Anyone else feel they were unprepared for life after Lap Chol?

Well, I have my gallbladder surgery tomorrow and the surgeon was very thorough on how they do the surgery and my recovery. Sorry you had this experience.

I was given lots of information about what the day of the surgery would involve but no information about the after effects. I was also told that unless something went wrong I would go home the same day and therefore to bring only the bare essentials to hospital with me. I stayed overnight because the doctor was unavailable to discharge me until the following morning. I was under the impression as it was keyhole surgery I would be feeling well enough to resume normal light activites after a few days to a week. Well it's a week tomorrow and there is now way I can stay awake fo very long, walk further than the loo or digest anything even fluids without violent diarrhoea. Also I feel totally bed boung with extreme fatigue. It's driving me nuts. As I have a toddler I planned to have help with her for the first few days. Had I known it would take alot longer to recover, I would have planned a more appropriate childcare rota. I'm sure my husband and family think it's strange as the internet is full of medical sites that state 3-7 days recovery. Having looked at this site and other discussion forums, it would seem that in general most people take at least 2-3 weeks to recover enough to work.

I had my gallbladder removed by lap 18yrs ago all I was told was I may get diarrhoea for the rest of my life was never told that I could also suffer with gastritis due to the bile, absolute nightmare, attacks are like gallbladder attacks but on the left side, hope you all feel a bit better soon. xx

I had my gallbladder removed almost 2 weeks I was back to work in 5 days...but, I am quite tired ..I have had boughts of constipation, diarrea and horrible heartburn just horrible ..I am pretty much on lowfat ..protein foods upset my stomac so I have been eating mostly yogurts and soup and sherbert Have lose about 7 pds but this heartburn is awful I feel it on my right side up to my neck I am still store a deep breath is still challanging...does this ever end????? I though no gallbladder no problems!! so I guess I did not get the full story either...

i feel i was not given enough information either.I am feeling very deppressed i cant eat red mead or dairy and god knows what else,it is very scary not knowing what the day holds after i eat.i had a salad sandwich for lunch yesterday and was on the toilet all afternoon.it really is upsetting not knowing how to get past these problems.

You might consider looking into some natural products that will help your body emulsify fats. Go to your local natural health food store and inquire about supplements for those without a gallbladder. I use a product called Cholacol from Standard Process. GL!