Post Surgery

[icelightning]

Back home, but my gallbladder isn't!

I did indeed have gallstones, and two of them where the size of nickels. My doctor said they were some of the biggest gallstones he's ever seen, and he had them sent to his office so he can keep them. I hope I get to see them in the two week post-op appointment!

Annnnd now the important part--who wants pictures (besides mewsgryphoncat)? I can forward them since Dad scanned them in, and I have them on my Gmail account.

Whoooops, painkillers are kicking in. XD I'll probably be sleeping soon.

Edit: Will reply to people's comments in the earlier entry later, probably after I wake up... *Grins.*

Edit 2 (9:48 PM same day): Still have not enough energy to reply to everyone's earlier comments (thank you all just the same, though!), but I did upload gross pictures of my gallbladder and gallstones. Link for those that are NOOOOOT screamish.

Comments

[hamatokameko]

Your doctor is keeping them? Aww, my stepdad got to keep his. XD

Glad you got it out okay. My stepdad's basically disintigrated the moment they opened him up. He was waaaay lucky; none of the doctors had ever seen a gallbladder in such bad condition.

I don't think his were that big, though. D:

Pictures? Of what, your new scars? XD; I wanna see! *beaned*

[icelightning.livejournal.com]

yeah, I was glad that it went relatively swifty. D= Your poor stepdad!

Actually, I meant pictures of the gallbladder and gallstones. =P Scars and dressings are much more boring. Just actually put my LJ to good use. =D

http://pics.livejournal.com/icelightning/gallery/0000ksfy

[anatinea.livejournal.com]

On the plus side, your stomach looks very healthy. lol
If I'm not mistaken, don't you need your gall bladder to make bile? What's going to take over for that?

[icelightning.livejournal.com]

The liver is the organ that makes bile--the gallbladder just stores excess for when you need it. After a year or so, I'll be able to eat completely normal--but for now, I'm going to stick to a low-fat diet. =) Today, though, I'm not allowed to have high protein foods, either.

And yes, the stomach looks very healthy. XD

[icelightning.livejournal.com]

Naaaah, I can have yummy food before then--I just can't overdo it! ♥ So it's not as exclusive of a diet as before, but I should still hold off from say... eating anything on McDonald's menu other than the grilled chicken sandwich. =P

XD And at least I'll be able to have chocolate again very very VERY soon! I was told not to have anymore after my doctor's appointment before the operation. Now that my gallbladder is gone, I can probably start having small amounts of chocolate again in a few days. And not end up killing someone or getting killed, since I didn't have any chocolate when PMS started up. Oh, that was so not fun. =_=

Besides, sushi never upsets my stomach, and I can have that. Yay for sushi! ♥!

[icelightning.livejournal.com]

=X Well, staying on some of the diet helps mostly with uhhhh, the other side of digestion. XD I won't go into details, but I'd rather not spend a lot of time in the bathroom, which is the main problem while your body adjusts to not having a gallbladder.

^____^ May even have a bit of chocolate later today, I hope!

*Stumbles back to bed.* Ahaha, have been waking up a lot because I have to keep on drinking lots of fluids.... ^^;;;;

[icelightning.livejournal.com]

Yup! I have a problem with dehydrating quickly, but I think the gallbladder had something to do with it. Now that it's gone, though, I'm thirsty all the time. o.o I'm drinking a lot more... but probably the amount I should have been drinking all along. Which is a good sign, really! I'm hoping that I can start telling when I'm hungry better now, 'cause I've had trouble with that for a long while.. ever since my first gallbladder attack one and a half years ago. My symptoms only got bad enough in the last three weeks to actually do anything about, though, when the gallbladder attacks became constant instead of once every few months. ^^;;

The chocolate hunt shouldn't be too hard. =X I already have an abundant supply waiting in the fridge/freezer. Mwuahahaha!

[icelightning.livejournal.com]

I suppose they were a lot less scary because I already saw them happen through my Mom and my brother, so I knew what was happening. It would've freaked me out had they happened without me knowing about my brother's or mother's symptoms, though. Knowledge is power, in that case!

