gallstones?

[loveroflove]

i have gallstones and might need to have my gall bladder removed and i hate surgery anyone have this done recently and willing to tell me you view on it? i would really appreciate it!

 

[Tryharder62]

I haven't had it done recently but have had several people I know go through the laproscopic procedure. If you can do it that way the recovery progresses quite quickly.

 

[loveroflove]

yea i just looked that up lol but it still freaks me out the thought of it! i had my wisdom teeth cut out with novicain instead of a anesthetic because i hate waking up in odd places and i hate having needles that i can see in me

 

[Tryharder62]

You might have to talk to your doctor about how you feel. They sometimes give a little anti-anxiety medication before the procedure. There are some relaxation techniques you can try. My friends were home the same day so hopefully if you can have it done laproscopically you won't have to deal with the needles and everything that long. I agree with you though. It is not my favorite thing either. Good luck with it.

 

[ImSinister]

A while back I had gallstones. I waited to have the surgery and when I finally had it done they had to cut me - they could not do it laproscopicly. My recovery time when from three weeks to three months.

My advice - suck it up and have the surgery. You can wait but stones almost always return and no sense going through the stones attack again.

 

[loveroflove]

yea i figured that...sigh ok if they suggest it i will have the surgery i am just nervous and i do have anxiety problems i am on anxiety meds so the thought of not knowing what is going on around me is a little scary to me

 

[Tryharder62]

They would probably allow you to tour the unit you would be on and see where the surgery will be done.

 

[Lord Emu]

I was lucky enough not to have any stones but my gallbladder was so bad the pain was horrid. At first I just thought it was a flu bug with the stomach pain because everyone else around was getting sick and similar symtoms were showing. Finally I had to rush to the emergency room because I couldn't wait till morning to see the doctor. The surgery itself wasn't so bad just a couple of small scars were left. I was able to deal with the pain pretty well I hardly used the pain killers given to me and after a couple of weeks things were more or less back to normal.

 

[Wrong Element]

yea i figured that...sigh ok if they suggest it i will have the surgery i am just nervous and i do have anxiety problems i am on anxiety meds so the thought of not knowing what is going on around me is a little scary to me

My father had his gallbladder removed after a gallstone attack 11 years ago. He couldn't have the lap surgery for some reason--I think it was still new-ish then--but my understanding is that recovery is a much simpler deal if it's doable for you.

As far as your anxiety goes, I guess I don't really have any advice except to tell your doctors ahead of time, because you're not going to be the first person they've met in your position. Might as well learn to deal now, since unless you're either real lucky or real unlucky, surgery is an inevitable part of your future. I've never been under general anesthesia either and I'm not looking forward to it, but I'm at the age where you start putting various doctors in your address book, so I'm going to have to suck it up when the time comes.

 

[colddiesel]

Lap' removal of gallstones is less painful than having a tooth out. You should be back at work in 3 days (I was).

In the old days they made about a 10 inch almost horizontal incision across the lower abdomen. Then they pulled all your intestines out and parked 'em on a table so they had plenty of room to find the stones. I also gave 'em a good opportunity to inspect the state of your innards.

Whilst they had your guts on the table they generally lopped off the appendix so they would never need to go back for it (it also gave the surgeon the chance of an additional fee.)

If you had had a real gallstone attack you wouldn't be wavering, so don't make a big deal of it, just get on with it.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

yea i just looked that up lol but it still freaks me out the thought of it! i had my wisdom teeth cut out with novicain instead of a anesthetic because i hate waking up in odd places and i hate having needles that i can see in me

My wisdom teeth were pulled using hypnosis. Never felt any pain.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Lap' removal of gallstones is less painful than having a tooth out. You should be back at work in 3 days (I was).

In the old days they made about a 10 inch almost horizontal incision across the lower abdomen. Then they pulled all your intestines out and parked 'em on a table so they had plenty of room to find the stones. I also gave 'em a good opportunity to inspect the state of your innards.

Whilst they had your guts on the table they generally lopped off the appendix so they would never need to go back for it (it also gave the surgeon the chance of an additional fee.)

If you had had a real gallstone attack you wouldn't be wavering, so don't make a big deal of it, just get on with it.

Boy! Dats duh truff! Gallstones'll make a believer outta yuh. I had the surgery with a dull axe. Looks like an axe wound, anyway. What they do depends on how impacted the stones are. I had gangrene in mine.

 

[Minalick]

I had mine laparoscopically removed about three years ago. I had about 5 attacks in less then a year and one of the stones was quite large. So it had to come out.
Trust me the pain you're in now is not worth keeping it.

I agree with talking to your doctor about your anxiety, they can definitely help with that. Also it's good for them to now. Personally I wouldn't tour the unit. Belaboring it might just make you more nervous. But that's a personal choice and you know what is best for you. Just remember it's always worse in your imagination then it ends up being in real life.

