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14 Sep 04 - 03:43 AM (#1271817) Subject: BS: What gall! From: Mudlark After repeated, very scary gastric attacks it has been determined that my gallbladder must come out. I am having the surgery done Thursday, and am hoping that the laparoscopic technique will suffice...but no guarantees. If open abdominal surgery necessary, it's a much bigger deal. Are there any Mudcatters who have had either of these surgeries, and if so, would you please tell me what to expect, in terms of recovery time. Will I make it to my next writing class, the following Monday? What about the one the week after that?? |
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14 Sep 04 - 03:52 AM (#1271821) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: Paco Rabanne Two of my friends have had this operation recently, both by "keyhole" surgery, aged 43 and 53years respectively. Both were out of hospital within a few days, and despite some discomfort both were back to normal within a fortnight. The only problem either of them is left with, is an intolerance of foods with a high cream content. Flamenco, the true path! |
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14 Sep 04 - 12:14 PM (#1271882) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: Mudlark SuperTed, thanks for the info. I'm keeping all fingers X'd and hoping the keyhole approach will suffice. |
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14 Sep 04 - 12:17 PM (#1271886) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: wysiwyg Good friend had this.... Surgery recovery is one thing-- if laps, you should be fine fast, thataway. But recovery of your body chemistry takes longer, so you may still have some of the symptoms that led to the removal, for awhile, and it varies from person to person, so take it one day at a time and cautiously. Like, eat during post-surgery weeks with the same caution you developed pre-surgery, and it will work better and better. Then you can experiment with more adventuresome stuff after you stabilize. ~S~ |
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14 Sep 04 - 12:34 PM (#1271908) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: Leadfingers Best of luck with it any way |
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14 Sep 04 - 12:57 PM (#1271922) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: katlaughing One of my sisters had the key-hole...as far as I know she did really well afterwards. It was a few years ago, but I don't see her limited in anyway about what she eats now. I'll be thinking of you..let us know when you are able, okay? And, sounds like your writing class has been fun and nearby sessions, wow!:-) kat |
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14 Sep 04 - 01:16 PM (#1271938) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: jeffp My wife had the laparoscopic surgery and recovered very quickly. One of the worst parts of recovery (and they don't sufficiently warn you about it) is caused by the fact that they pump you up with gas during the surgery to get a little room to maneuver around in. That gas must then exit your body over the next few days. Unfortunately, it doesn't come out through the GI tract, but causes serious pains around the shoulders. They tell you it will feel like a case of the flu. Yeah right. Martian death flu, maybe. But, it is survivable and doesn't last as long as it seems to. You should be feeling pretty good within a week, but your stamina will take a couple of weeks or more to get back to normal, so don't push too hard too fast. Unfortunately, the lab found a bit of early stage one cancer in Bonnie's gall bladder, so just to be safe, they went back in and did a partial resection of her liver. No cancer was found either there or in the lymph nodes, so no chemo or radiation. Just scans every six months. We'll find out the results of the 18-month scan in a couple of weeks. The big surgery, if you need it (and you probably won't) takes much longer to recover from, about 6-8 weeks before you can go back to work. You can also count on your stamina taking longer to come back also. Of course a lot depends on your physical condition going in. You will probably find a mild intolerance for fatty foods afterwards. This will abate some as your body adjusts. All in all, you'll probably feel much better without it than you have been with it. Best of luck! jeffp |
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14 Sep 04 - 02:06 PM (#1271993) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: C-flat My partner, Julie, came home yesterday, after having laparoscopic surgery on Saturday. There were some difficulties due to inflamation and a good number (12) of stones which resulted in her requiring a drain fitted and an extra nights hospitalisation. Despite that she's up and about today, albeit very gingerly, and looking well on the road to recovery. It will be several weeks before she returns to work and she has a mountain of medication but, so far, things are looking up. Jeffp is dead right about the trapped air! Good luck with your op' Mudlark. C-flat. |
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14 Sep 04 - 02:26 PM (#1272010) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: fat B****rd Sorry to hear you're unwell , Mudlark. All the very best to you. |
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15 Sep 04 - 12:16 AM (#1272030) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: Amos Nancy: We are hovering over you with benevolent and protective wishes and beams of good will. Speedy recovery! A |
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15 Sep 04 - 12:33 AM (#1272036) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: GUEST,Boab ---And here's the "wet blanket"! Mudlark---if it is as it seems, a straightforward gallbladder removal, get it done, NOW!!! many years ago [1969], I suffered the result of a gallbladder infection that wasn't detected. I was hit--hard---by acute pancreatitis which all but signed me out for good. I had to fight it out in hospital for six MONTHS. All a result of a rotten gallbladder. Get it done!! Good luck. Boab |
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15 Sep 04 - 12:52 AM (#1272041) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: Deckman GEEZE Nancy!!! Some folkes will do anything to get attention. I hope it all comes out well!!! CHEERS and HUGS, Bob(deckman)Nelson |
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15 Sep 04 - 01:47 AM (#1272052) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: Bev and Jerry Nancy: You know how to reach us. We'll be around until the 27th. If you need anything, anything at all.... Bev and Jerry |
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15 Sep 04 - 10:13 AM (#1272378) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: jeffp As you are having your surgery tomorrow, let me wish you the very best of luck. May your surgeon's hand be true. jeffp |
