Question:
How long for recovery from emergency gallbladder surgery?
I am 5 months post-op, lost 60 lbs and from out of no where ended up in the ER last week with severe pain. They removed my gallbladder. It has now been 4 days since surgery and I am very frustrated at the lack of recovery. I feel almost as bad as I did the day of, and I am eating even worse. Nothing tastes good, and when I force something down, it makes me sick to my stomach! I've tried liquid & bland foods and its all the same. I have pain, but mostly I am just wipped out. I have been searching this site to see how long it takes to get back to normal, and I am not getting any info. Anyone out there with some advice???? — Shonda S. (posted on April 2, 2005)
April 2, 2005
This may or may not help, because I've not had WLS as yet, but, I HAVE had
my gallbladder out and It took 4 full months to recover fully for me.
— Janet S.
April 2, 2005
Everybody is so different. I had to have emergency gallbladder removal and
a small bowel obstruction corrected, 3 weeks after giving birth last June.
I did have some issues with feeling queasy/loose bowels for several days,
maybe a week. But after about 2-3 weeks I was doing fine. I was still on
maternity leave at that time, so I did not have to worry about going to
work on top of taking care of a new baby and healing from emergency
surgery.
— Ali M
April 2, 2005
Shonda,
I don't know if you had open or laprascopic removal. I haven't had my WLS
yet, but I did have my gallbladder removed by an open surgery. It took me
a full six weeks to recover. I hope you get to feeling better soon.
— Maria F.
April 2, 2005
hi I just wanted to let you know i had wls in july and my gall bladder out
in oct they were both lap. i was off work for 2 weeks with that it takes a
little while to get back your strength fully i went back on soft foods
mostly soup till i felt better.hang in there you will be fine.
— pat L.
April 2, 2005
Just to show you how everyone is different, I had one major attack 14
months post op, and kept my fingers crossed for 2 months til I had time
from work to get it removed. I had my gall bladder removed on a Monday
(lap), and went home the next day. I even walked 2 blocks to my sister's
car. I took it easy the next day, and the day after that was out to dinner
with friends. I went to work exactly a week after my surgery. For me, It
was a walk in the park. BUT, I will tell you, I think quite a bit of your
situation may have to do with the emergency part of it. I had a necrotic
and cystic ovary removed on an emergency basis, 11 years ago, that makes an
rny seem painless. I never had worse pain in my life. I was out of work
for 4 weeks. 5 years ago, I had the other ovary removed, planned, after
having a bout with pain, and I recovered in a week and a half. A person's
body reacts very differently when traumatized, in the case of an emergency.
Give yourself time to get your energy back.
— Fixnmyself
April 2, 2005
I had my gallbladder out at age 16 and I am now 23 and going for the WLS in
May. I had the surgery done lap and I was back to my normal routine a few
days later. No heavy lifting of course, but eating was horrible. For
years afterward I couldn't find anything that wouldn't give me a horrible
upset stomach or give me diarehha (sp?) minutes after I ate. My surgeon
told me that not having a gallbladder is beneficial for WLS patients,
normally after having the WLS, they'll have to go in and remove it because
of gallstones. My advice to you is to talk to your dr and let him or her
know about the pain your experiencing. Perhaps they have something they
can reccommend.
— dreamy6501
April 3, 2005
I had mine removed lap (6mos post-op) and recovered in just a few days from
the surgery itself. HOWEVER, I also had an undiagnosed uler at the time
and the pain didn't go away after surgery, so I can't really comment on the
pain from eating. I will say that it was a FULL year and a half before the
diarrhea went away. During that time I also had many food intollerances
that did not exist prior to the gal bladder removal.
— RebeccaP
April 3, 2005
Hi. I had my gallbladder out this November after just one day of moderate
pain. It was done laparoscopically, so the recovery time was about 2
weeks. The one thing I didn't do right was follow the instructions about
picking up anything as heavy as a gallon of milk for 6 weeks. How can you
keep from lifting a little one year old with his arms up to you? Anyway, a
couple of times I could tell I had pulled something loose inside. No long
recuperation, though. Within 2 weeks I could return to work as a teacher,
although I was tired and needed little naps for a while. I found the
recovery to be easy.
— PennyPainter
April 5, 2005
Hi Shonda,
I had my gallbladder out at the same time that I had my RNY. I am
still wiped out from the cholecystectomy. It was done by laparascopy so I
have seven Tiny holes on my tummy. I am tired a lot so I am following the
high protein full liquid diet. The protein and liquids are going down
without any problems. Good luck to you! Just keep up the protein and rest
when you are so wiped out you can't keep your eyes open.
— Karen B.
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