after gall bladder surgery?

[loveroflove]

ok nothing sexual but I just had my gallbladder taken out a week ago and I have to say that it was a good idea! however I do have a problem. the incision on my belly button is not healing right and feels like it is *pulling*. also I want to go on a low fat diet *not because I think I am fat! but it will help me to slim down!* but I also don't know a good site to get on to find good low fat foods! ...
also diet to begin with? and did anyone else suffer nausea for more then a week? it is slowly going away but I get light headed and nauseated ever once in a while.

if anyone can help or give me tips I will appreciate it!

 

[BeachMomma]

When you say it feels like it's pulling, can you be more specific? Does it feel like it's pulling apart or pulling at something inside?

A low fat diet is a very good idea considering your post-op status. Here's a very good site that teaches how to Decrease Dietary Fat. One of the easiest ways to reduce fat content is in your selection of dairy products. Instead of buying 2% milk, choose 1%, then eventually skim. Sour cream, cream cheese, cheeses, and anything else you can think of in the dairy section usually has a lower fat counterpart. Of course, bacon is WAY high in fat content, and lots of red meats are as well. When buying hamburger meat, pay attention to the fat content. Sometimes you need a higher ratio of fat to lean for cooking purposes, but most of the time a 93/7 blend will suit your purposes just fine.

There are some things to be aware of post-chole. If you eat a higher fat diet, you may see what we call the "dumping syndrome." I'll explain why in a minute. Any time you eat a high fat meal, you will very likely experience diarrhea.

When you say you're having nausea >1 week post op, exactly when did you have it done? What date? How much nausea? Just enough to make you feel ugh or so much that you can't even stand the thought of food? What are you eating/drinking? You *shouldn't* be experiencing nausea this far post-op if the nausea was related to anesthesia. It could be anxiety causing it. Try a BRAT diet - bananas, rice, applesauce, toast - until the nausea subsides. Sips of ginger ale work wonders, and crackers usually help.

OK, here's a little gallbladder pathophysiology for you. A little light bathroom reading.

The liver produces bile, which digests fatty food. The gallbladder's only job is to store bile and excrete it when it's needed, ie when a high fat meal is consumed. When stones form, they can block the duct that leads from the liver to the small bowel. When that happens, the gallbladder TRIES to excrete bile, but it's blocked. The bile backs up and eventually the GB complains - loudly.

After GB surgery (we call it a lap chole), the liver excretes bile directly into the duct system. That's why the dumping syndrome. The continuous excretion of bile salts irritates the bowel. It's a fairly common "complication" of chole, but it's not usually dangerous. If it persists, your doctor can give you something to control it. If it persists, you don't want to let it go untreated forever. Diarrhea can cause electrolyte imbalances, and you definitely don't want that. I just got over the potassium imbalance from hell. Trust me; it's not fun!

I hope that helps. Let me know the answers to the questions, and we'll go from there.

 

[loveroflove]

When you say it feels like it's pulling, can you be more specific? Does it feel like it's pulling apart or pulling at something inside?



When you say you're having nausea >1 week post op, exactly when did you have it done? What date? How much nausea? Just enough to make you feel ugh or so much that you can't even stand the thought of food? What are you eating/drinking? You *shouldn't* be experiencing nausea this far post-op if the nausea was related to anesthesia. It could be anxiety causing it. Try a BRAT diet - bananas, rice, applesauce, toast - until the nausea subsides. Sips of ginger ale work wonders, and crackers usually help.



ok as for the pulling it is like i am pulling a stitch but deeper inside my tummy at the one incision site going up if that makes sense.

as for the nausea i think you already answered my question! i have anxiety issues so it might be in part to that! i will have to start taking my celexa! i thought it would make me sicker because it does make me very lightly sick *meaning i only get sick n it once in a blue moon and it is just a sick feeling!* and i have been drinking ginger tea with lemon! now i am off to read that article you sent me and find my new diet! YAY! thank you!

 

[BeachMomma]

Have you been for a follow up visit with your surgeon yet? If not, when do you go back? He needs to know about the suture, but he may decide it's nothing.

Yeah, it made perfect sense. I've scrubbed on a few thousand lap choles, so I understand exactly what you mean.

I'm glad the info helped.

 

[loveroflove]

yea i missed it i didn't have a ride so i have to make another appointment! i will make it for Monday then because it isn't healing well any way which is concerning me since the other 3 incisions are healing a lot! they look like week old cat scratches on me! but that one has yet to scab or anything!

 

[loveroflove]

and i have a question? are you a surgeon or assistant? i could never do that lol

 

[BeachMomma]

You should probably get some steri-strips and put on the one incision until you go back. You can get them at any pharmacy; just ask at the counter.

I was a surgical technologist for a lot of years. Now I'm a nurse. It can be fun, rewarding, calm, or exciting - sometimes all during the same case. lol Everybody thinks it's a lot of blood, but it really isn't. The smells get to more people than the blood does.

 

[loveroflove]

i bet! lol i am a biology major and deal with some strange smelling things! but i love it so i understand and thank you i could not find a place to get those at! i tried the store and nada but then i live in a freaking backward area i think!

 

[BeachMomma]

Walgreens, CVS, or any box pharmacy should have them. WalMart and those types of stores should have them as well.

Formaldehyde stinks like crazy, but it's still not as bad as bovie smoke (smoke from the electrocautery), gangrene, or even worse, gangrenous colon.

 

[loveroflove]

eew can anything smell worse then fem.? i did not think so! but wow i bet that some of those do! some of that sounds bad to even look at! i bet you wish your nose didn't work near those!

 

[BeachMomma]

We have tricks.

Oil of wintergreen on the mask or under our noses or very strong mints or gum while we're scrubbed in.

 

[loveroflove]

We have tricks.

Oil of wintergreen on the mask or under our noses or very strong mints or gum while we're scrubbed in.

HAHA smart! i will have to remember that in lab! oh and i found the paper for my gallbladder release... i have an appointment on the 19th ... and tomorrow i will go and buy some sterile strips

 

[loveroflove]

oh and you asked when i had it removed...it was on the 4th at 10 in the morning till like 12 or so idk i was way to out of it lol

 

[njlauren]

I had mine done about 6 years ago, and I have't had to eat any kind of a special diet or anything. While I try to eat healthily, and I try to avoid fatty things as much as possible, if I occasionally eat something a bit heavier, like ice cream or a hamburger, I don't have problems with it. It is wise to stay away from fatty foods as much as possible or fried foods, eat lean meat, fish for protein, chicken (without the skin), pork in some forms isn't that bad for you if it is lean, and try to eat the bulk of your diet with things like vegetables, fruit, salad and so forth, primarily because it is healthier for you. Other then the first couple of weeks, I didn't notice any ill effects of having it removed, and my body adjusted to the point where if I occasionally have something that is a bit heavier than I normally eat, I haven't had the problems with diarrhea and so forth that can happen.

If the stitches are bothering you, it could be a sign they are healing, or maybe that they were put in in a weird way, if it persists call the doctor and ask.

 

[loveroflove]

yea i am going to wait another week i have decided and i can eat all the usual stuff i was before it is just i have to eat them in lower doses but because i don't have a gallbladder anymore i think it will be wise to go on a low fat diet...

the reason i had mine removed is because the believe mine stopped working completely because of a large stone trying to pass and therefore blocking my gallbladder duct and eventually scaring it...

another reason for the diet is because i go to college and the heavier fattening foods don't sit well while i am in class and i don't think they will sit at all while i am in class from 8 am to 8pm on mon. and wed!