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15 Sep 04 - 12:59 PM (#1272592) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: artbrooks My brother (age 55) had it done in May. He recovered quickly and is as obnoxious as ever. Best of luck to you. |
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15 Sep 04 - 01:13 PM (#1272606) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: Stilly River Sage My mom had the problem Boab describes above--the gallbladder needed to come out, but couldn't until the pancreatitis was treated. It didn't take as long as Boab, only a few days or weeks, but it was quite serious. Good luck! SRS |
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15 Sep 04 - 01:26 PM (#1272619) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: Micca When they did mine (at the Royal London, Whitechapel, The saga of which is documented in Mudcat in about 2000) they told me it would be Keyhole, but warned me that if, when they looked , it was inflamed, they would do the full job, so not to be too surpised at the size of the scar!! When I came to and noticed I had a larger than expected scar, still under the influence of anaesthetic ( which famously lowers ones inhibitions and ones vocabulary into the gutter) I loudly asked " Keyhole?? keyhole? Well. what size was the F***ing Key???" for some reason this caused the surgeon and the nurses to collapse into hysterical laughter!!! |
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16 Sep 04 - 12:16 AM (#1273094) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: Mudlark Oh you guys, thanks for all the imput. I really appreciate it. I've been eating like a penitent so no further attacks so I'm hoping inflamation gone by now. Many, many thanks for all the good wishes, as I know how powerful MC good wishes can be. jeffp, good luck re Bonnie's scan...and thanks for the gas warning (weird tho that it doesn't exit gastrically...blow it out your shoulder doesn't seem anatomically possible!) C-flat...did Julie keep her stones? Ultrasound showed I've quite a few myself and I heard somewhere that depending on the composition they can be quite pretty. Yeah, right. Still, I have a friend who is very interested in all things medical and has made me promise to save one for her. Micca...very funny. Still, I hope it's a great line I dont have a chance to use! Armed with good wishes and good info I feel better already. Thanks again, everybody. Nancy |
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16 Sep 04 - 12:32 AM (#1273097) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: GUEST,Art Thieme My wife Carol had it done . Laproscopic---they go in through your "lap" !! ;-) But seriously, don't plan on a real quick recovery. She needed a full two weeks and then some. Art |
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16 Sep 04 - 12:57 AM (#1273101) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: Mudlark Thanks, Art...best to know what to expect. :o) |
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16 Sep 04 - 01:55 PM (#1273263) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: C-flat C-flat...did Julie keep her stones? Ultrasound showed I've quite a few myself and I heard somewhere that depending on the composition they can be quite pretty. Yeah, right. Still, I have a friend who is very interested in all things medical and has made me promise to save one for her. Nancy, it would seem that the practice of offering the offending kidney stones as a memento has been dropped, at least in our neck of the woods. The surgeon at Woodlands hospital in Darlington showed them to her but said she wasn't allowed to take them. Maybe he's keeping them all for himself and decorating lamps with them in his spare time!?! Incidentally, after waiting for 9 months for her operation (the waiting time is officially 6-9 months in our area) the NHS paid for Julie (and others) to go to a private hospital in order to meet their waiting-list-targets. We had already priced the private option at £3000, a non-starter for us, but apparently the NHS are better off paying for a block of patients to be dealt with by the private sector than face whatever penalties they may incur for not reaching their targets! Wouldn't it be cheaper to invest in more staff and facilities? Once again, good luck with yours, and a speedy recovery! C-flat. |
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16 Sep 04 - 03:48 PM (#1273373) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: GUEST,Richard H After a series of very scary and painful attacks (the last lasted from 11p.m. till 7 next morning) my doctor sent me for ultrasound tests which revealed lots of gall-stones of the right (or wrong) size for blocking up various ducts and causing death, funerals etc. He felt I should have surgery. I didn't. But went home and: - Stayed clear of fried and spicy foods. - Took a homeopathic remedy formulated by a Dr. Reckeweg that my wife got from a homeopathic doctor friend. - Ate and still eat small amounts often, like I'll split lunch into three doses. That was maybe two years ago and I've never had another attack. Nor have I had the courage to check if the stones are still there (although the ultrasound experience was nice with this lady doctor in a darkened room - especially when she probed around in my underwear). So what worked? My wife swears it's the homeo. I swear by my weekly black pudding and souse, a local delicacy made from pigs' intestines stuffed with sweet potato and pigs' ears, snout, tongue and feet in a cucumber and parsley pickle. Mitigating factor: I haven't had (been allowed) much sex (as in hardly any) during the intervening period. Hope you get through okay. |
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16 Sep 04 - 04:28 PM (#1273417) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: jeffp Thanks for the good wishes, Nancy. The reason the gas doesn't exit through the usual routes is that it's pumped into the abdominal cavity, not into the gastrointestinal tract. So it goes out through the highest point it can find in the torso. Again, good luck to you. Jeffp |
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16 Sep 04 - 06:08 PM (#1273516) Subject: RE: BS: What gall! From: GUEST,BOAB Richard H.---watch it!! Before my six-month sojourn in Dumfries Infirmary, I had few alarming symptoms. I ate what I liked, and plenty of it. Even a pint --or three or four--- of beer had little detrimental effect till a few days before I went down. On Friday fifth of November at 5am. I was swinging by my toes [eejit!] on the rungs of a ladder, just before coming off nightshift. At 5pm the same day I was on the "probably dying" list in a hospital ward. DON'T ignore any symptoms---it ain't worth it!
-Joe Offer- |