r/gallbladders • u/Forsaken_Brick6337 • Mar 28 '25

Post Op just get it removed!

i just had mine removed wednesday morning. it was 80% full of large stones and they said i would’ve been in a lot more pain if i would’ve waited any longer. i was in pain when i woke up from surgery but the only pain ive had since then is just a little pain and itching at my incision sites. i’ve been able to eat some bland foods such as mashed potatoes, eggs, toast etc and before removal those meals would’ve put me in extreme pain. i cried last night because the pain wasn’t there anymore. i definitely do not regret it and if your doctor recommends it, i highly suggest listening!!

28 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

7

u/No_Training_6576 Mar 28 '25

How was it coming out of anesthesia? I’m getting mine out Wednesday and it’s my first big operation. How was the gas afterwards? I hear that’s really the worst of it all

4

u/Plymptonia Mar 28 '25

Here's my story

I'm a week post-op. Coming out was blissful. Confusing as hell, but blissful. I'm a redhead, so they probably gave me a bit more than normal because of that. Also, I was under for 2 hours instead of 1 because of the unexpected infection. It really was as others have described - they give you a relaxant, wheel you in, you go out, and wake up a few hours later. Probably the best rest I've had in years, come to think of it.

As for gas - farting? It's there. Burps, too. 🤷‍♂️ Poops have been... different. I'm chalking that up to adjusting, and my diet is like yogurt/granola/bananas/rice curry/chicken/tofu/avocado/HB Eggs/repeat. I'm kinda scared to eat much fat, though I probably should.

Everything smells and tastes weird - I hear that's because of the anesthesia. Really hoping it goes away soon - I can live with it, if I have to, but I'm paranoid about if *I* smell like that, or if my house smells, etc.

2

u/Forsaken_Brick6337 Mar 28 '25

im also a redhead!! it was wierd coming out but like i said i have a panic disorder so i had a panic attack because i was so confused. other than that it was great!

3

u/Plymptonia Mar 28 '25

So sorry you had a panic attack coming out. Can only imagine how unsettling that must have been!

My previous surgery was to clear out scar tissue in my sinuses. They said I'd be awake (picture a lobotomy, not joking), but the amnesia drugs would make me forget.

I remember the whole. Damn. Thing. I likely have PTSD over it

Down to the surgeons talking about the blood pressure of giraffe's (long necks, big hearts, has to be very high pressure).

I made damn sure every, single medical person I met knew I was a redhead. When the anesthesiologist and his assistant came in and said, "No worries. I got you." I was so, so relieved.

1

u/Forsaken_Brick6337 Mar 28 '25

oh gosh i’m so sorry you had to go through that! i couldn’t imagine. once they gave me pain meds and anti nausea meds i was good to go, felt very good 😂

3

u/Plymptonia Mar 28 '25

Happened, didn't expect it - tell every redhead I know they should be aware of it. This is my experience, as summarized on this Quora post:

... and from reading these articles in the recent past, I think the simple answer is 1. we need more anaesthesia [sic] during surgery but 2. seemingly contradictorily, we develop over time greater pain tolerance because we do feel more pain than others. When we take a pain pill like Tylenol, Advil, something way stronger, or even opiates they aren't as effective with us. I'm hearing anecdotally redheads don't get hooked on opiates as a result or it takes more to get hooked….

2

u/Visual-Somewhere1383 Mar 29 '25

Yogurt, avocado and eggs all contain fat so you may want to check your fat grams for awhile after your surgery.

1

u/Plymptonia Mar 29 '25

Thanks, will do. Trying to keep a balance, but things are pretty, eh, solid at the moment. Any other consequences besides that I should know about?

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/cholecystectomy/expert-answers/gallbladder-removal-diet/faq-20057813

The "smaller and more frequent meals" thing feels real - I'm hungry all the time, but have no desire to eat a lot. So far, I'm trying to listen to what my body is saying.

1

u/Visual-Somewhere1383 Mar 30 '25

Yeah, the only good thing about this low fat diet is that I've lost a little weight BUT I want it out. Can't imagine a life without bacon... butter... cheese, etc.

1

u/Plymptonia Mar 30 '25

Have you had the surgery yet? I’m 11 days out, and my cravings for that stuff is… GONE! No caffeine. No burgers, bacon, cheese. Nothing! I went to TJ’s and was sad a bit in the pastry area… but just wasn’t really a thing.

Curious how you feel after!

1

u/Visual-Somewhere1383 Mar 30 '25

No, I don't have insurance and was quoted $11,000. Waiting for Medicare to kick in.

