Hello. I am 35, female and scheduled to have my gallbladder out on Tuesday. When I had my hysterectomy last year, I was able to go back to work for three weeks post recovery, and then was out for two months due to nutrional issues. My iron bottomed out, my folate was low, my vitamin D dropped due to my body having used its reserves for the surgery and recovery. It has been very hard trying to build my levels, considering I can barely eat with a barely functioning gallbladder (5.5% ejection fraction) and that everything I eat or drink bothers me.
My question is: how can I prevent the nutrional complications from happening again? I feel I am already malnourished, with my symptoms of getting lightheaded every time I take my daily medications, and sometimes when I eat.
One of my friends mentioned having something put in my IV after surgery; I mentioned it to my preop nurse and she said to mention it to the anesthesiologist. What would this entail, specifically? What specifically would the anesthesiologist do versus my surgeon regarding this, and what I ask of her or him?
Also, what can I do immediately following surgery to avoid falling into the trap I did the last time?
Thank you,
K