gallbladder surgery

[shelz44001]

I saw the surgeon today who said my gallbladder has to come out.
Could someone please tell me what to expect from laparoscopic surgery?
I'm a whole lot nervous; I'm not a fan of doctors or surgery.

[shelz44001]

I am so sorry to hear about your cancer.  CANCER *****!!!
I personally have had cancer twice; once when I was 16, adrenal cancer, then again in 1999 when I had cervical cancer.

THANK YOU so much for your experience.  I am so afraid I can hardly sleep.  But the pain gets to be unbearable.  I try not to read a lot online because most of it is so flippin scary, but I do appreciate your honesty.

I didn't think about the whole naked thing until you brought it up...LOL  I was in pain for two months before I went to the doctor, not so much because I dislike them, but rather I was so busy with school.  But I do avoid doctors like the plague...LOL

Well, good luck with your cancer and I hope things go well for you.

[AceHand]

I've hardly been sick my whole life. Hated doctors and hospitals. Reading the horror stories on here doesn't help any either. I've found that most who don't have trouble with their surgery don't post on the net. Usually only the ones with problems later do.
Had my gallbladder out in April. Laproscopic is outpatient surgery so you don't even have to spend the night in the hospital(usually). You can go back to work anywhere from 2 days to 6 weeks from the procedure. You can't lift over 20lbs for 6 weeks, so depends on your work.
All surgery is scarey. I was very nervous about getting it done. Gallbladder removal is one of the most common surgeries, but it's still surgery and there can be complications. And besides, who the hell wants to be passed out naked in a room full of strangers??
Actually the surgery went well. You should return to a normal diet and everything after you heal up. I still had stomach aches and diarrhea for months after the surgery. After reading internet forums about it, I thought I would just have to live that way forever although the surgeon said it must be something else wrong. I didn't believe him and thought it was his fault. Finally after 6 months of pain and discomfort, I had an endoscopy done. It showed nothing but blood work found me to be anemic so they scheduled a CT scan. That found the colon cancer in me. Another surgery to remove the grapefruit sized tumor and whatever else they could find and I just started chemo to get the rest.
I have a lot to worry about now, but I'm eating whatever I want and feel good, for now. It's hard to believe I'm that sick. My point is, gallbladder removal is one of the most common surgeries and if you need it, get it done. If you have trouble afterward, find out why, because you should be able to return to a normal diet and life shortly after surgery. Don't put your health off like I did. Maybe this will help someone else.
Thanks for listening,
Tom