancreatitis and jaundice is really nasty, highly likely with gallstones which have already started playing up, and something I'm very happy to have avoided.

Have you had many attacks of biliary pain? According to my surgeon, you rarely get an isolated attack - it could take years, but when (not if) you get another attack it will get worse and the gallbladder becomes infected, fused to the liver, all sorts of horrors can go on in there. If you have an opportunity to have the surgery before you get to that stage, I suspect they would recommend it, as would many kind MNetters who have shared their stories with me (not forgetting the lovely gallbladder surgeon Welshweasel ).

No not tedious at all I'm all for the updates I need to know what I'm letting myself in for haha!

That is really quick from the NHS for you, my first attack was a year ago and I'm still waiting for an op. I'm a bit hesitant as I've not had an attack for a couple of months and I'm thinking what if I rock the boat for nothing, but if I don't have the op then the risk of further attacks is always there as you say!

Had a few really bad attacks too but only ended up in A & E once and don't wish to repeat that

I wonder if I count as one of the 10% ?
It's not a massive problem though and wouldn't be one at all if we had more than one loo.

It took a good year for my digestive system to settle down. I would say I am generally a bit more "windy" than I used to be but maybe that's just my age! I can no longer get away with eating a really big meal like Christmas dinner without indigestion but that's probably not a bad thing for my waistline!

I have been quite amazed at how quickly mine was dealt with. I was fully expecting a "watch and wait" approach from surgeon, as although it had been a grumbling and persistent pain, I had never had the excruciating, sweating type of pain others have spoken of, and I had never had to go to A&E. Well, I spent 1 solitary night in severe pain wondering what the hell was happening!

But they seem to be fully of the view that if stones have given you even mild pain once, best whip it out quick. I wonder what the hold up is with yours?

Sorry that was to Snoopy - massive lag between starting post and actually posting, so kissed Hugo and Yumsscrum posts!

Hmm, potential for a slightly longer settling down period then. I do feel lots better today, all my "rhythms" are normal today! Might be a good sign, might be a brief interlude...

*missed. Not kissed, that's just odd.

I only knew there was a problem when I ended up in hospital on IV antibiotics when I developed cholecystitis. 16 weeks later I had surgery. I had no other attacks or pain before or after that. Nothing to indicate the massive infection brewing in my gallbladder! When I came round from surgery I wished I'd refused the operation (ended up in HDU on ketamine) but soon realised that I was extremely lucky to have had it taken out when I did. Bluntly, it could have killed me. As the OP said, I cannot fault the NHS. Surgery would have been even sooner if the waiting period wasn't over Christmas and New Year.

How are you now @BillyDaveysDaughter ?

Waiting for ate to come through for my gallbladder op. Nervous but looking forward to food again!

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Bumping to see how you're getting on Billy??