gall bladder surgery

Mommy3.5

Tue, Jun 05 2007, 9:48 pm

I had it done when my son was 5 months old. It was a week before I could move without thinking if it was worth it, and a month till I was back to myself. There is no bleeding (I ASSUME YOU MEAN nIDDAH BLEEDING) although, the pain killers constipate you, so there may be issues with that.

anewday

Sun, Mar 22 2009, 10:08 am

I totally go with the constipation!!! so drink prune juice!
I also had mine removed after 7 weeks and couldnt pick anything up for 2 weeks after the surgery so make sure u schedule round the clock help/care for the baby...I couldnt really nurse properly after, cuz u stay away from fat in teh beg and thats fat-free milk for the baby!
best of luck

Fox

Sun, Mar 22 2009, 11:08 am

lovmyboys wrote:

I had the surgery about 5 weeks after my baby was born, I had stopped bleeding by then and it did not start again. The recovery was more painful then they made it sound like it would be, I couldn't change positions without alot of pain

I also had the surgery at about the same time, and I would echo lovmyboys' experience! The surgeon made it sound like I'd be bouncing back within a couple of days. It was obviously a much faster recovery than the non-lapryscopic abdominal surgery, but I wasn't going anywhere for a full week!

I also had one other issue that I'll mention: I underwent an emergency C-section with general anesthesia, and the gall bladder surgery was also performed under general anesthesia. We are often somewhat cavalier about general anesthesia, but it's really a very serious thing. Having general anesthesia administered twice in so short a period of time left me with some significant side effects: I had dizzy spells for up to a year following the surgery; I had "groggy" episodes for at least six months; I was often very fatigued; and I had episodes of muscular stiffness and pain.

Needless to say, these side-effects were pretty alarming, and I ended up consulting an anesthesiologist who educated me about what was happening. Had I realized the increased potential for such problems, I would probably have delayed my gall bladder surgery a bit longer. Obviously, sometimes the option to delay general anesthesia doesn't exist, but it's definitely something to be aware of before being wheeled into the operating room.