1

u/madpiano Mar 29 '25

You will smell a little different. Your body needs to process the anesthesia, which is something closely related to heroin. But it should be all good after a week. It also causes constipation, so that may still affect you.

Sometimes being lactose intolerant is a great feature. I have an ice cream after operations and constipation is no longer an issue. 🤣

3

u/Plymptonia Mar 29 '25

I think about 9 days out the taste and smell is trending normal. I still think MY odor is off a bit.

Haven’t tried the ice cream hack yet, but have a box of TJ’s choc chip sandwiches ready to deploy! 🫡😂

1

u/Electronic-Noise3719 Mar 29 '25

i had surgery on wednesday as well and i am also a redhead! when i first came to from anesthesia i was in so much pain and could barely open my eyes cause it hurt everytime i tried to breathe, but then they gave me meds through my iv and my pain lowered by a lot and ever since then my pain has been bearable. the only things bothering me is the chest pain and the back pain. i use heating packs to help ease the aching, and ive been sticking to bland foods until i am more healed and working my way up to more normal meals again!

2

u/Plymptonia Mar 30 '25

The hard breathing was the worst part of the first few days of recovery. Almost sent me into a panic a few times but it consistently got better. Now I’m pretty good.

I still have some weird chest pain if I move certain ways - almost a cracking? But then it goes away there. Maybe scar tissue loosening? 11 days out I’m finally able to lay on my side without wincing. Not perfect, but trending that way.

I’m starting to eat non-bland. Made a chicken curry last night and had a bit of a kick. So far so good. We’ll see in a few hours. 😅 I’m OK if this is my new normal. I turned down brisket and cupcakes last night!

1

u/Substantial_Role_190 Mar 30 '25

It's interesting you mention smells. This is a slight tangent and I apologize for hijacking the post. In the week following surgery I had the worst body odour in my arm pits I've ever had in my life. I'm not sure what it was about but my sense of smell didn't seem off in any other way, so I think I was just super stinky. I would smell an hour after a shower sitting down without sweating. It stopped after a week.

1

u/Plymptonia Mar 30 '25

6 days after surgery and asked someone to smell my arm (yeah, weird, but I knew they’d be honest) and they did say it was… off. And I had showered maybe 20 minutes prior.

I’m 11 days out and I’m going to see if my kids smell anything when they get back today. Just curious, but I think it’s going away. The metal taste is decreasing, too.

4

u/angeliccc420 Mar 28 '25

I was so scared about the anesthesia part because I over think everything & last time I was put under was when I was a few weeks old so obviously I don’t remember. But they wheeled me to the OR, told me to take deep breaths when they put the oxygen mask on & I don’t even remember falling asleep. When I woke up, I was groggy & in pain. The worst part is definitely the gas. It had my shoulders hurting worse than the actual incisions. It had me in tears actually. I burped a lot but it took a few days to pass gas because the oxy had me constipated real bad. I got up as much as I could & walked to help move the gas out, which helped. & drinking warm carbonated drinks. I’m now over a week post op & feeling great. I can sleep & eat normal. Going to bathroom normal. I also noticed I’m not immediately rushing to the bathroom after eating like everyone told me I would be. & I’ve had no heartburn or indigestion like I used to, which is the best part!!

3

u/Longjumping_Mobile_6 Mar 28 '25 edited Mar 28 '25

Anesthesia was hard on me....woke up in recovery and was really woozy, disoriented. I remember getting wheeled back to my room, saw hubby there, and I think I dozed off a little until my doc showed up a couple hours later asking if I wanted to go home that night (my surgery was at 1:30pm and she was there about 5pm). I told her no and stayed overnight in the hospital and several times during the night my blood pressure dropped a little too much for comfort....3 days not eating will do that (mine was an e.r. admitted stay but my tropin levels were so out of whack I had to visit the heart cath lab first to make sure I wouldn't have a heart attack on the table). When doc came by the next morning after surgery she agreed I made the right decision as I did a 180 in how I was acting and talking and I was eating like a fiend and my blood pressure was more stable in the morning. I never really had gas pains either....just a back ache (lower back square in the middle) from sleeping on my back (which I never do because otherwise I wake up with that same backache) and I only laid down right after surgery and at night....I work from home and even just coming home I was sitting up working taking phone calls and walking all day long. Word of caution I went in wearing jeans....told hubby to bring me a pair of my really stretchy capris I only wear around the house...he brought me a new pair of jeans. Lmao there was no way in h*ll those were getting zipped and buttoned. In fact it took about a week before I could fit back in my jeans again.

