Daughter has gall bladder surgery in the AM- any post op advice?

Calling all angels to keep her in their thoughts tomorrow! She has brain-damage, so the thought of the procedure is rather scary for her, but the pain has finally out-trumped the fear. I will bring her cat & they will stay in my bedroom for the next few days.
Fortunately, my DH is going to MI for a few weeks and because of the workload at the office, I planned to stay behind anyway.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to drink or eat afterwards? The surgeon makes it sound so simple, but I recall that my gyno did, too, when I got my tubes tied. My gyno said it was "just like going to the dentist" - at my follow-up visit he asked how it was, and I told him that if I was him, I'd change dentists!! Boy, did he frown

Sorry, that last bit got me laughing.

I have no idea what they recommend for it - but I'm sure they'll send her home with instructions, and if you're there with her, just ask. She may not feel like eating a lot at first, and I always think things that are easy on the tummy are best whenever the body is healing. Also, keeping her hydrated is probably going to be important given she'll probably be on pain killers, which just sap the water out of you, so water and gatorade or green tea, if she likes any, are probably all good ideas.

If it were me - nothing beats home made chicken soup!

all goes well and she heals up quick!

Get a script for meds to help with nausea before you leave the hospital. Make sure they give her something to help with nausea before she leaves as she may get car sick on the way. I did but managed to fight it off until we stopped.
Have a small throw pillow in the car for her. Make her hold this to her abdomen as you drive home if the bumps in the road bother her. Have her use it later if she needs to cough.

Many docs will say to watch what you eat for a couple days and then anything is fine... for a rare few people this may be the case. For many it's better to eat low or even no fat for at least a couple weeks - some do better if they do this for up to a month. Then introduce fats slowly back in.
The reason for this is because the gallbladder stores bile, it aids in how much bile is released to help digest fats. When you don't have it and put a sudden stress of a fatty meal on the GI, you can't digest those fats and it results in very bad diarrhea within 10-30 minutes after eating.
Many are lucky and this issue passes, for others it can take months or a year to get over. Something like 5% never adjust and it's a russian roulette game of what happens if you dare eat before leaving the house or at a restaurant. I really really hope she is spared this in the long run! More immediately, though, for the first couple days she could be constipated from any pain meds. (I know, probably TMI, but at least you know what to expect)

That the surgery goes well and that she's home shortly after.

Thank you so much for the advice and the vibes I am printing up your posts for reference -she will pay more attention to that, and it saves me having to write up a list (I've been here at the office since before 6am and it's now 9:26pm, so I'm beat, except for the energy left in the TCS-compartment ). I will try to let you all know how it goes....I'd asked my mom, since she had the surgery done, but her release instructions were "de minimus" - just "clear liquids, rest, call if intolerable pain"
Normally, I'd research more, but there simply isn't time and now I have to log off & fetch home grandson & friends

The bile and fat digesting issue is pretty much the thing to be on the lookout for - you can read up on it tomorrow and the next few days if you wish. Too much fat too soon can also cause some pretty rough cramping. Otherwise it's just typical surgery stuff.

Oh.. and they'll likely want a urine sample. After having no fluids for several hours. I hope that goes well or they could threaten to cath to get a sample!

Originally Posted by mews2much

The worse part was throwing up non stop after the surgery.

Click to expand...

You were given percocets and can't tolerate them, too, right?

That was the problem in my case. I had to deal with the pain since the percocets didn't offer a fair trade off. Ironically, after that, I can now no longer tolerate any type of narcotic pain pills, they all make me vomit.

I wish your daughter the very best through her surgery and afterward.

I had gall bladder surgery about seven years ago. Laproscopic. Minimal pain, no nausea, certainly no vomiting or anything. After going through all the pain from having that bad gall bladder for several months, once it was out, I felt wonderful, other than feeling a little stiff for a day or so. But just stiff, no pain. Didn't have to watch what I ate; in fact, my doctor had promised me that I'd be eating pizza by the end of the week (he knew that I was a pizza hound!)....and I was.

DH took me home from the hospital (one day surgery) and I did to go bed for the rest of the day. But the next morning I told DH to go back to work; our son came up to help me put together my new computer as I couldn't lift everything myself. And I remember that we had pasta and marinara sauce for dinner that night. DH and DS prepared the dinner and cleaned up afterward.

