Question:
Yep, its gallstones......recovery time info please

I am now officially 5 months out from Lap RNY and have gone from a size 28 to a size 18 pants 14/16 tops, starting weight of 270 and I'm now at 185 and absolutely loving life.......and then this intense pain starts, well it turns out I have those lovely gall stones and I am now scheduled to have my gall bladder removed July 18th, it will be a Lap procedure. For those of you that have experienced the joy of this surgery, could you please give me an idea of what amount of healing time you needed. The only surgery I have ever had was the Gastric Bypass surgery and I'm not sure how comparible the healing time will be to this up coming gallbladder removal surgery. I was thinking of taking 1 or 2 weeks off work, does this sound about right to anyone? I have a job where I am on my feet all day, 50 hours a week. Thanks for any input you can give me!    — BRENDA R. (posted on July 5, 2003)

July 5, 2003
Lots of friends have ghad their gall bladders out LAP. They say its way easier than LAP RNY. Back to work in less than a week. Although your surgeon is really the person to ask.
   — bob-haller

July 5, 2003
One week off should be plenty. I've had my gallbladder removed Lap and it's nothing. Don't worry about it at all. 4 tiny little incisions, less than 1/2 inch each. They do it as out-patient surgery sometimes now, that's how minor it is. You'll be fine! =)
   — KelBurt

July 5, 2003
My niece had her gallbladder out Lap and she was in the hospital overnight and was off work about a week (she is a nurse). However, my brother was supposed to have a lap procedure and it had to be converted to an open procedure, so be prepared for that possibility. He wasn't!
   — Checker B.

July 5, 2003
I just had my gallbladder removed laparoscopically on Monday, June 30th. Today I dusted and vacuumed the house like normal, little slower, little more tired than usual. But I think a week is enough time, barring any complications. I also believe I'm healing well since I've been doing protein shakes 2 or 3 times a day. - Anna
   — Anna L.

July 5, 2003
i had my gall bladder removed LAP, before my gastric bypass. No pain, nothing compared to WLS, and i was back to working in 3 days! as opposed to 7 weeks with gastric. there is no comparison to the procedure or the pain. easy, and you'll be fine! the first day you'll be moving slow- and slight pain... by day 2 better and by day 3... you'll be 99% normal again! you'll do fine. the gall stone attacks you experience are 100 times worse than the actual surgery.
   — heather S.

July 5, 2003
I had my gallbladder lap done in '99 and haven't had my WLS yet so I can't compare the two. But I had my lap done on a Friday and was back to work on a Monday. I would have preferred taking one more day but my job was sedentary and I was okay.
   — antiques55

July 5, 2003
I was walking the mall 2 days later (to get the gas out!) but I was tender and achy. I was back to work the following Monday part time, and full time the next Monday. I think for a stand-up demanding job like yours, if I could afford it financially, I'd take off 2 weeks. If that doesn't work, you should request "light duty" until your 6 weeks are up (6 weeks is a standard recovery time - mostly limiting heavy lifting, bending, stooping, etc.,)
   — bethybb

July 6, 2003
I had the lap surgery for gallbladder and it was a breeze! I was told I could go back to work in about 3-5 days if it wasn't a physically hard job. Day 3 is when you feel the after effects of the anesthetic so it wasn't a great day but compared to regular surgery I was feeling great! You'll get tired so being off work a week or 2 should be good to get what you need. There is minimal pain...I think I took about 2 pain pills after I was home and that's it. Good luck to you!!
   — Dianne M.

July 11, 2003
I hoped my surgeon would take mine out with WLS but he said the insurance would'nt cover it. Ten months later it HAD to come out. Actually I had a double surgery. I got two different surgeons together at the same time. One did my gallbladder LAP and the other my left Rotator Cuff. My rotatar cuff hurt so bad that I did'nt even notice any pain from the gallbladder. It was a piece of cake. But then I've had 14 surgeries in my life, and the gallbladder was probally the easiest so far. That is not to say there was'nt any discomfort, but all in all it was easy.
   — Danmark

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