# Post Gallbladder removal surgery, Anyone?!



## Christina0806

Hello, I just had my gallbladder removed last week and i was wondering if anyone has had this done too?!I just wanted to know if anyone had some advice and know anything that helped their post surgery pain?Also, I got my bandages off today and it really freaked me out, will my skin and belly button go back to normal? HELP! I need some answers on what new life changes I need to make. Christina


----------



## BQ

Eat a low fat diet. If you are eating too much fat.. you will know it because you will have Diarrhea. Everyone's body needs some time to adjusty to life without a gall bladder. But if you see yourself experiencing more and more diarrhea... you may need more intervention. You can try adding calcium carbonate supplements. Many folks who experienced post GB surgery D have been helped by Calcium Carbonate. In cases of extreme post choly (GB Removal) Diarrhea, a bile salt binder medication like Questran (Powder form) or Colestid (pill form) are available via prescription. But let's hope you won't have any of that going on. The post sugery pain will continue to wane off in time. You should expect to feel a bit better each day. I don't know what about your belly button isn't normal.... but If it is swelling.. then yeah it will go down eventually. (That type of question you should really ask the surgeon hon.)If you are a bikini gal I know sunscreen will be important on your scars so they are less prominent. If you are concerned about scarring etc... maybe ask the Dr about using a product like Mederma or something similiar?


----------



## thePIXEL

I take it you had keyhole surgery through the belly button and 2 other places? I had that in December, but for my appendix. I was the same as you when I looked at my belly button, I thought it'd never go anywhere near normal again. But I'm happy to say it returned to a normal looking belly button after a while - not the exact same looking belly button as before surgery of course. What pain are you having? I had pains in my shoulders and under my breast bone and center of the chest which was due to them pumping you full of air during surgery. I remember the lady opposite me in the ward had almost the same pains as me, but she had her gallbladder out.


----------



## Christina0806

Ugh yes, this stupid belly button! It looks so gross to me but it's healing now. The swelling is going down. I had my gallbladder and appendix out at the same time! How long did your incision pain from where the appendix was last? Mine is extremely uncomfortable still. I get these sharp pains a lot, a lot!Yeah the pain from that gas seems to have finally left, but that was bad. Have you been having anymore major problems?


thePIXEL said:


> I take it you had keyhole surgery through the belly button and 2 other places? I had that in December, but for my appendix. I was the same as you when I looked at my belly button, I thought it'd never go anywhere near normal again. But I'm happy to say it returned to a normal looking belly button after a while - not the exact same looking belly button as before surgery of course. What pain are you having? I had pains in my shoulders and under my breast bone and center of the chest which was due to them pumping you full of air during surgery. I remember the lady opposite me in the ward had almost the same pains as me, but she had her gallbladder out.


----------



## sarah_jayne

Eat the lowest fat diet you can, but don't be fooled by 'diet' food. This stuff only contains fake sugars which are basically laxitives which will have the same effect as eating fatty foods... diarrhea!! There is a huge list of what not to eat foods which when you look will appear to leave you with nothing to eat! 2years on I have now found a balanced diet and when I don't have work the next day I may even deviate to something naughty. Fizzy drinks are the devil and so is coffee but for me alcohol is a dream I only attempt when I am feeling soo soo brave! Having a hangover is bad enough but cramps and constant diarrhea only adds to make a traumatic day!It all seems negative and some days I hate having had it done etc but I am thinner, healthier and so much more in tune with my body and the effects of food! You need to keep a diary for a while to find out what affects you...Then you won't be starving yourself of foods that your body still agrees with! What works for you may be different so listen to your tummy xx


----------



## thePIXEL

Christina0806 said:


> Ugh yes, this stupid belly button! It looks so gross to me but it's healing now. The swelling is going down. I had my gallbladder and appendix out at the same time! How long did your incision pain from where the appendix was last? Mine is extremely uncomfortable still. I get these sharp pains a lot, a lot!Yeah the pain from that gas seems to have finally left, but that was bad. Have you been having anymore major problems?


Urrrrm let me think... I had my appendix out on the 14th dec and I was kept in hospital a little longer than usual and released on 18th and I think it was pretty painful for at least a week. After then things started to ease up but I also had awful sharp pains under my breast bone and center of my chest for quite a while which apparently was my body just still being messed up from the anesthetic. To be honest when they said it will take at least 3 months for the anesthetic side effects to wear off I didn't believe them but after 3 months I did feel much better.Main thing that I had after my surgery was constant nausea. Do you have that? It was sometimes so bad I could barely eat anything at all. I was around 65 kg before my op and I dropped to 52 last month and I'm now 50. Mostly due to the nausea I assume. All in all, I think having my appendix removed helped my IBS. I haven't been as bad as I used to be but it's still there. But it also brought up a new issue. I guess you can't win! But I hope you start to feel better soon and all the pains and discomfort wear off.


----------



## CinMari

My dad had his gallbladder removed before XMAS and he needs to eat a low fat diet. I have gallstones that will probably lead to gallbladder removal, I'm just trying to keep it in me for as long as I can though lol.I had a laparoscopy last summer so I can understand the pain surround the incisions. Don't push yourself to do things, just take it easy, everyone heals differently and on their own time. If the pain persists and you see that it's red, inflammaed or even has green pus or anything then that's signs of an infection and you need to see a doctor for that to get checked out. Make sure to keep the incisions clean and dry too.Hope you heal fast, take care!


----------



## nomi432

I had this surgery a couple years ago, I took the painkillers prescribed and never had much pain but remember worrying about scars, they felt like they were about to burst open! But with time, care and rest they went down and I felt better than ever. Also, a miracle worker- Bio-Oil! It's a bit expensive, but so worth the investment, it made my scars turn silver within weeks, you can barely see them now and I can't even find the two small ones! Good luck!


----------



## Christina0806

Bio Oil?! Hmm I will have to look into that. Yeah it's been two months since my surgery today. But my scars are still pretty apparent and red colored. I was wondering if you had any new symptoms. Like I have constant nausea now and my acid reflux is always acting up. Do you have any advice on safe foods I can eat? My diet was already strict before my surgery and now it's even stricter. But I do feel better, I guess the healing process just takes awhile. Thanks for the advice!!!


nomi432 said:


> I had this surgery a couple years ago, I took the painkillers prescribed and never had much pain but remember worrying about scars, they felt like they were about to burst open! But with time, care and rest they went down and I felt better than ever. Also, a miracle worker- Bio-Oil! It's a bit expensive, but so worth the investment, it made my scars turn silver within weeks, you can barely see them now and I can't even find the two small ones! Good luck!


----------

