After Surgery

[paintbrush]

Had lapgall surgery 3 weeks ago. Have had intense pain, and bloating. The Dr wants to do a follow up Upper GI series. After reading the comments of others I am inclined to forgo the proceedure. I had a day where I felt the pain scale was down to a 5 and that day I had Oregon Grape Root and Ginger tea and a plain hamburger in a bun in the evening. The only thing else I am drinking is water. After surgery I went home in 24 hrs. However the pain never was below an 8 and that was for about 1/2 hr after a heavy dose of meds. I would say my pain scale was about a 12. Within 36 hrs I was back in emergency with a temp of 100.2, O2 sats 82%, P 125, BP 175/100, bilateral pain and cramping in both lower calves. They did an ultra sound for blood clots in the legs and a CT scan for the lungs and heart which were negative. Spent 2 days in intensive care hooked up to machines and got breathing txs every 4 hrs. Since I have come home the pain usually is between a 5-7. The Dr said my gall bladder was full of stones and pus and would have been gangrene in 24 to 48 hrs if I had waited. Up to this day the only symptoms was right shoulder/back pain. I had some discomfort about 4 in the afternoon and went to bed around 9 pm and woke up with extreme pain and difficulty breathing at 2 AM. I am 57 years and very active hiking in the mountains.


This discussion is related to Abdominal Pain after fatty foods-Post gallbladder removal.

[sassynewyawka]

Okay you need to follow up with the doctors – first of all it sounds a little like you are overdoing it – I had the same surgery 10 years ago and you need to remember that just because you don’t have scars you still had MAJOR surgery 3 weeks ago.  The shortness of breath is what concerns me – did they look for clots in the lungs?  Have they checked your pancreas?  Liver function?  I assume yes – but I would get back to the doctor.  Keep in touch.

[Sickboy61]

Geez, my was less than three weeks ago, and I'm feel really pretty good by now.  I had pain at the incision points when getting up out of a chair for the first week, and had a sort of pulled muscle feeling on my side for a couple of days, but other than that I feel pretty close to 100% by now.  I've been eating pretty much what I want for a week.

With a fever and all that pain, it sounds more like an infection of some sort, or could it be a bile leak or something?

I hope you get it figured out.

[paintbrush]

I cancelled my Dr's appointment. Have figured out that I have to o so careful about what I eat. Feel better if i stick to herb tea, grahm crackers, fresh fruits, and a lean turkey sandwich on wholewheat all in small portions. I appreciate the fact that someone is saying that just because I have a small incision it is still major surgery. Thanks. And yes I was probably overdoing it. I was trying to vacumn, do the dishes, laundry, grocery shop, walk the dogs. After all the Dr said I should be good to go in a week but to take it easy for 3 wks. However, I am finding out I have limitations, tire easy, and this diet thing has really thrown me a curve. I think we all need to be educating the Drs about the group of us that do not live happily ever after. I think that most of the surgeons and the ones giving out all this fine advice are men who have never experienced the surgery. It seems like the majority of ones having the surgery with the complications are women. One other thing. When I went back to the hosp the 2nd time the xray guy said his wife had trouble with pain and getting back on her feet. The common thing with me is that we both have fibromyalgia. Thanks for all of the encouragement. Paintbrush