# Gallbladder surgery



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Well, 2cm is less than an inch, so I guess they 'll get them out , even through a smaller incision. 

I don't have any advice at all. I just saw your post and remembered how frustrating it had been for you with the mysterious weight gain. I do hope that after this you come out feeling young and fit again. Keep us updated, ok?


----------



## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Tiny, my doctor seems to think that the weight gain was due, in part if not in whole, to the borderline diabetes. However, because of the gallstones, I've lost about 10lbs in the last three weeks. Not drastic, but considering how steady I've held since the beginning of the year, it's a start. I've had people at work who hadn't seen me for a couple of weeks (the one that comes to mind was on vacation) commenting on the weight I've lost. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

Never had gall bladder surgery, so can't help with that, but I'm glad that you have an answer to what caused the weight gain, I hope the diet and the surgery has you fighting fit again before to long.


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I lost 16 lbs and no one noticed~!


----------



## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

No one believes I'm the size/weight I am to begin with, Tiny. Even my mom thought I was exaggerating until I showed her the tag in my jeans. Part of my exasperation is that all the weight I've lost (or so it feels like) has been in my legs and face. It's like I've lost a pant size in my waist, but three pant sizes in my legs.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

most important is to get that sugar/insulin ratio in balance, since it has so many diverse health issues.

Don't they sometimes use ultrasound to break up gall stones and hope the person passes them naturally (painfully, tho). or am I confusing that with kidney stones?


----------



## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

That's kidney stones. Lol. 

I'm actually pretty good about taking my Metformin in the mornings and I've been working at eating less sugar (big deal for me...I don't eat a ton of sugar, but I do like my ice cream every once in a while and kool aide or some such [I don't drink soda]).
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Cacowgirl (Feb 19, 2011)

My DH had his gall bladder out a little over a year ago-it was an emergency surgery due to infection, not stones. Lots of pain before they got the morhphine in him,he was in the hospital for a few days afterwards w/a drain. He healed fine & w/no dietary restrictions. Take care of those sugar levels & hope the weight continues downwards. Hope you like your W/E trip-I live about 4 miles east of your turn-off to the mountains.


----------



## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

We should stop by and say "Hey!", Cacowgirl! Lol

I'm doing really good with trying to eat healthier and not as much sugar. Also cutting way down on fatty foods.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I'm both diabetic and I've had gallbladder surgery. By the time I had the surgery I was ready for him to do it on the exam table in his office without anesthesia, I was having a LOT of pain. I was orange by the day of the surgery, after the surgery by the time I left the recovery suite my color was coming back to normal. I was laid up for about 3 or 4 days, except for the 'minor' incident of the broken water pipe flooding my feed shed. I wasn't supposed to lift over 5 lbs and went to feed the horses and discovered that a broken water pipe had flooded my feed shed. I had just brought in a load of hay, so tossed all the hay out of there (100 lb bales in So. Cal.)..OOOPS! Anyhow I hardly missed any work, just had desk duty and weight restrictions for a while. Main thing is, the tiny bit of discomfort I had after the surgery was NOTHING To the pain I was having before! Piece of cake. 

Watch the Metformin for gastric upset. I was on it for a time and ended up having such a bad reflux attack that my husband thought I was having a heart attack (post gallbladder surgery by 4 or 5 years). I'm now on a different medication and haven't had a problem since I changed.


----------



## nvr2many (Jan 18, 2011)

I am very glad to hear you are finding things out and going to get it fixed! But at same time sorry you have to go through this. You really are encouraging me to get in and get my check up. I have been putting it off!


----------



## SouthernTrails (Dec 19, 2008)

.

Had GB surgery about a year ago, took 4-5 days to recover completely.

New diet consists of fewer carbonated drinks, huge cutback in greasy/fatty and smoked meats.

Another key to eliminating some of the usual problems after GB surgery is to have 4 or 5 very small meals instead of the usual 3 meals. 

.


----------



## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Dreamcatcher, I'm already experiencing some reflux, which I think is partly from the gallstones, but more from the Metformin. So not fun.

I'm glad the recovery isn't bad. I don't know what they're gonna do at work if I have restrictions. The weight thing isn't a huge deal (just means I won't be able to empty the wash bucket, really), but I do a lot of bending and stretching.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## SouthernTrails (Dec 19, 2008)

DraftyAiresMum said:


> Dreamcatcher, I'm already experiencing some reflux, which I think is partly from the gallstones, but more from the Metformin. So not fun.
> 
> I'm glad the recovery isn't bad. I don't know what they're gonna do at work if I have restrictions. The weight thing isn't a huge deal (just means I won't be able to empty the wash bucket, really), but I do a lot of bending and stretching.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I would say, you will not be driving or doing even office work for 2-3 days.

My surgery took about 30 minutes, from time they gave me anesthesia to time they woke me up.

The made 4 very tiny holes, the main one in the belly button. It is amazing how something so quick and seaminly simple can put you out of commission for so long :lol:

.