I hate the idea of going under. It really bothered me and had me very nervous. The nurse recognized that right away when they wheeled me into the OR and she calmed me down. She was amazing. The Anesthesiologist was great too. He talked to me about everything as he was doing it, right before I went under.

Just remember all these people will be helping you, monitoring you and caring for you. You won't be alone.

Recovery is a bit of a bitch because as you said you wake up disoriented. But the nurses are right there and help you and remind you where you are. They are used to this and do an amazing job.

I've been gallbladder and pain free for three years and it's awesome.
So I can't eat a huge greasy meal anymore, who cares?
Lol
I have however lost some weight, so there you go. Another plus.

Just tell yourself it needs to be done and in the end it will be worth it.

Good luck!

N.B. I was back to feeling normal within a week. When it's done before it becomes urgent, there are less complications and your body is able to bounce back a lot faster. If you don't do anything about it and it has to be done as an emergency then it is possible that there are secondary issues because of how bad the situation got.

Btw, I work in the medical field and my mother is a nurse. Ive said everything here based on my own experiences, but I think it's worth noting that you should really talk to your doctor and listen to what they have to say.

 

[Recidiva]

I had mine removed emergently a few months ago. I ignored every sign of pain and didn't go to a doctor or the ER until I was unable to sleep or eat or drink. Oops.

I was in the hospital for a week. I had to have lots of studies and it was inherently un-fun.

If you can do it as an outpatient, that's a much better deal. Get it done and fortunately life goes back to reasonably normal.

I had liver and pancreas damage and had problems for a few months with my lab values, but I'm okay now.

Good luck!

I'm not sure what people are saying about it being a minor procedure. It affected my life quite a bit, couldn't carry more than five pounds for about two months, and there was a lot of difficulty moving. Driving would have been impossible. I wouldn't have been able to work if I hadn't worked at home.

 

[lovetoread]

I had mine removed and got the coolest pics of the gallbladder burst open so you could see the stones exploded on the tray.

It's so cool.

 

[koalabear]

If you have the lap procedure, make sure the doc has done it on more than the pigs they learn the procedure with. It is becoming the leading cause of malpractice suits. Good luck.

 

[Recidiva]

I had mine removed and got the coolest pics of the gallbladder burst open so you could see the stones exploded on the tray.

It's so cool.

Apparently mine was nothing BUT gallstones, having traveled pretty much everywhere.

I didn't get any pictures though.

My mom said she knew someone who took the stones and made them into a baby rattle...uh...creepy.

 

[pink]

It's not a big deal. If you are anxious they give you super great meds to relax you before surgery.

 

[Recidiva]

It's not a big deal. If you are anxious they give you super great meds to relax you before surgery.

I had lots of Vicodin. I was pretty unimpressed. Lost all respect for House.

 

[pink]

I had lots of Vicodin. I was pretty unimpressed. Lost all respect for House.

They gave me some wonderful drug to relax me before surgery. I remember telling them they could take anything they wanted after that.

 

[Recidiva]

They gave me some wonderful drug to relax me before surgery. I remember telling them they could take anything they wanted after that.

I'm pretty drug resistant. The reason why I ignored all the pain was that I'm used to migraines and it wasn't that bad in comparison. I'd had symptoms for months.

I was afraid I wouldn't respond to general anesthesia and I'd wake up in the middle. I didn't, it went fine.

I didn't eat or drink and was on IV's only for three days leading up to the surgery.

I got "dependent edema" on my upper lip though, looked like I'd gone in for plastic surgery.

My worst experience was my roommates, who watched evangelical TV and Jerry Springer and I considered that torture.

My private room was the best thing ever.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I had mine removed emergently a few months ago. I ignored every sign of pain and didn't go to a doctor or the ER until I was unable to sleep or eat or drink. Oops.

I was in the hospital for a week. I had to have lots of studies and it was inherently un-fun.

If you can do it as an outpatient, that's a much better deal. Get it done and fortunately life goes back to reasonably normal.

I had liver and pancreas damage and had problems for a few months with my lab values, but I'm okay now.

Good luck!

I'm not sure what people are saying about it being a minor procedure. It affected my life quite a bit, couldn't carry more than five pounds for about two months, and there was a lot of difficulty moving. Driving would have been impossible. I wouldn't have been able to work if I hadn't worked at home.

Youre right, its not a minor problem. I had 2 attacks and both got my attention immediately. I was home for 8 weeks after the surgery.

 

[loveroflove]

ok well i only go to college so hopefully if i have to take it easy i can. though the main though still freaks me out i believe if in the long run like you all were saying that if it helps it will be a good idea.
i might just ask them to put on music or something for me since i have some music that helps me relax