Dr. Hive, I have gall stones

[AmyontheFarm]

The doctor's office called this morning to tell me that I have gall stones and I'm to eat a low fat diet and the appointment to meet the surgeon will be made next week (he's on vacation). So, what words of wisdom does the Hive have for me? What do I need to know, What do I need to ask the doctor and what will recovery look like? Thanks.

[magic]

I got mine out 16 years ago when I was 21. I had suffered for 5 years before they finally figured out what it was. Avoid caffeine, high fiat dairy, fried foods, and gassy foods. I stuck with grilled chicken or fish, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, celery, carrots, apples, sweet potatoes, brown rice, whole grains, and water until I had my surgery. I was nursing my oldest at the time which made it a little difficult but almost everything else caused pain. If you have to stay in the hospital, it should only be for one night. When I had mine out, I was in overnight because i had a slight blockage and they were watching for infection. My sister had hers out 2.5 years ago. She had surgery first thing in the morning and was home that night.

 

For the surgery, they will probably enter laproscopicallly through your belly button. You will probably have three more small inch long incisions that are kind of stair stepped along your upper belly. Usually they stick the belly button incision with dissolvable stitches and the other, smaller, incisions and glued closed and steri-stripped. You will be a little sore for a couple of days- like you had been doing 100s of crunches or situps. You should be able to move around and eat a normal diet within a couple of days. You will feel gassy for awhile since there will be air trapped in your belly. Some foods may cause diarrhea or gas. For each person, it is a trial and error to see what effects you.

 

I was able to resume taking care of my 2 month old son right away once I was released from the hospital. My sister adopted a newborn 3 days after her surgery and she said that she felt similar to when she had given birth to her kids and was carrying around a newborn- a little sore but tolerable.

[nukeswife]

I had mine out about 9 years ago and agree with the pper about the procedure being pretty simple. You can barely see my scars anymore. My dd was 16 months old when I had mine out and I was able to pretty much jump right back into life after coming home, but moved a bit slower and was a little more careful when picking her or her older brother up for a few days.

 

I was in for a couple of nights because the attack happened on a Saturday. They admitted me because it appeared a stone may have come loose and was possibly blocking the duct from my liver, so they wanted to keep an eye on me until the surgery on Monday. I got the short end of the scheduling straw so my procedure wasn't until about 2pm so I had to stay overnight because of that as well as that pesky stone had gotten out so I had to have a scope on Tues to get that out. Darn thing was the size of a nickel, no wonder I was in such pain all weekend. I went home Tues night after the scope that morning.

 

It was trial and error to see what types of food I could eat again, and although I have to be careful about super fatty foods I can still eat fried foods etc in moderation, which is really what I should have been doing all along anyway.

[AmyontheFarm]

so, here's an update.

 

I was admitted to the hospital through the ER on Sunday night because a gall stone is effecting my pancreas. Child birth wasn't as painful, and at least you get a baby at the end. I was finally released on Wednesday morning and told to come back if I spiked a fever and that they would schedule the operation when I saw the surgeon in his office the following week. :glare:

 

I spiked the fever on Thursday. So, I went back to the ER who told me my fever wasn't that bad and to see my dr next week on Wednesday.

 

I called the surgeon's office and the nurse told me that they were booking surgeries 6-8 weeks in the future. WHAT!!! :001_huh:

 

I am not impressed. The emergency room injected straight into my vein Gravol, Toradol and Morphine. Yeah, I NEVER want to do that again. Four hours later, I told them to drop the Toradol and only give me 1/2 the morphine. Wow, that was still a buzz, and not a good one. Friends said I must have been feeling great. I felt awful and every time I closed my eyes, the room started spinning. Not fun! I usually don't even take tylenol.

 

I'm scared to eat anything because I don't want to be in that kind of pain ever again!

 

At least the nurses were really nice on the floor, I felt bad every time I had to ask for anything. One nurse said she loved me, I was the easiest patient she had!

[mchel210]

The doctor's office called this morning to tell me that I have gall stones and I'm to eat a low fat diet and the appointment to meet the surgeon will be made next week (he's on vacation). So, what words of wisdom does the Hive have for me? What do I need to know, What do I need to ask the doctor and what will recovery look like? Thanks.

