My wife has to have surgery.

"mazda616" (mazda616) 08/20/2014 at 12:58 • Filed to: None

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18

September 4th. Her gallbladder is only functioning at 19%, so it has to come out. I know it is a minor surgery but I'm still nervous. Have any oppos had this operation?

Unrelated but still nifty car pic (we watched Smokey and the Bandit on the hospital TV the other day while my wife was having her gallbladder tested).

EL_ULY > mazda616 08/20/2014 at 13:00

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my mom needs to do that also. It's not a big procedure or anything but any of that sort of thing always worries me.

Mosqvich > mazda616 08/20/2014 at 13:03

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I've had it. They tried laparoscopically, but they ended up opening me. I was uncomfortable for a week. Diet is important early on. I'd cut as much fat as possible. She won't like the results of eating any fat. After a few years I was able to resume bacon etc...

heliochrome85 > mazda616 08/20/2014 at 13:05

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Scheduled surgery is always better than emergent surgery. Presumably, this is a laprascopic cholecystectomy and those are relatively quick and without a big scar. Generally well tolerated and very very very very common. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Even if its an open cholecystectomy, it still is relatively minor surgery and shouldn't leave much of a scar. Good luck!

/MD

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > mazda616 08/20/2014 at 13:08

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My mom had it done....about 25 years ago.

This is about as standard of a procedure as an appendix removal. I'd be willing to bet that the surgeon will have done hundreds, if not thousands of these. I wouldn't stress too much. Though I certainly understand, surgery is still surgery. I would compare it to having a Master Mechanic change your spark plugs. Sure they could screw something up, but really? A Master Mechanic failing at a simple spark plug change? I don't see that happening. Maybe even something easier, like changing oil.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > mazda616 08/20/2014 at 13:10

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My mom had it done last year, She's in the bathroom 8 times a day, nothing really agrees with her, question for those who had it done: I know over time your body adapts, but how long does it take?

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > Mosqvich 08/20/2014 at 13:11

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Please check out my reply to the main thread

Cherry_man1 > mazda616 08/20/2014 at 13:17

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my mom had it done but that was several years ago

Mosqvich > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s 08/20/2014 at 13:25

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I was very sensitive for a year. I still get some abdominal pain, but not much.

Jayhawk Jake > mazda616 08/20/2014 at 13:26

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Everyone in my family has had it.

Dad, Uncle, Aunt, Grandfather...as I recall it was never a big deal.

My brother and I both anticipate it as well. Yay genetics!

yamahog > mazda616 08/20/2014 at 13:34

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Try not to be nervous, she'll be in good hands, take over any chores she normally does, and let her relax and take her time recovering. I had completely unrelated minor surgery last month, and CrzRsn spoiling me and not letting me worry about stuff beforehand, day of, and during recovery was probably the most helpful thing (especially since my parents were panicking and making shit worse).

Protip: surprise her with a sweet gesture (card, stuffed animal, whatever floats her boat) on the way to the hospital. Lessened the 'impending doom' feeling for me at least :)

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > mazda616 08/20/2014 at 13:36

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(Raises hand....) I had it a few years ago...actually, my recovery time is when I discovered Oppo... It's not too bad and it sure feels much, much better now that it is gone. Imagine having a knife jammed in you and twisting just in the spot where your rib cage comes together. That's what is is like.

If possible get it done laparoscopically it is a MUCH faster recovery time. Avoid fatty foods for a while though....her body no longer can process fat at the same rate as before so it just dumps it.. yeah...not pretty. That will get better with time though. I'm back to normal now so the adjustment isn't really that big of a deal. Don't worry. Oh yeah...during recovery, vicoden is your friend.

mazda616 > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 08/20/2014 at 14:01

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Yeah, she has had severe pain in her side and upper stomach. It started about 3-4 months ago as just random aches, and we attributed it to her sensitive stomach (which she had issues with all through college). It has progressively gotten worse and hurts extremely bad after she eats pretty much anything now. That's what prompted us to get it checked.

mazda616 > yamahog 08/20/2014 at 14:03

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Good idea! Since I have been unemployed since April 1st, I've already taken over all of the household chores. So, that won't be a big deal. :)

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > mazda616 08/20/2014 at 14:51

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TL;DR - Make sure she keeps on top of the pain with whatever painkillers they prescribe. I didn't have too much pain, but was amazed at how tired I felt for a couple weeks afterward.