[icelightning.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, that would've been hell. ^^;; I'm glad I knew what was happening the entire time. ... sadly, I was actually waiting for my gallbladder to go bad, considering my family history. XD

[anko-kun.livejournal.com]

COOOL! I agree with the others in saying your stomach in there does look healthy, haha, well done :)
But aww, they should of at least of let you keep one gallstone, I mean you did make them, they're yours, right? lol.

Glad to hear your diet will be normal eventually too :)
*avoiding wound hugs*

(actually I might have to see my doctor too, I've been suffering the same symptoms as you to a much lesser extent x_X)

[icelightning.livejournal.com]

If you've been suffering the same symptoms, then it might pay off to switch to a lower fat diet with a lot less dairy in it. Here's a list that helped me pretty well!

Can have: Apples, Apricots, Fish, cucumbers, ginger root, green beans, sweet potatoes, garlic, onions, tomatoes, grapes, apples, papaya, pears, omega 3 oils, non-citrus fruits, wheat, soy, vegetables, low fat/dairy foods high in fiber, cereal, rice, potatoes, bread, low-fat beef, low-fat chicken, margarine (small amounts), Tea, and CHOCOLATE (VERY. small amounts)

Can't have (in no particular order): ice cream, eggs, milk, coffee, nuts, beans, pork, oranges, grapefruit, corn (didn't really bother me, but it bothers some), hydrogenated oils, saturated fats, fried foods, coconuts, most salad dressings, and Avacado.

=) If you do eat meats, eat leaner ones, such as steak, pork loins (all other pork is out!), and chicken--leaner meats will have less of a marbled look to them. Drink a lot more water, too--that really helps out, esp. if you've been feeling tired/worn out a lot (even mild dehydration can make you feel like shit, and I dehydrate FAST!). Also, it pays off to eat smaller meals.

If your symptoms improve after trying a lower fat/dairy diet for a few days, then you might indeed have gallbladder disease. YWhile most people have issues with nausea, I didn't--I had gallstones, unlike my brother and mom, with both just had deposits. A gallbladder attack has symptoms found here (http://www.gallbladderattack.com/), and a list of general gallbladder disease symtoms can be found here (http://womenshealth.about.com/cs/gallbladder/a/gallbladdissymp.htm).

If it is determined to be gallbladder disease, you'll probably get an ultrasound and then a HIDA scan, which tests the functionality of your gallbladder. For some reason, I was given the HIDA scan first, but I never got to the functionality part of the test--due to gallstones, the radioactive dye couldn't get to my gallbladder at all. That's one of the reasons I was scheduled for surgery five days after that test.

Generally, though, a guy at your age is going to meet a lot of resistance about having gallbladder disease--it took my brother over a year to convince the doctors that's what he had, when we already knew the symptoms from Mom having hers fail already. The best thing to do is, if you have a gallbladder attack, to go to the doctor's immediately, as it's easier to convince them when you've got a tender stomach/gallbladder. Especially if your symtoms start disappearing on the diet I mentioned above. If you have a gallbladder attack, I've found warm running water down your back, antiacids, and Ibuprofen work wonders if you catch it early enough.

(Luckily, there are good soy milks and soy ice creams if you look around, although you probably want to try low fat Vanilla flavored Soy milk, and if Turtle Mountain's Purely Decadent line of soy ice cream is available where you live, then you can have that. ... be careful, it's hard not to eat that ice cream in one go, because it is GOOD. XD)

[anatinea.livejournal.com]

(Chocolate. In VERY. small amounts.)

"So how much chocolate can I have?"

"Oh...about one M&M a day."

"...Can it be the ones with nuts?"

"....No."

lol

[icelightning.livejournal.com]

*Snort of laughter* Yeah, something like that. Probably more like 15-20 a day for M&Ms. ... not a lot, basically, and no more than a half-to-a-quarter-inch in one of those small Tupperware containers that you'd use for the really little snacks. =P I usually only used a quarter inch, and most of the chocolate I had also had mint in it so it'd be less likely to upset my stomach....

[anko-kun.livejournal.com]

But... but.. I like the ones with nuts *cries*

[icelightning.livejournal.com]

Yes, but they don't like you. =( They make you hurt. *Pets*

[icelightning.livejournal.com]

One thing to add.. unfortunately, as far as my experience goes, soy cheese sucks. =( But you can probably eat regular cheese, too... just in EXTREMELY small amounts.

