Hello
I am aware lots of us are in the gallstone boat , awaiting ops, post op, post diagnosis etc. There have been many threads but I wondered if we could pull them together into one support thread in which folks can tell stories and share inside knowledge?
I have my op 21st September. Pleased (NHS GP found me a fast track appointment at nearby private hospital - a route definitely worth pursuing if anyone else, like me, was pencilled in to wait nearly a year for even a consultation) but bricking it, too. I am on a few Facebook pages but not everyone on there is UK based and there is a lot of negativity. I don't mind realism but scaring people is not on.
Here are my questions!
1.What are attacks like for you? Symptoms, frequency, triggers? (my consultant seemed unconvinced that my symptoms are gb related - would love to share.)
2.What are your gallstones like? I have one 3cm stone.
3.Is the op a magic wand , or are their post op lifestyle changes and consequences I should prepare for?
4.I have read about the post op trapped wind! Do hospitals give you meds for this or do I need to buy in advance? If so , what?
5.Does anyone take regualr anti histamines? If so, do you take with Buscopan? There is very conflicting advice on this!
6.If I can't sleep the night before my op (almost 100% likely!) can I take something to help me? I ask mainly because lack of sleep triggers attacks for me and I don't want to be too sick to operate on.
7.What were people's recoveries like?
8.How soon before I can have a shower? What happens with the wounds and dressings? Is anyone else allergic to glues and plasters? This is a worry of mine.
9.When did you go back to work? What was that like? I cannot WFH , not a possibility and recuing hours also not likely to occur without adding to my workload. I'll have to set two weeks of work while I'm off as well, which is annoyingly time consuming and stressful (teacher).
10.Bras - I keep seeing people saying vest tops or bralettes. Not really an option for me as I am ample of bosom. Anyone know of supportive but suitable non wired bras?
11.What was sleep like afterwards? All the Americans bang on about recliners . I have a reclining chair but it is self powered so hard to get on and off really (requires stomach muscles). Also, I could not sleep in it at night because the room won't be dark or quiet enough!
12.Eating afterwards - what did people manage? I have a terrible relationship with food . DH can't cook , so this has to be basic easy stuff for me. He and DS can learn to fend for themselves! I am reading a few horror stories about food and eating. Low fat is not an issue for me, to be honest but if I can't drink tea, I'll cry. Did anyone gain weight afterwards? I really do not want to as have recently lost a stone. I have become terrified of eating so am hoping having the gb out will solve a lot of my anxiety around travel, lack of sleep, food.
13.How soon before driving/shopping/ lifting anything?
14.Did anyone go on a holiday after the op? How soon after? What were the travel insurance implications?
15..Any things they don't tell you that you wish they had?
16.Out of curiosity, how long did it take you for a GP to take your symptoms seriously? I'm at about the 10 year mark, maybe 6 or 7. This has been complicated by them focusing on trying to find gynae issues , which may or may not also exist, and various red herrings such as recent shingles and kidney infections. These of course were diagnosed and/or treated so the frequency of episodes was dismissed or overlooked. Annoying, it took DH's assertiveness for me to get referred for an abdo scan. I'm all for peri and menopause being taken serioulsy but it now feels like every ailment a woman has is put down to menopause. I may even have a tendency to do that myself. The pill version of HRT definitley did make my symptoms far worse, possibly coincidentally.
Feel free to answer or ask questions and share your stories!