Gallbladder Removal

*Attempting to be as open as possible about my experience, so if bodily function talk grosses you out, this may not be the entry for you.*

Pre- Op, July 20
Pre-surgery Google searches left me very scared to eat... just about anything after surgery. It was a no brainer to keep it low fat, but the message boards I read left me pretty scared (most promised diarrhea- YAY). From now on I hope this teaches me to listen to my doctors first... but reading about other people who've had their gallbladders removed seemed necessary. Not nervous about the actual surgery. Feeling better than normal today.

Surgery/Day One, July 21
I had the surgery today at Las Colinas Medical Center. It wasn't so bad. (Really nice nurses who made me feel comfortable and the IV as pain-free as possible and also a great, very straight forward surgeon- Dr. Swanson.) Apparently my gallbladder was FULL of stones (over 100), so that's probably why I was so symptomatic (vomiting, extreme abdominal pain, etc). I'm very glad they were able to get that surgery done with quickly. Still wasn't nervous today before the surgery today- my blood pressure was perfect, as were the rest of my vitals.

I handle pain medication pretty well and they gave me plenty of Zofran, so no nausea waking up. Just very sharp pains where the incisions are- extremely sensitive and difficult to do anything but sit up straight or lay down. I think bending over will be a no no for a while.

My Mom took care of me at the hospital (along with my little sister and Grandparents). I was able to take a few short naps before Bill got home. I'm pretty needy right now. (Can YOU pick up the puppy pads, can YOU move my 7-Up to the top shelf of the fridge, can YOU change the movie that I just put in and two seconds later decided not to watch?... and so on and so on. -Nothing he wouldn't do for me on a regular basis, but we usually share duties around here.- I have a good man, who also brought me beautiful roses when he got home. Flowers are good for the soul.) My BFF Allison and Justin brought me some movies (since Charter sucks and our service has been down for days- perfect timing, guys).

Today I have been warned by friends (and the interwebs) who have had their gallbladders taken out (or similar procedures) that the gas pain will come and that it is the worst part of having your gallbladder taken out. Majority says it'll be here in a few days to a week. (They use gas to inflate the abdomen during surgery and your body is supposed to absorb it, but I hear it's a painful process.)

I've been up and about since I got home (not sure if that's the wisest idea, but standing and walking around feels ok, and apparently helps to move the gas around). I was told to drink carbonated beverages to help me burp and get some of the gas out. I've been able to eat (Graham Crackers, mashed potatoes and a little naan w/ very little hummus today)... no problems with eating or drinking so far (I've stuck to 7-Up and water). Darn the luck, I thought this surgery would force me into a crash diet and eventually keep me away from fat forevs... not so much. Yet. It's only day 1, who knows what will happen. I'm just really hoping for some magical motivation to get completely healthy and in tip-top shape for baby making (yup, I said it) in the next year. Bill and I want to try before I'm 30, and I certainly don't want to be an overweight new Mommy. I also aim to get rid of my PCOS, so all of my lady parts are functioning properly and we won't have to stress out about the baby makin' and just let it happen naturally. (Fingers and toes crossed.)

Bill is sleeping on the couch tonight (and probably the next few nights) b/c a) he's afraid he's going to bump into my sore parts in his sleep and b) the only way I feel comfortable right now is laying on my back- and I snore when I sleep that way and c) I'm setting my alarm to keep a regular schedule for my pain meds. Poor guy. He's a trooper and I love him.

Day 2, July 21
Wasn't able to sleep well last night, but I didn't expect to. Not because of the pain, but because I was told to stay ahead of the game with my pain meds (Hydrocodone and Motrin for pain) and take them every three hours- so that's what I did with help from my alarm clock. Hydrocodone doesn't make me sleepy... quite the opposite, but I was able to cat nap and get enough sleep last night to not fall over today.

Getting out of bed has been the worst part, thus far- probably just because my body got situated when I was in bed asleep and was all, "WTF?" when I got up this morning.

I definitely feel better today. Still very sore, still can't bend. I'm allowed to take a shower today- no baths for 3 weeks. When I called to make my follow-up appointment this morning, they told me to go ahead and leave the bandages on unless they get soiled (not a fan of that word, but, whatevs). When I took a shower, the bandages got a little soggy, so I changed them. For some (dumb) reason, I thought they were glued together with medical glue, but, nope- stapled. I've never had staples and am a little afraid of the part where they pull them out.

Haven't felt like eating much today. Had a Slimfast for breakfast and 1/2 a can of low fat chicken noodle soup (hopefully it stays this way, so I can at least get the reward of dropping some lbs while dealing with this). Still haven't used the restroom since I got home... well, I have had to pee quite frequently (it was a requirement before I left the hospital) b/c I'm drinking so much water... but not... you know... the other thing.

I have probably been up walking around a lot more than I should today, and have decided to go ahead and lay back down (it's 1:28pm) and try to nap (even though I'm a little worried that will affect my sleep tonight- sleep when you feel like you can, I guess). I'm pretty worn out and a lot more sore than I was this morning. Probably over doing it. I think I'm beginning to feel some of that gas, as well- which is really uncomfortable, but still not as bad as the soreness around the incisions.

