Gallbladder surgery- your experiences

[Applesinmyhouse]

I’ve just found out today that I’m having surgery on Monday and I’m absolutely bricking it, even though Gallbladder disease has made my life hell since January and I want the bastard thing out. May I ask your experiences? I’ve never had an operation before and I’m really scared. Also I’m struggling to remove all my piercings!

I've had many operations in my life and the two that made me feel much better very quickly were gallbladder and tonsillectomy.
With my gallbladder I had to take 4 weeks off work (due to other health conditions the gp wouldn't do any less) in all honesty I could have gone back after a week. Make sure you have some laxatives in if your taking painkillers and mobilise as much as possible without overdoing it. Eat healthily, little and often and drink plenty. It was a good decision for me.

I had my gallbladder taken out last year

It was a 70 minute surgery and after a few hours recuperation on the ward I was sent home with codeine and paracetamol and ibuprofen and a timetable of when to take those over the next four days tapering down their doses

I would say day 2 to 4 was quite painful and uncomfortable at home but far far less than six hour screaming gallbladder attacks

By Day 5 I was happy to do quick cooking and washing up and wandering around the house doing what I liked

Doing the hoovering and cleaning out kitchen cupboards etc by day seven

I only took a second week off work because they insisted it was booked

The wounds are tiny

The surgery was no problem what was more difficult is the diarrhoea I experience at sudden times depending on what I'm eating since my gallbladder has been taken out it has taken me this year to understand what I can eat and when I can eat but I don't avoid anything I'm just careful about quantity and time

Mine was taken out by keyhole surgery last year. Surgery went smoothly, as did recovery. I barely needed painkillers, though there was some discomfort when moving around or trying to get out of bed. They say you need to walk around as much as you can to aid recovery, and I did. I am able to eat pretty much what I want, although very fatty meals can cause wind and bloating.

I hope your surgery goes smoothly and wish you all the best.

I'd had 3 admissions via A&E and a bout of nasty jaundice before I had mine out.
In hosp at 7am, home by 4pm (was one of the first down), signed off work for 2 weeks though could have gone back after a week really. 4 tiny incisions that healed well.Had a bit of diahorrea in the early weeks but that settled and I could eat whatever I wanted. I was given painkillers but didn't need them. The worst part was having the staples out around my navel!
I found a soft sports type bra useful as one of the incisions was where my bra would sit on my ribcage.
No problems at all since.
Good luck!

Thank you for sharing your experiences

How long did you have to wait for surgery. I'm hearing it can be months. I feel terrible most days and suspect my GB will need to be removed.

I was lucky to be able to have it done privately on a work policy. At the time the NHS waiting list in my area was over 12 months.

I'm glad you got it sorted.

I had mine removed in my early 40's, so 15 years ago. The worst thing for me was the shoulder pain due to the gad they pump in. Other than that, I was on my hands and knees cleaning floors on day four, I got bored. Driving to pick up kids from school the next week. No issues at all with diet or consequences since. In fact used to be constipated, now perfectly normal 😁

I had to wait almost 20 months on the NHS for this.

Life changing though in the end!

I had mine done a month ago. I have honestly never felt better!

The surgery was easy, I woke up desperate for a wee though, they had to hunt around for a commode in recovery as I couldn't use the bed pan. Went in at 7am, and home just after tea.

I had one day in bed after the op, day 2 I went downstairs and watched TV and by day 3 I was up and about making lunch etc back at work after a week. The pain wasn't that bad really, I was given codeine but I get quite horrible side effects (nausea and general feeling of being unwell) so I took paracetamol and ibuprofen for a couple of days. I think by day 3 I didn't need pain relief.

Have been able to eat everything so far with no issues at all.... and I have tested it all, residual li especially enjoyed my first Chinese takeaway in 2 years 😋

Good luck, hope it goes well.