need advice....gallbladder issues!

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

not a TOS medical advice post....

so I wound up staying up all night....throwing up, no fluids, 10/10 abd pain. my MIL and finance drove me a hour south to my job's ER....after fluids, toradol, and a ultrasound/ct scan....gallstones. they apparently don't look bad...so surgery is not urgent, but I have a surgeon appointment for Thursday to see about getting my gallbladder out. So, I guess my questions would be this...

1. How long am I probably going to be off work post surgery?

2. I know it's laproscopic in nature, but I've NEVER had any major surgery before.....so I think I'm just freaking myself out...tell me I am, ok?

3. bland/low-fat diet is the diet until surgery, but what all does that entail? I've so far been thinking along the lines of fruit cups, jello, broth soups, no fat sherbet, mashed potatoes, dry cereal(I ate corn flakes with low fat yogurt for lunch.) any other suggestions?

4. I'm on bentyl for pain and prevacid daily. think I'm gonna wind up taking prevacid for life?

5. i like food(no secrets) but what is my diet going to look like post surgery? opinions?

thanks for the read and the thoughts to come....

[GilaRRT]

Sorry, but your questions are rather medical in nature. These are things you need to discuss with your doctor on thursday.

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

You can ask your surgeon these questions.

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

ok, that's fine....not a problem. I don't like to be one of those TOS posters.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

not a tos medical advice post....

so i wound up staying up all night....throwing up, no fluids, 10/10 abd pain. my mil and finance drove me a hour south to my job's er....after fluids, toradol, and a ultrasound/ct scan....gallstones. they apparently don't look bad...so surgery is not urgent, but i have a surgeon appointment for thursday to see about getting my gallbladder out. so, i guess my questions would be this...

1. how long am i probably going to be off work post surgery? i took a week off, then did light lifting for a week or two. however your body and your surgeon will give you more personalized information.

2. i know it's laproscopic in nature, but i've never had any major surgery before.....so i think i'm just freaking myself out...tell me i am, ok? i was walking around walgreen's an hour later looking for 7up and making phone calls. i spent three nights in a comfy lazy-boy beause when the co2 they use to puff up the abd to visualize the organs moves about it can cause referred knife life pain to the shoulder which is only relieved by walking and then sleeping upright. however age, weight, co-morbidities etc will play into each persons individual surgery.

3. bland/low-fat diet is the diet until surgery, but what all does that entail? i've so far been thinking along the lines of fruit cups, jello, broth soups, no fat sherbet, mashed potatoes, dry cereal(i ate corn flakes with low fat yogurt for lunch.) any other suggestions? fat causes the gallbladder to secrete bile which can cause irritation to stones etc. aka no mcdonalds!

4. i'm on bentyl for pain and prevacid daily. think i'm gonna wind up taking prevacid for life? only your pcp can really answer this.

5. i like food(no secrets) but what is my diet going to look like post surgery? opinions? you will learn what you can and can't eat. when you find a fatty food you can't tolerate, you will be in the restroom. sometimes people have trouble for a long time, sometimes your body acclimates and it becomes less dramatic over time. i avoid high grease/fat foods as i prefer to be sitting with my husband rather than hanging out reading magazines in the bathroom.

thanks for the read and the thoughts to come....

best of luck!!

tait

[Baloney Amputation, BSN, LPN, RN]

not a TOS medical advice post....

so I wound up staying up all night....throwing up, no fluids, 10/10 abd pain. my MIL and finance drove me a hour south to my job's ER....after fluids, toradol, and a ultrasound/ct scan....gallstones. they apparently don't look bad...so surgery is not urgent, but I have a surgeon appointment for Thursday to see about getting my gallbladder out. So, I guess my questions would be this...

1. How long am I probably going to be off work post surgery?

2. I know it's laproscopic in nature, but I've NEVER had any major surgery before.....so I think I'm just freaking myself out...tell me I am, ok?

3. bland/low-fat diet is the diet until surgery, but what all does that entail? I've so far been thinking along the lines of fruit cups, jello, broth soups, no fat sherbet, mashed potatoes, dry cereal(I ate corn flakes with low fat yogurt for lunch.) any other suggestions?

4. I'm on bentyl for pain and prevacid daily. think I'm gonna wind up taking prevacid for life?

5. i like food(no secrets) but what is my diet going to look like post surgery? opinions?

thanks for the read and the thoughts to come....

I haven't had a cholecystectomy, but my hubby has. His was acute cholecystitis and cholelithiasis, though. He was one sick puppy.

1. He was off work for a few weeks, but the exact number escapes me. (He's an RN.)

2. You are okay. My hubby's gallbladder was apparently quite large so that the one incision had to be opened further than it was initially, but he recovered just fine. He did have shoulder pain for a couple of days from the CO2 insufflation, though.

3. I don't remember hubby being on a terribly restrictive diet, but he does have to be careful. His digestion has changed a bit!

4. Don't know. Hubby is on Prilosec now, but it's because of his asthma, not the cholecystectomy. Our pulmonologist insists that asthma patients take it.

5. You will learn. Just know that you sometimes you may have some, ahem, urgency issues that you didn't have before.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

anytime a post starts with "not a tos medical advice post...." it usually is.

these are questions to ask your primary care practitioner (pcp) or gi specialist.

gallstones

aga | patient center | digestive conditions | gallstones