I'm having my gallbladder out tomorrow by open surgery............?

Question

I'm nervous! What are your experiences of this operation? Will I be ok? How long is recovery time? How long were you in hospital for? What's the pain like after the operation? I'm scared!

Answer 1

Mine wasen't open surgery but I had mine taken out at the end of Febuary and it wasen't bad at all.I was back up and going not long after.Even though yours is a open surgery I'm sure you'll be feelin better in a few weeks.I feel much better now.There is so much more that doctors know now about how to do things like that.I'm sure everything will be fine.Feel better soon. :~}

Answer 2

Not everyone recovers at the same speed and not all have the same level of tolerance for pain. I have had many surgeries , some worse than the gallbladder surgery and recovered very quickly. However, for some reason with the gallbladder it was 4 weeks before I went back to work. It really is not all that bad, and if you are in a lot of discomfort now, you will feel so , so much better within a few days and you will be able to eat without getting sick. You will probably go home the day of or the day after surgery, depending on what time you go into the operating room and how well you recover from the ansethesia. I found that if I had discomfort when walking after the surgery I put a pillow over the incision.
Everything will be fine and it will be well worth it. Good luck to you

Answer 3

Hi, I had my gallbladder out last year. I was in the hospital one week before my surgery because I was sick from my GB exploding causing pacrentitis. But after I had the GB surgery I was in pain for maybe 2-3 days then just sore for a few days after the first 2-3 days. Because you are going in tomorrow for surgery you probably will have to either stay at least two to three nights. Also if you're having the open method you will probably have pain for longer then I had with my laproscopic method. With the open method they say you can return to normal activities within 4-6 weeks It might help to with pain if while in the hospital or at home to keep a pillow on your stomach, I did this and when i had to cough/sneeze i would hold it tight against me and it helped with the pain from the incision. Don't be scared just think after this you won't have to worry about eating certain things that could give you gall bladder attacks! Hope everything goes well for you!

Answer 4

I am an alternative medicinal therapist and an ex nurse and there is no need to be afraid. I had this op and its a good one. Gall bladder op's are classed as a major operation. You are given a pre med which is a relaxant this also dries up your bodily fluids. And an anti sickness pill. The op itself is about one and half to two hours maybe less nowadays. If you are not having key hole surgery you have a drain tube put in for about 4 days this is to drain off the gall bladder bed,nothing to worry about. When you wake up you will have pain but you will be given a powerful pain killer and sleep it off. The pain afterwards is very small I never had any after the first 3 or 4 hours. Please stop worrying you will make your self ill,just relax and let the nurses and Dr's do their job.The pain is just like a bad headache, if you get any.

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Answer 5

Well, I too had an open procedure. I was so miserable prior to the surgery, that after surgery I felt great. I got up in recovery and walked back to my room, and I was back at work the very next day. Now, I doubt that many will have my experience...but I think that attitude has a lot to do with it. If you go into this with fear and the expectation of severe pain, then that is very likely what you will experience. If you go into it with a realistic expectation of some discomfort, and get out of bed as soon as you are able and start moving around as much as possible, you will do fine, heal quicker and get back to your life sooner. The first time you move after surgery when the anesthesia has worn off and the pain meds may not have kicked it will hurt, no getting around it. But, it isn't unbearable, and it does pass. Push yourself, keep moving, get up and walking quickly and keep walking. You will be fine.
As I said, I healed up quickly, was back to work the day after surgery, and I do believe it was mostly my attitude that getting rid of the gall bladder would make me feel better, and it did. Recovery varies from mine, to as much as six weeks, how long it takes really is up to you.

Answer 6

Don't worry about it Honey you will be fine I have had 4 open heart surgeries and 1 brain surgery in the past 6 years and am doing fine. The Docs will keep the pain under control and everyone there will try to keep you comfortable and relaxed. Good luck.

Answer 7

I had mine out 8 years ago. It was uncomfortable after the surgery, but nothing like the pain I was in before. I was released the 2nd day after my op and was back at work (I was a Bouncer at the time) within 3 weeks.
Hope it goes well for you.
One thing, you might have to watch your diet after as you'll won't be able to digest fat. Hasn't stopped me from enjoying food and I even have the occasional Kebab. Very fatty but so tasty, worth the following day's discomfort!!

Answer 8

The wife of a freind of mine had this done about a month ago, she has made a complete recovery, just took it easy for a while

Answer 9

please dont worry,i had mine out quite a few years ago and recovered quite qickly. you will of course be not so well after the op but dont forget you have had surgery and you will be given lots of pain relief. remember every day after you will feel stronger and better than the day before

Answer 10

hun you will be fine, in a week you will be yourself.