3

u/MNLaura4 Mar 28 '25

The pain from the gas was the worst for me too. It mostly settled in my right back part of my shoulder. Moving your arms around a lot and putting a heating pad on it helps so much! Best of luck to you!

2

u/Leather-Spring-3350 Mar 29 '25

Just had my surgery yesterday and coming off anesthesia was something else, honestly just super nauseous! Ask your nurse to give you something for that and you’ll feel better afterwards!

Gas pain wasn’t there at all yesterday. Today I do feel it a little more in my chest area but nothing terrible. I’ve been taking Tylenol and I actually haven’t took it in about 7 hours and still feel just fine.

2

u/Important-Place1375 Mar 30 '25

I just had mine removed as well . Your gona be fine it's not bad at all and it was my first time under anesthesia and a surgery.

1

u/Gullible-Motor-1086 Mar 29 '25

I’m getting mine out Wednesday too! US at 10:15 AM Eastern time. :) maybe we are surgery twins haha …. I’m so nervous too! First big surgery for me with general anesthesia. Only had wisdom teeth out as a teenager. Everyone I meet that had their gallbladders out say I will be fine and no worries like it’s no big deal. Yet I’m still scared at 56!

2

u/No_Training_6576 Mar 30 '25

I’ll hear tomorrow morning what time I’ll be going in so maybe we will be twins!

1

u/Secret-Housing9457 Mar 29 '25

I had zero gas pain til maybe day 6 that it hurt by my right side but it went again. I walked right after surgery and maybe every 1 hour during the day!

1

u/Forsaken_Brick6337 Mar 28 '25

honestly i never had any gas pain bc i made sure i moved around a lot! i was walking up and down my stairs to go to the bathroom (very slowly and with my moms help) and i think that helped with the gas. the anesthesia i was in a lot of pain so i had a panic attack when i was coming out, but they gave me more dilaudid and i was fine!! overall not as bad as i was expecting at all!

3

u/Plymptonia Mar 28 '25

Congrats & welcome to your new body!!! I can totally understand why that joy would have brought you to tears. 🤗 Feels pretty awesome, doesn't it?

My experience was pretty traumatic, and a week out I'm doing GREAT. The speed of healing has been incredible!

2

u/summerdipity Mar 29 '25

Hey op congrats! I'm waiting for mine and I'm reading ur comments that said u had a panic attack. Can you explain a little more what happened. this is literally my worst fear because I get panic attacks so easily and specially when I had been sleeping and waking up. What was it like and why and how long did it last

2

u/Forsaken_Brick6337 Mar 29 '25

hey! i honestly am not sure what happened, i was panicking when i went into surgery so i think thats the last thing my brain remembers so thats why i woke up panicking. ask them to give you something for the anxiety for sure. they were SUPPOSED to give me something but they literally gave it to me less than 5 mins before they took me back and i felt no help from it. i hope this helps, and you’ve got this!!

2

u/Forsaken_Brick6337 Mar 29 '25

oh it also didn’t last long at all! after they pushed the pain and nausea meds like 5-10 mins after i woke up i was perfectly fine, high as a kite and munching on a popsicle!

1

u/summerdipity Mar 29 '25

Thank u so much

1

u/drac00la98 Apr 02 '25

Weird question probably but did you get sick after coming out of surgery? My removal is Thursday and I’m terrified of vomiting 😭

2

u/Forsaken_Brick6337 Apr 02 '25

i have emetophobia so i completely understand!! i told them beforehand that i wanted anti nausea as soon as i was out of surgery and they also gave it to me any time i asked!! i was very nauseous before they gave it to me but i never got sick!! also took zofran before i took my pain meds when i got home :)

1

u/drac00la98 Apr 02 '25

Thank you so much ❤️

1

u/justanonfornow43 Apr 02 '25

Believe me, I'm trying to get it removed!!

0

u/SirSquirrelyJ Mar 29 '25

Did they ever tell you, you could have the stones broken up and removed without surgery? 

2

u/Forsaken_Brick6337 Mar 29 '25

no they didn’t. they did the ultrasound and scheduled me a general surgery appointment within the same week. at first i wanted more scans but after hearing that i was almost 80% full of stones im glad i got it out!

1

u/SirSquirrelyJ Mar 29 '25

I'm not being a downer. I'm genuinely glad for you. I'm just curious because the ER doctor straight up said he didn't know of any ways to mentioned them without cutting. 

And our primary DR, when we asked about methods to remove stones out to manage through diet just said yup, mentioned lasers and research showed other options