Either way, see if the diet helps at a least a little. If you're mostly queasy, though, you might not notice too much of a difference. But if you're having pain of any sort caused by your gallbladder, then it'll definitely help. (If you're throwing up food, it'll most likely help with keeping food down.)

On the bright side, the gallbladder is one of the best organs to lose. =P You don't need it, and your body adjusts to not having it fairly quickly. Don't listen to the people who say you can repair your gallbladder by eating right for long periods of time, though. Those guys are generally quacks, and if you're getting pain or nausea from it on a constant basis, it'll be necessary to remove it sooner rather than later. (Especially if you were like my brother who ended up about twenty pounds underweight because the doctors kept on dicking around with his case. >.0 Just because he was sixteen/seventeen during his symptoms, they didn't believe him. Hell, even a few thought he was making his problems up!)

Anyways, hope that helps! ^^;; Tell me if the diet helps any of your symptoms?

[anko-kun.livejournal.com]

Wow!! Thank you a LOT for the TON of information :D!
VERY kind of you :)
Sorry about taking a while to reply, I have deadlines for all this college work, which I still haven't finished... I can talk now cause I'm eating my breakfast XD
I don't know for sure if it's Gallbladder attacks that I'm having,as I said the symptoms aren't nearly as bad as yours, but I seem to get bad indigestion under my shoulder blade for no real reason and it always strikes me when I have a lot of work to do and a lot of the time I end up giving up because I just can't concentrate because it hurts so much and laying down and going to sleep or something -.-;
I also have the seemingly endless amount of belching when I get the indigestion too which I really hate :(
I shall try the diet you suggested and see how it sits with me ^^ (thank you again for that!)I'd tried antacids and it does seem to work but I didn't know about ibuprofen and the water, I'll try those :)

Oh cheese is like my ultimate enemy at the moment, I nearly always get the symptoms, and BAD when I have a cheese sandwich or something, so I've tried cutting it out entirely (it seems fine when it's a topping or on a pizza or something, so apart from that, it's out, lol) plus it'll help my weight too if I stop eating it, lol.

Well, okay, I gotta get back to work, thanks soooo much for typing all that up and good luck on your recovery and enjoy your chocolates =D but not TOO much, eh? lol
*hug hug*

[icelightning.livejournal.com]

Yup, pain under the shoulder blade is definitely a common sign of gallbladder issues. I didn't have that myself (because I'm weird), but I had lots of pain along my lower back.

Do you get pain along your abdomen, just under the right side of your ribcage? That's where your gallbladder is located, and generally that part'll hurt, too. (But if your shoulder blade hurts too badly, you might not notice it!)

The large amounts of belching is also definitely a gallbladder thing--I used to be able to belch enough to make a sailor jealous!

Also, yes. =( Cheese is one of the worst things to eat when you have gallbladder issues. The cheese that they use on pizza is probably lower fat, so it bothers you less. Go for mozzarella cheese if you must have cheese, but try to stay away from it.

Stress can just make the issues worse, but you might also not eat as healthy while you're busy. Try to eat more fruits and veggies, if possible! Just stay away from Avacado--that fruit has TONS of fat in it.

Keep on drinking water--believe me, it helps a lot, even if you gotta force yourself to drink it. Try to schedule a doctor's appointment immediately after you have an attack with pain so that they can try to pinpoint what's wrong. '

I definitely enjoyed the chocolates. =) It was so damn nice to be able to eat chocolate again! =)) I'm also recovering pretty quick--I feel a lot better than I did two days ago.

[incoherent.livejournal.com]

Holy crap, Jenny, those are some enormous gallstones. D:

In high school we watched my PE teacher's gallbladder surgery, but his empty gallbladder wasn't as cool as yours. :o

[icelightning.livejournal.com]

DD= Yeah. They *were* pretty big. You can see them poking through even before they get the gallbladder completely out!

Haha, my gallbladder is so cool that the doctor is keeping my gallstones! XD He had them sent up to his office!