BTW, however, some people, not all, but some have trouble with diarrhea for awhile after the surgery. And for some, it will last for quite a while. My doctor did warn me about that, but I had no ill effects at all. I think that's why they tell you to watch your intake of fats.

Sending (((hugs))) for your daughter....and for you, too.

I also had the laproscopic gall bladder surgery, when I was 16 years old. The pain and recovery time were VERY minimal, but I was a little sick afterwards due to the anesthetic.

Sending LOTS of vibes your daughter's way!

all goes well today!

How is your daughter doing since her surgery?

My friend had it done a couple years ago, I know she still can't eat greasy foods, they go right through her, she said just drink a lot of water. Good luck to her, hope the surgery goes well!

Thank you all for asking! It was a rough night, pain wise and she had some bleeding shortly after being discharged (the car ride, maybe?) and her abdomen is quite distended, so I'm keeping an eye on things the same as I do on my cats after spaying.
Anyway, the first night before surgery, I printed up your responses and she kept them next to her pillow last night - said she feels safer knowing that other people care
Emotionally, it was a real roller coaster of a day & night yesterday. She became terrified when they wheeled her into OR and she was refusing the procedure. The surgeon said that she could leave and change her mind but that she wouldn't be allowed to come back and have it done later - only set in her stubborness. But the anesthesiologist and the nurses were so compassionate and the ansth. sent me to fetch her older sister, who persuaded her to allow the ansth. to administer an anti-anxiety med and gave her another 15 min to reconsider, so she went ahead & had it done.
My daughter can't tolerate any real pain meds and the surgeon poo=poo'ed the nurses' suggestion of the tylenol/motrin mix. Guess what - when I called him last night that my daughter needed to go back to ER for pain management, he told me to try the tylenol/motrin mix after all, but in higher doses than the nurses said. We did and it's helped her manage the pain (she also uses watching TV, petting cats, talking, to keep her mind off of it). Thank God for nurses
My grandson and his friends are real treasures, too. My daughter was reeling from pain and then became frantic worrying about her cat, Christy, being alone (my DD and cat live upstairs at my folks', who have a bedroom downstairs). So they gave up watching an HBO movie and had me drive them out to my folks' so they could keep a cat company.
Anyway, thank you all SO MUCH for your responses - I am going to print them up & show Nat! She pays more attention to your suggestions because socially she's only 13yo and trying to be more independent of her mom

The distended abdomen happens in some people, it has to do with the anesthesia and the gas they pump into the abdomen (dur, my mind blanked earlier - I knew this and forgot to put it down). It should go away in a couple days, but if it seems to be getting larger or not getting any better, consult her doc. I assume she has a GI doc handling her case? The reason for that is just because any abdominal surgery can mess with the GI a bit and throw things "out of whack" so to speak.

I'm sorry she doesn't have much options for pain control. But it's good that the tylenol and motrin is working - just keep an eye on the acetaminophen since it has a lower toxicity level and I don't know how good her body (specifically kidneys) can handle higher doses.

P&R suggestion for water is good. So are natural juices, especially if she gets any diarrhea. Also more on the mention of greasy foods, I can't eat them either without paying for it. I've found that I can tolerate some natural fats in modest amounts. ie butter is tolerated much better than margarine.

I had pain for 3-4 for days with mine and that was mostly if I moved wrong. It tapered off after that and then it was just some muscle soreness type pain, they cut through the abdominal muscle and that takes a little while to heal back. If she's the very independent sort keep and eye on her. No lifting or rigorous activities, even if there's not much pain. Get better!

Oh I'm so glad you got so much good advice - and I'm glad she went ahead and took care of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She should be proud - Gary is also terrified of having surgeries or any procedures, so I totally understand that last minute freak out thing.

Bummer about the pain - but as you say, thank God for nurses!

Continued !!!!!

I can't offer any advice s I have no experience, I just wanted to wish your daughter a speedy recovery. I found my family, especially the kitties were my main recovery aids after my thyroid surgery. for a quick recovery, sending my love to her.xx

Wishing her a speedy recovery!