 

My words of wisdom is go ahead and get ready for a surgery. I felt so much better after having mine removed. (I had different circumstances) but a NO fat diet ...or as close to it as possible will help for now. Rice & chicken worked best for me. My recovery took forever but it seems I was an exception. I pushed myself and got out of bed right away in the hospital and that got the gasses moving out. I hear that is super important. My friends cooked my family a few meals...if you can put some money and coupons for your family to eat or order out while you are recovering...that was great. I ate light meals...low fat for several weeks after. I can eat everything now...I am just over a year! yeah. I was thinking back a few weeks ago to how things have changed over the year. I am SO happy to have no pain and able to eat everything again!!

 

I had a pillow to cough into around my belly after surgery...huge help and took my pain pills with colace for the first week. No hero here! Then no exercise-house cleaning beyond basic basic basic stuff for 6 weeks!!! If you do that...you will be FINE!!

 

I think most people here will tell you they had been back up in a few days...mine was inflammation not stones and I took a lot longer to get back into my routine. I didnt drive for a week but as long as you take it easy you could be back doing school or whatever you typically do in a few days.

[Kalmia]

I had mine out in July. The laproscopic procedure was no big deal--no overnight stay. I had about a 1 week recovery period before I could resume my normal routine.

 

But if you have to wait 6-8 weeks for surgery, you must be strict with youself about keeping to a virtually no-fat diet. Because I am such a picky eater, that meant non fat milk, dry cereal, bread and veggies for me! (I lost 5 pounds!) You can probably eat more types of non-fat foods. My surgeon recommended a lot of rice and beans. You do not want to cheat on the diet, have a severe attack, and end up with open surgery--it is a serious operation and there is a long recovery time.

[LostSurprise]

Unfortunately waiting 6-8 weeks for kind of surgery is not unusual. I was hospitalized during my wait because the stone got caught in the duct for 2-3 days and they had to get it out. Not fun. If my surgery wasn't scheduled for the following Monday they would have brought it forward as an emergency procedure. I had a new baby at the time too (surgeon said that was fairly common because of the hormonal shifts of childbirth).

 

Most people who have their gall bladder removed still have to eat a moderate diet or experience IBS. Its still painful, but a notch or two better than gall stones. I can't eat more than 2 pieces of pizza or eat within an hour of bedtime. The excess fat irritates my intestine and I get bloated/gassy/severe abdominal pain, diarrhea. Sometimes I'm uncomfortable if I eat part of a donut or a half a cheeseburger. You learn to listen to your body.

 

It does teach you to moderate your fat intake though. My friends tell me I'm so lucky. :001_huh:

[1bassoon]

I was admitted to the hospital through the ER on Sunday night because a gall stone is effecting my pancreas. Child birth wasn't as painful, and at least you get a baby at the end. I was finally released on Wednesday morning and told to come back if I spiked a fever and that they would schedule the operation when I saw the surgeon in his office the following week. :glare:

 

Oh, Amy. .. :grouphug:

 

The same thing happened to me when my oldest was 6 months old. Pancreas and everything. Horrible! But they took my gall bladder out right away - maybe they've changed protocol?

 

My eldest dd had gall bladder issues last fall, and had hers taken out the week after we saw the surgeon.

 

Hoping you get relief SOON!

[mchel210]

Unfortunately waiting 6-8 weeks for kind of surgery is not unusual.

 

I would go crazy!! I went for my first visit to the surgeon and he asked me when I wanted surgery. I told him that day...LOL...He scheduled me for the following Monday. As terrified as I was to have surgery...I was so excited to see the end of my pain!!

[mykdsmomy]

Is there another surgeon you could consult with? That is way too long to wait especially if you're getting, what I assume is Pancreatitis? (sp?)

 

Everyone here has great advice ie: low fat diet. I would also add that apple cider vinegar diluted in some water (add honey ...it helps!) will also help with the attacks (it helped with mine).

 

I had mine out 6 years ago and I'm still having issues :( I have post gallbladder syndrome and need to keep a low fat diet even now (which I tend to forget at times :tongue_smilie: )

 

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. It's horrible :( I'll be praying you get a surgeon who will do it soon!