I just had that done this spring. They were able to remove mine laproscopically, so that helped keep recovery time to a minimum. It was done outpatient style, so I walked in in the morning and got wheelchaired out in the afternoon. The sedatives made me pretty foggy so I can't give you exact times, but I think I had to arrive around 6:00 or 7:00 and was out the door around 2:00 or so. The first couple days after were a little rough but not too bad. They had me on Motrin and Norco for pain. They gave me one Norco at the hospital afterwards but after that I only took them at night for a few days, otherwise I couldn't sleep.

The worst part is the breathing thing they give you after. To make sure you don't develop pneumonia they give a respirator thing that you have to exhale into and raise the meter to the required level for as long as you can. It will make you cough and coughing hurts for the first few days. At least I only had to do that for a day or two. Make sure there is a pillow handy for your wife to squeeze against her stomach when she coughs. The tighter she squeezes the pillow to her stomach the less painful it will be. Also DO NOT MAKE HER LAUGH . Seriously, under threat of painful death DO NOT MAKE HER LAUGH. I made the mistake of watching the TG Bolivia special during the first week and I was crying in pain from laughing.

Upon further review the worst part was having to pee before they would let me leave the hospital. Being a man and therefore stubborn and stupid I peed standing up. In the process I almost passed out. At least I had the foresight to have them slide a chair into the bathroom for me, so after peeing I pretty much fell backwards into the chair. It took a few minutes before I had the energy to lean over and pull the cord to get the nurse back in there. It was a little embarrassing telling her I couldn't wash my hands, but much less so than having a nurse I knew put a catheter in. Not to mention much less painful.

The pain wasn't really as bad as I thought it would be, but I was amazed at how tired I felt for a few weeks afterward. The first two or three days were the worst of it for pain, but I kept on top of it with the Motrin that was prescribed during the days and was able to sleep pretty good by taking the Norco before bed. Just realize that your wife will not have the energy to do anything for about a week or two. The first week I was not supposed to lift anything over 10 pounds. After that the Dr. said to take it easy and not lift anything that made me uncomfortable. It was about 3 weeks before I was able to pick up the Finnlet who was around 25 pounds at that time.

It was about a month before I was back up to the point of being able to do whatever I wanted. I would still get a weird twinge every once in a while when picking something up awkwardly, but it was nothing that felt like things were being damaged. Four months later I feel no ill effects, but I can still occasionally feel a twinge after doing a lot of heavy lifting or after doing push ups.

As far as having to adjust my diet, I didn't really have any issues. For about the first month I would just suddenly be done eating, but other than that it didn't affect my diet and eating habits at all. It was weird, I wouldn't really feel full, I just physically couldn't eat any more. It is quite common to have issues digesting fatty foods though, so I think my experience isn't necessarily typical.

Shifty > mazda616 08/20/2014 at 14:52

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Mine came out last year (during Thanksgiving dammit!), it was 100% necrotic. The pain beforehand was horrible, and took forever in the emergency room, so ya, schedule it if you can. I had mine done laprascopically, and the scars are almost gone, and recovery time was very short. Good luck to the missus!

boobytrapsandtreasure > mazda616 08/20/2014 at 15:22

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I have not had this surgery but my wife did. Be prepared to have this removal effect what she can eat. If she eats fatty foods like red meat over a 90/10 ratio, eggs, fried chicken, fried rice it's going to go right through her inside an hour. Either her body will adjust and it will only do this for a few months or she'll have to adjust her eating habits for good.

As far as the surgery goes it will most likely be out patient, maybe one night in the hospital. They'll take it out in small pieces through to or three small *key holes* in her upper abdomen. She'll be sore for a while, like after any procedure, but she'll be okay. From your tone I believe you two don't have kids yet. That is far more scary than having a gall bladder removed. Good luck. I'll be thinking about you two.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > mazda616 08/20/2014 at 22:17

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Seen a few surgeries.

Failure due to gallstones?

Planned is always better than rushed. Often its just an overnight stay. Take it easy after.

mazda616 > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 08/20/2014 at 22:23

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Failure just because, I guess. Did a pre-test and found no gallstones. Did a "hideascan" (if that's how you spell it) and found the gallbladder barely working at all.