Gall Bladder Removal

mikeyrob73

Any one gone through this ? 
im booked in to get mine done next Monday, keyhole surgery. 
Timing wise it just couldnt be worse as i recently got promoted at work on a trial basis, and this has come smack bang in the middle of the trial. How long am i looking at being out of action for? 

Moominpapa

I would say it depends (a) on how physical your work is and (b) are there post-op side effects (non-pain-related) that could impact your ability to do the work.  I had my prostate out on Friday 23rd March - and that was robotically-assisted surgery. As far as internal pain from the surgery goes, that had gone down to very manageable levels within a week. By last Friday I think I was physically capable of doing my job - which is office based and at a desk all day. But the specific post-op side effects of my operation mean I'm going to take about four weeks off to give myself time to re-adjust before going back to work. But gall bladder surgery removal may have limited post-op side effects. One thing is for sure - there'll be a wealth of information about it on the web; I found all sorts of useful stuff related to my operation.

boogieman

My mum had hers removed, but it was many years ago. This was pre keyhole surgery, she was in hospital for three days but made a quick recovery after that. I’d imagine with keyhole, the recovery is even quicker now. She has to watch that she doesn’t overdo rich and fatty foods and grills things rather than frying them but otherwise it hasn’t really affected her much. She still managed to demolish a large chocolate Easter egg over the weekend without any ill effects. 

mikeyrob73

Moominpapa said:

I would say it depends (a) on how physical your work is and (b) are there post-op side effects (non-pain-related) that could impact your ability to do the work.  I had my prostate out on Friday 23rd March - and that was robotically-assisted surgery. As far as internal pain from the surgery goes, that had gone down to very manageable levels within a week. By last Friday I think I was physically capable of doing my job - which is office based and at a desk all day. But the specific post-op side effects of my operation mean I'm going to take about four weeks off to give myself time to re-adjust before going back to work. But gall bladder surgery removal may have limited post-op side effects. One thing is for sure - there'll be a wealth of information about it on the web; I found all sorts of useful stuff related to my operation.

i work at a desk so its not a physical job by any means, i cant have much time off as i said i am in the middle of a trial period at the moment and i really dont want to be off more than i have to. I may ask if i can delay the op for a couple of months until i can get this trial out of the way, get the job and then re assess 

57Deluxe

http://theawkwardyeti.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/gall-bladder.png

Adam_MD

I took 2 weeks off after mine then started back with office work but it was easily 4 weeks before I started feeling normal enough to do anything which required heavy lifting.  

underdog

My wife is waiting, my friend had hers out about 6 months ago and my father law just over a year ago. You should be back at work in 2 weeks, and far more importantly you're quality of life should improve after the operation.

mikeyrob73

2 weeks is just more than i can even contemplate taking at the moment, i am WAY to busy to have that amount of time off 

DefaultM

If you don't have the operation then potentially you're going to have to take longer off.

My wife had gallstones that went unnoticed as she was pregnant at the time. She ended up in an ambulance, her complexion a lovely shade of yellow.

Roland

mikeyrob73 said:

Any one gone through this ? 

Yes. 

mikeyrob73 said:

How long am i looking at being out of action for? 

I was told not to drive for two weeks because of the amount of anaesthetic in my system. After 10 day’s I took the train to London to pick up a guitar I’d bought through the forum to celebrate still being alive. It was a mistake. The travel, not the guitar. It was four weeks before I was back up to full strength.

mikeyrob73 said:

2 weeks is just more than i can even contemplate taking at the moment, i am WAY to busy to have that amount of time off 

Then do what I did. Put it off, and end up as an emergency case, narrowly avoiding full incision surgery. The recovery time for that is much longer.

mikeyrob73 said:

2 weeks is just more than i can even contemplate taking at the moment, i am WAY to busy to have that amount of time off 

This is your health we are talking about, not cosmetic surgery. Your health, your quality of life,  and ultimately your life expectancy, are WAY too important to be jerked around by short term considerations. Any reasonable employer will agree. No employer can insist that you put your health at risk for their convenience. Any employee who proposes to do so could be considered to be showing poor judgement.

mikeyrob73

As it turns out the hospital have put the date back for 4 weeks after a pre op today while the conduct more tests ( sleep apnea being one test) so I guess that works out well for me. 

strtdv

Sleep apnoea and gallstones. Have they suggested losing weight during the 4 weeks?

mikeyrob73

No sleep apnea so all is good but the op has been shifted now till May 

WezV

Personally, I would be asking work to extend the trial period rather than push the op out

i would imagine that extending the trial would actually work in their  favour when compared against costs of readvertising and rehiring.

moot point now 

Funkfingers

mikeyrob73 said:

keyhole surgery. 

Your keyhole is nowhere near your gall bladder.

markj

I had keyhole surgery to remove my gallbladder around 5yrs ago. In and out in a day. I took one week off from work, every thing went well. I’m sure it will be the same for you.

dindude

It's a straightforward op and should be a one night stay.

Optional middle bit - I had it done last year and I was in for 2 weeks, but the surgeon did say that mine was the trickiest Gallbladder op he had ever done, and he had done in excess of 50! They basically had to laser the bejesus out of me to get rid of the final stones they were so tightly packed and blocking some vital organs, I was under the knife for 4 hours so recovery was tough as I'd been pulled around so much. However, mine had got to a critical stage and I was miss-diagnosed with all sorts from constipation to IBS in the lead up. 

I'm sure yours will be fine!

Gagaryn

I had my spleen removed via keyhole in 2010. Kept in for one day after the op then home the next day. It was fine, pain was very low level - I didn't take any pain relief - decided to us the distraction technique instead, my thinking being if you are sitting about recuperating you concentrate on the pain. I decorated my hall instead!

Keyhole is amazing - I have a few 2 or 3 mm scars that are barely visible. At the pre-op the surgeon mentioned that in a small number of cases their are complications that arise during the procedure which means they need be more invasive and asked for consent for that. He explained that could require a much larger incision so I asked him if he did need to do that could he make a jaggy cut so I could tell people I'd been bitten by a shark but he declined. :-(