Gallbladder Surgery Tomorrow!!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-08-2006
Gallbladder Surgery Tomorrow!!!
3
Sun, 05-21-2006 - 6:49pm

Hello everyone!!!

Tomorrow is the BIG day!! I have to be at the hospital at 7am and my surgery is scheduled for 9:15 am!

I know I've asked this a MILLION and ONE times but I have to ask again!

My BIGGEST fear is waking up in PURE PAIN! Those of you who had gallbladder surgery, did you wake up in pain? Was it an aching pain or "someone please help me" pain? Did they make you comfortable asap?? How did you feel when you woke up?

You all have helped calm my nerves SO much these past few weeks. I know I'm going to be so nervous waking up, not knowing where I am, how everything went, etc...that the last thing I want or need is serious pain.

Would anyone like to help calm my nerves in my last final hours!!

Thanks so much!

Teresa

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-04-2005
Mon, 05-22-2006 - 8:32am

Teresa, hopefully you will see this before you have to leave.


My BIGGEST fear is waking up in PURE PAIN! Those of you who had gallbladder surgery, did you wake up in pain? Was it an aching pain or "someone please help me" pain? Did they make you comfortable asap?? How did you feel when you woke up?


You will NOT wake up in pure pain! Between the anesthesia and pain meds, you will be groggy and won't even remember much of the first day. The recovery room will be a blur, as will that first day. Any discomfort you experience will be dulled with pain medication and as someone else suggested, getting up and walking as soon as possible will help to dispel any of the leftover gas. Other than minor achiness in my shoulder area, I did not feel any major pain from the gas that is used to distend the abdomen during surgery.


Good luck and best wishes for a quick recovery!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-22-2006
Mon, 05-22-2006 - 2:01pm

Hi,

I just had my gallbladder removed last Monday. Unlike you, mine was emergency surgery. As far as the pain after the surgery, I was still pretty medicated so I didn't feel much pain. As a matter of fact, when I woke up in recovery, I was not even aware that I had the surgery. The nurse asked me how I was feeling and I told her, "Oh I am fine, I am just waiting to have my surgery". She said, "Oh honey, you already had surgery, you are in the recovery room". She got a real kick out of that!

The nurses were very good about keeping me comfortable. They gave me shots of demerol thru the night, and then the next day they began giving me percocet to make sure I could handle it, which is what they sent me home with.

My recovery has been okay. My best day was Thursday, but then on Friday I woke up with a terrible cold and sore throat, and that set me back a couple of days. The coughing is the worst!!!

This is my first day back to work and really, I should have probably stayed home. I am very uncomfortable, sitting for so long, but I get up and walk around. And I will be going home soon, so it isn't too bad.

Just don't over-do it. Take advantage of the opportunity to rest. The first 2 nights I didn't sleep very well, but I made adjustments. I sleep on my stomach, so I haven't had a really good nights sleep yet, but all in all it hasn't been too bad.

Good luck tomorrow. I am sure you will do fine.

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-22-2006
Mon, 05-22-2006 - 2:13pm

You are right. Walking does help. Thankfully, I didn't have much gas pain from the anesthetic, but I know from a prior surgery that I had, I had ALOT of pain and walking did seem to alleviate it.

Kelly