Posted on 02/20/2014 9:04:16 AM PST by taxcontrol
I just did a 3 day stint in the hospital for Pancreatitis which may be caused by gall stones. The doctor recommends that I get my gall bladder and the gall stones removed. Considering that I have good insurance, I am going to go through the procedure.
Pm me
Quack watch is funded by the trade group of the drug companies. The guy in charge is a non-practicing psychiatrist.
My sister just had this done as emergency surgery. She got through it fine, but is still recovering.
My experience:
It was a quick laparoscopic procedure. 3 small holes (like 1/4” punctures) on my upper stomach and a 1” incision on the bottom of my belly-button (where they exited the gall bladder). I have almost no scarring now. If you know right where to look, you can sort of make out the incisions.
1st day was a breeze. No ill effects or discomfort at all.
2nd day was ok. They can’t remove all of the gas/air they put in you and I felt a bit bloated.
3rd day, woke up feeling like I had done a bunch of sit-ups the day before. Not disabling pain, but uncomfortable and I was glad I was home and not travelling.
4th day was like the 1st day and it was done. No more issues after that. I never felt the need to take any pain meds or even a tylenol.
I haven’t had any problems. I was warned I may need to adjust my diet, but I haven’t changed a thing. As far as that goes, they may have given me a glass of water in the hospital instead of the cholesystectomy. I can’t tell any difference before or after.
However, I have a friend who has to take a “Nexium” pill (I think that’s what it’s called) every day after his was removed. He also has to watch what he eats as some types of food mess with him. But, it also doesn’t stop him from eating those foods when he really wants to — he just knows to expect to be gassy afterwards.
Best of luck to you!
My wife had it done several years ago and she recovered in about a week with minimal pain. However, she can’t eat any greasy foods now, or else she has to make a beeline straight to the bathroom.
Piece of cake. Had surgery at 7am went home at 6pm. Haven’t had any symptoms or anything unusual afterwards. Don’t seem to miss it. Good luck.
Been there, done that.
Went in for the doc to scope my gallbladder for stones and sediment before considering an operation. They told me that there was a 10% chance of getting pancreatitis. I won the prize... My gallbladder was so full of stones/sediment that the fluid they used when doing the scope apparently aggravated the pancreas due to stone and sediment blockage. I had to stay in the hospital until the pancreatitis subsided and then had the surgery. They started with the laparoscopic route but when they tried to pull the gallbladder out, it burst and they ended up giving me a 7 inch zipper after cleaning out my insides. Recovery sucked but I have not had another issue since. I realized in the decade or so since the surgery that my gallbladder was likely causing all sorts of problems in previous years which I no longer experience.
I had gall bladder surgery 40 years ago and things are MUCH better now. Then it was 3.5 hours on the table, in hospital for a week and off work for 6 weeks. Now it is almost an outpatient procedure.
They took 300 small stones out of my body and left me with scars that looked like I lost a sword fight.
My wife had hers removed a long time ago. The big problem is you’ll need to level out your fatty food intake, the gallbladder is where your body stores excess bile for digesting fat. If you regularly eat a lot of fatty foods your body can handle it by upping production, but if you tend to eat lean your body lowers production then if you suddenly have a fatty meal your body doesn’t have that excess. This makes for unpleasant digestion and post digestion, nothing dangerous just unhappy.
Laparoscopic surgery is a breeze. Three small incisions, covered with Band-Aids. You go home the next day with almost no pain and zero restrictions, except for what you can lift for a few weeks. I think it was nothing over 5lbs. You can drive almost immediately too. Oh, while your liver adjusts to taking over the pancreas’s job, food proceeds very rapidly through your system. I lost ten pounds.
Laparoscopic surgery is a breeze. Three small incisions, covered with Band-Aids. You go home the next day with almost no pain and zero restrictions, except for what you can lift for a few weeks. I think it was nothing over 5lbs. You can drive almost immediately too. Oh, while your liver adjusts to taking over the pancreas’s job, food proceeds very rapidly through your system. I lost ten pounds.
Recovery after the surgery was nothing compared to the gall bladder attacks themselves (which in my case, lasted many hours and were excruciatingly painful). The worst thing following the surgery was the pain I had in my right shoulder, apparently due to the nitrogen (or whatever gas they use) rising from my abdomen. But that only lasted for the first two days, and a couple of Oxycodones or whatever they gave me knocked that right out for 4 hours at a time :-) Other than that, it just felt like I had done way too many sit-ups.
I have had no side effects from the surgery, can eat whatever I want, and do not experience any of the problems some people seem to have with greasy foods, etc.
Cholecystectomy is the most commonly performed operation there is, and it is well worth not having to worry about gall bladder attacks, or the potential for pancreatitis, various cancers, etc., that can result from gallstones in the biliary tract.
My Mother had gall bladder surgery back in the early 60s. She actually came close to dying. Even after the surgeon said she was doing fine, she looked almost dead.
All of her children saw her and almost panicked us. We all went to the surgeon and he said she was fine. My oldest Sister did somehow find out that she in fact almost died.
It did make us realize just how much we loved her.
Get a second opinion from a gastro specialist. There are many situations when it is not necessary.
I had mine removed laproscopically ten years ago. No problems then or since. I can eat anything...no problems.
Had mine out a month ago. Went in at 6am was home at noon. Not much pain but had a nasty case of hiccups. They gave me a script that fixed that right up. Went back to work the next day but many say I am tougher than most so give your self a few days.
Post removal life has changed a bit. Fatty foods will sometimes pass through after a short visit but that seems to be mellowing out and happening less and less..
Some will say all you have to do is flush your gallbladdder out. I suggest you research this and talk with your doctor. I obviously passed on flushing it.
If it were me, I would avoid that surgery if at all possible... I mean unless it is the only way to save my life.
Otherwise I would use a mixture vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, and water as a way to dissolve the stones. I know this does work, but I would verify the results medically.
This is NOT medical advice from me to you. I am just sharing an opinion by way of what I would probably do in your situation.
Mrs. Hugin had gall bladder surgery about 20 years ago. There are two methods. The old fashioned method is to cut open several inches of stomach muscles and open it up. The newer method only requires a couple of small incisions, and the bladder is removed with a laprascope. Mrs. Hugin had the former because she had massive inflammation and the surgeon wanted to see what was going on. It took several weeks to heal up, and was very painful. I’ve talked to people who had the laprascopic surgery and it’s much less of an ordeal.
I felt like one of those balloons in the Thanksgiving day parade the night after the surgery. I never had any significant pain and felt pretty much back to normal in a couple of days.
That being said, after the surgery I had diarrhea every time I ate fatty food and I think that passing all of that unabsorbed fat for years may have caused my colon cancer.
Good luck. Talk to your surgeon about all the risks and benefits.
Quack watch is funded by the trade group of the drug companies. The guy in charge is a non-practicing psychiatrist.
It was just a source that had citations. If you or a loved on has had pancreatitis or cholangitis I’d recommend having the gallbag removed and an ERCP in order to make sure a stone isn’t lodged in the duct. You can actually die from an infection or complication.
Of course you can chose the cleanse or flush. Free country, etc, etc. your mileage may differ and past results are not indicative of future earnings disclaimer.
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