----------



## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

I think it depends on the person too. I had gallbladder surgery (FULL of gallstones, gallbladder was 3 x its normal size and working at 2% by the time of surgery) last February, and it took me 5-6 days to feel 'normal' again. I went back to school for a half day on my 5th day and I was hurting at the end of that. They had to make two incisions on me, one through my belly button and one on my side. The one on my side was nothing, though I do have a scar from it. My belly button was about 2", in a cresent shape. I was black and blue there for a little while and I did have to stay at the hospital two days instead of one because I got a bit of a fever and threw up (WORST EVER) but once I was home I was fine. The worst part I remember was sitting up by myself the first few times. 

If they are just removing the stones and not the gallbladder it self, I'd think you won't have too much pain. You can't ride for 6 weeks though.

As for what to expect after your surgery, in your gallbladder is actually being taken out, don't eat anything with spice. To this day it still hurts me, and at least for the first few weeks, don't eat anything with more than 5g of fat or so.

I wasn't eating at ALL and had lost 14 pounds (only weighed 95 to begin with) before having mine out, so the surgery was a relief. I've found though, that in the last 6 months instead of getting better, I've been having a LOT of liver problems lately, because my liver isn't being regulated by my GB anymore, so it is creating MUCH more bile than it should be. This causes a lot of small intestine irritation for me, as well as severe acid reflux (I take 80g of a high power anti acid daily) and I'm very limited on what I can eat. Citric acid bothers me, spice bothers me, fat bothers me, great bothers me, and I've become severely lactose intolerant as well. I also developed 3 food allergies after having the surgery but I'm hoping that was a coincident.

Still, I don't have the same pain anymore so I'm grateful for that at least.

Now that I've scared you(sorry!) please don't worry too much. It sounds like for the majority of people the surgery really isn't too bad. I have a LOT of health problems that complicated my case so stories like mine really aren't too common I think.


----------



## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Endiku, I'm not generally a worrier, so no harm, no foul. They are removing the whole gallbladder, not just the stones, though (I also have a moderate thickening of the gallbladder wall).

Stuff that I've found I can't eat/drink so far includes:
-Milk (I'm ok with cheese, ice cream, and yogurt)
-Bacon *cry*
-Red meat (I can eat a little, as long as it isn't overly fatty)
-Gatorade (got sent home from work cuz I drank a small bottle of red Gatorade [slowly...didn't chug it] and started throwing up red everywhere)
-Overly sweet things (ate a donut the other day and thought I was gonna die)

I'm not a fan of spicy foods and I've never been able to drink carbonated drinks.

As I sit here at my boyfriend's family reunion (he's playing horseshoes) right now, I'm suffering through an "attack." My side is beyond throbbing, I have a headache, and my stomach feels hollow (we snacked [on healthy stuffs] the entire three hour drive to the campground). Meh.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

Try some turkey bacon. It has way less fat and even I can handle it. Funny though, I can't eat very sugary things either because it gives me a migraine, and Gatorade makes me throw up as well. Cinnamon, or even the smell of cinnamon, has the same affect. I'm sick for the entire day after smelling it.

When my stomach was feeling like it was going to eat itself, I ate 4-5 saltine crackers with some water. It helps a little bit to buffer the stomach. Make sure that you don't take any excedrine, asprin, etc., or anything if you can help it, that will make your pain worse.


----------



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

What you can't tolerate now may not be the same after the surgery. What you can eat then will be all trial and error. You may find that by eating small meals that you are more comfortable. It takes a while for the system to adjust. I was warned nothing strenuous for 6 weeks, no driving because of the lbs per sq in. when applying the brake pedal. When the gall bladder is removed, things have to be rearranged to accommodate it's absence. The admonishment I got was "you may be healed on the outside but not on the inside?"


----------



## totalfreedom (Nov 23, 2009)

It is possible to get the stones out without the surgery. Google liver flush. It will take some consistency and effort to get all the stones out, but if you want to keep your gallbladder it is worth it. 

Malic acid will also slowly dissolve the stones. Malic acid is in higher concentrations in apple skins.......I think it's the green apples that have the most. You can also get malic acid in a tincture. There is also an herb called chanca piedra that will dissolve stones.

If you feel a gallbladder attack coming on then you can drink some epsom salt dissolved in water and that will help the bile ducts relax so that the stuck stones can find their way out. Fats will cause the gallbladder to release bile. So if you were eating nuts or anything with fat then that's likely what triggered the attack. And actually that's how you get stones to flush out of the gallbladder and liver. You relax the ducts and cause them to dilate with epsom salt and then you consume fat to produce bile to move the stones out. But you also want to be consuming things like I said above to help soften stones and break them up a bit before you do the flush, it just makes it easier to get stones out.

One last thing to consider is that stones aren't just in the gallbladder. They get formed and stuck in the liver too. So even if your gallbladder has been removed you may still find yourself needing to find a way to get the stones out of your liver in the coming years. And unfortunately after having the GB removed it's more common for people to develop more issues.

I feel sorry for typing this as I know you are looking for a solution. But I can't in good conscience bite my lip in this situation. I've been studying human health for the past 6 years and it saddens me at times to listen to peoples stories. The answer to peoples maladies are simple, but it takes a great deal of effort for many to completely change what they eat. I've heard many people say, "I would rather die than change my diet." And sadly I've watched it happen. If you are interested in learning more and you want the absolute best healing/cleansing/building way to eat, then learn the ways of Dr. Robert Morse. He has a facebook fanpage too, with many people who are well versed in healing who help others.


----------