I was able to nap from around 3:30pm to 5:30pm- woke up in a lot of pain. It was almost as hard to get up out of bed than it was right after surgery. The gas pain has definitely started, I'm feeling cramping in my abdomen- a different pain than the soreness the incisions. One of my BFFs, Ashlea, came over to lend me Modern Family and Arrested Development. Bill went to the grocery store and got me Bandaids, popsicles, low fat blackberry yogurt, more Graham crackers and more Slimfast. We watched The Fighter (and liked it a lot)... I definitely need to force myself to rest more tomorrow. Had most of a banana for dinner (really liking the "not wanting to eat" part, haha) Took my Trazadone and hopefully I'll be able to sleep better tonight. (I'm also a little loopy from the pain meds, so hopefully this will all make sense when I read it tomorrow!)

Tomorrow I'm going to do a little research on vitamins or call the doctor's office to ask if there are any I can take to speed up recovery. It sucks to not be able to eat raw vegetables (because I'm afraid of gas) or drink milk (because of the fat... we drink 2%, maybe if I switch to skim it'll be ok). I take Vitamin B-12 and Vitamin D on a regular basis and haven't the past two days because I have to take them several hours before or after my antibiotic and end up forgetting.

Day 3, July 22
I slept until after 11am this morning- good and bad. Good, because I obviously needed the sleep. Bad, because I woke up feeling SO HORRIBLE and sore. I called the doctor's office to see if the soreness was normal and they said I should be walking around every once in a while to move the gas around. I moved around on days 1 and 2 and thought I'd keep it easy today... but after hearing that, I am up and at 'em, again. I've walked around the patio, watered the plants and I think I'm about to make the bed and vacuum. Still not hungry- drank a Slimfast when I woke up. The doctor's office also said to drink a lot of water and that it's ok for me to take a laxative, so I did. My face is really flushed, not sure why- my temp is normal and my incisions look fine (it probably has something to do with the medication).

I was able to use the restroom (huzzah- metabolism is coming back). I ate a small turkey sandwich for dinner and it sat well. Today has hurt. A lot. Hopefully this will be the worst of it.

Best part of today... flowers from our friend Amanda- such a nice surprise! (Yellow roses with pink tips are my favorite.) And watching movies that Al brought over and Modern Family that Ash brought over.

Day 4, July 23
I feel sooooooo much better today. I think the key is to keep moving and keep your mind off of the pain as much as possible. Showed Bill all of my stapled wounds (the romance may be officially gone). Still in pain, but it's tolerable. Took a shower. Went to go sign the lease for our new apartment (!!!) and looked at another apartment like ours that just got cleaned out- we love it! Absolutely love it. And our apartment is directly across the street from the dark park and walking trails- looking forward to Fall!

Also went to CVS and the pharmacist said it'd be cool to put antibacterial/pain relief Neosporin on my incisions... so I got some and I'll probably do that after I shower tomorrow. Got Norco (didn't get it until today b/c I already had hydrocodone for pain from my regular Dr -from before surgery was scheduled and they were trying to find out wtf was wrong with me) and some more Zofran (the kind you swallow with water- which I really appreciate b/c the kind that dissolve in your mouth are pretty gross). I had to take Zofran 3 times yesterday, because, well... yesterday was terrible. Today I'm spacing my meds out- every 4-5 hours for Motrin and Norco instead of every 3 hours.

I had about 1/2 of a Slimfast for breakfast and I ate a plain bean burrito from Taco Bueno (no chili sauce, I don't like it much, anyway) for lunch because I was actually feeling hungry- probably not the best idea, but it didn't upset my stomach too much. I did have to use the restroom right after I ate, though.

Still haven't had any terrible gas pain. Unless I mistook gas pain yesterday for something else. (I definitely had some cramping, but most of the pain felt like it was situated around where my gallbladder used to be.. if that makes sense? It was just extremely painful to get up and sit down. I don't know how to explain it, because I've never had surgery before. I guess the only way would be "having your stomach cut open multiple times and stapled back together". ?)

I hope the rest of today goes smoothly. Might take a nap. Will probably only update if something out of the ordinary happens... but today so far, so good.

 Another pic of my roses from Bill.

New apartment- fireplace! I love it.

New kitchen- very neutral so we can decorate however we want.

Day 5, July 24

Today has been pretty uneventful, except for waking up in s-tons of pain (due to sleeping through the night without setting an alarm for pain meds and/or the position I slept in, I think). I really do feel so much better when I'm up walking around. Went to Old Navy, DSW, Michael's and Aldi today. Felt like I over did it a bit, but probably just because I was extremely hot and also cranky from taking hydrocodone (sometimes it makes me grumpy). And speed bumps suck. (Bill drove, of course... I'm not allowed to operate heavy machinery.)

Oh. I do have a weird problem with bandaids going on. I guess maybe my skin is really sensitive.. but when I pull off a bandaid my skin gets super puffy, itchy and bleeds in places. Hmm. Not so comfortable. It's not like I'm ripping them off really hard or anything... but I guess I should probably let them soak a little in the shower before I remove them. Eeew. Bandaids.

Day 7, July 26
Feeling frustrated today. I know I shouldn't expect to feel 100% better... but I can't help but think I should feel better than I do. When I wake up in the morning, the pain is still really bad. I still have to take pain pills. I go to the doctor on Thursday, so I can discuss all of this with him. I'm sure it's normal. Bleh. Can't wait to feel better... I'm over this.

*will attempt to keep this updated through my recovery*