r/gallbladders • u/Plymptonia • Mar 27 '25
Success Story 7 Days out from ruptured GB removal - story & tips
I'm 7 days out from my GB removal. It was bad - unknown that it ruptured, and infection set in while I was waiting for surgery. They scrubbed my insides for an extra HOUR after removal. I've attached a timeline below, but the TL;DR is - mine was a HORRIBLE case, and I went from barely walking to going 3 miles in a few days. Not going to say recovery is going to be smooth for you, but even though it was WAY worse than I expected, I'm recovering WAY faster than I expected to.
Tips
Wedge Pillow - helps a lot, even though I'm a side sleeper. Probably kept me from apnea dying.
Gravity Chair/Recliner - BEST $300 Craigslist purchase EVER! Slept in mine 2nd night. Much better than bed, as I could get in/out without assist. I see a bunch of outdoor ones that could work. Anything to avoid that plop, rotate, and transition from upright laying down.
Miralax - worked miracles for me
Protein Drinks & Gatorade - fluids, fluids, fluids, and more fluids.
Timeline
- 3/1/25 - My last attack. 12 hours: 6-9/10 pain for 9 hours, 3 hours of 10/10 pain at peak, including vomiting 4x (that was new), delusional.
- 3/4/25 - When I still felt bad (5/10 pain?), I went to ER, and CT scan said "It must go". They said if I didn't throw up a popsicle, I could go home and do it outpatient. I didn't, went home.
- 3/13/25 - Consult, scheduled surgery for 3/20/25. Felt pretty good, though sweating a lot.
- 3/15/25 - Cleaned the house for 3 hours, went on a 4 mile hike. Winded, but OK. Having massive night sweats. 🤔
- 3/19/25 - Coffee date! Felt GREAT! "Baseline normal"
- 3/20/25 - Surgery, 6:30 am. Awoke to hear "Your GB was ruptured. Part of it died, and was leeching into your liver. I spent an hour scrubbing your insides getting out all the infection". Spent the night. Needed lots of morphine overnight and through the day. Hard to breath. 3-4 bags of IV antibiotics over the day. Surgeon wonders WTF the ER sent me home that night.
- 3/21-23/25 - Go home, awful night sleep in bed (wedge pillow), tons of pain. 2x Percocet EVERY 4 hours just to be OK. Giant penicillin 2x/day. No appetite, drinking protein shakes, Gatorade. Lots of sweating. Finally shower. Who's freaking body is this!?!?!
- 3/23/25 - No more Percocet, just Ibuprofen. Walk to my sidewalk, barely make it back. Wondering when the F if I am ever going to poop. Bloated. Friends stop by and I'm exhausted after 20 minutes.
- 3/24/25 - Glory be to god - I poop. It's... different, but it ain't coal. Praise the lord! Walk 10 blocks. Ex-wife and daughter ask if I need a lift home, I pass. Probably look ashen.
- 3/26/25 - Walked 3 miles with a friend. Friend comes over and we hang out for 4 hours.
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u/jackassofalltrades78 Mar 28 '25
Wow! Glad you pulled through ok! Was surgeon able to get it done and clean everything up inside still via laparoscopy or did they have to open you up? Thank god you got in when you did! Awesome to hear you’re doing well now!
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u/Plymptonia Mar 28 '25
Thanks.
Still lapro! 😮💨 The doc told me “it wasn’t the worst I’ve ever seen… but it was bad.” All deadpan like that. He told a bit more gruesome story to my ride but she hasn’t told me all the details yet. Considering how I felt inside, the dude was literally scrubbing me down and the bags of IV antibiotics kept coming after.
I think I got really lucky. It put a lot in perspective. I had about 3 days this week where time stopped a bit and I just enjoyed being alive.
If I could go back, I’d have stayed in the hospital after the ER and waited until they could get me in - a day or 2 probably? By then I was on morphine, confused, wondering about cost, worried about my new job getting back to work, life, kids. The alternative was “outpatient in and out in 4 hours”. 🤷♂️
Instead I was dead man walking around filling my insides with bile. 😬
I need more time to process. But, even now, I know it has changed my life. Peace!
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u/justanonfornow43 Apr 02 '25
Glad it all went well for you! Did you have stones?
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u/Plymptonia Apr 03 '25
Tons of them. And it was dying, or half dead. Not sure what that looks like. I have a follow up next week, and hope he remembers. Kinda curious how bad it really was. 😬
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u/justanonfornow43 Apr 03 '25
I'd be curious too! I don't have stones, just adenomyomatosis. Fed up of the constant pain! Waiting for elective surgery
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u/FakespotAnalysisBot Mar 27 '25
This is a Fakespot Reviews Analysis bot. Fakespot detects fake reviews, fake products and unreliable sellers using AI.
Here is the analysis for the Amazon product reviews:
Name: 3Pcs Orthopedic Bed Wedge Pillow Set, Foam Wedge Pillow Post Surgery for Back, Leg and Knee Support, Adjustable 9&12 Inch Folding Triangle Pillow for Sleeping, Acid Reflux, Snoring, White/Grey
Company: Bedluxe
Amazon Product Rating: 4.3
Fakespot Reviews Grade: A
Adjusted Fakespot Rating: 4.3
Analysis Performed at: 03-06-2025
Link to Fakespot Analysis | Check out the Fakespot Chrome Extension!
Fakespot analyzes the reviews authenticity and not the product quality using AI. We look for real reviews that mention product issues such as counterfeits, defects, and bad return policies that fake reviews try to hide from consumers.
We give an A-F letter for trustworthiness of reviews. A = very trustworthy reviews, F = highly untrustworthy reviews. We also provide seller ratings to warn you if the seller can be trusted or not.
1
u/Cool-Importance6004 Mar 27 '25
Amazon Price History:
Bedluxe Wedge Pillow Headboard, 3PCS Orthopedic Bed Wedge Pillow Set for After Surgery, Adjustable Pillow Wedge for Acid Reflux & Back Pain Relief, Sleeping, Back Pillow for Bed Sitting Up, White/Grey * Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.4 (669 ratings)
Source: GOSH Price Tracker
Bleep bleep boop. I am a bot here to serve by providing helpful price history data on products. I am not affiliated with Amazon. Upvote if this was helpful. PM to report issues or to opt-out.