Gall Bladder Removal

[ruffrecords]

I am in hospital right now waiting to go down to have my gall bladder removed. Was not execting this to happen for a few months but they had a cancellation and squeezed me in.

Wish me Luck

Cheers

Ian

 

[micaddict]

Good luck, Ian.

I hear there'll be a fast recovery.



Henk

 

[bernbrue]

Heads up, Ian. We need you here.
Bernd

 

[rob_gould]

Good luck!  Wishing you a speedy recovery!

 

[ruffrecords]

Thanks for all the good wishes. Like a typical DIY project, the two operations before me turned out to be more complex than expected. Now the surgeon has used up his allocated theatre time so I get to go home. He has found me another slot on 22nd April and guarantees I will be first on the list.

Ho hum

Ian

 

[bruno2000]

Hopefully a piece of cake for a tough old bird........
Good luck!
Best,
Bruno2000

 

[okgb]

I'm going to visit my brother and help him recover as he's going in for a gall bladder operation as well
will your's be laparoscopic ? My appendix was done that way , still a 1-2 week recovery, Best wishes
on a speedy one!

 

[pucho812]

here's to a speedy recovery.

 

[Spiritworks]

Good Luck and Good Health.

 

[kambo]

Good Luck Ian , wishing you a very quick recovery!

 

[emrr]

Best wishes Ian!

 

[DaveP]

I guess it will be keyhole surgery so recovery will be that much quicker.

You will probably be awake and able to post while they do it...............just kidding :

All the best
DaveP

 

[micaddict]

Sorry to hear you have to wait longer.
That sucks.

You're not considering DIY now, are you?



Best thing is to laugh about it, Ian.

Which doesn't mean it's nothing.

 

[Andy Peters]

I am in hospital right now waiting to go down to have my gall bladder removed. Was not expecting this to happen for a few months but they had a cancellation and squeezed me in.

Good luck!

If they're doing it laparoscopically, you'll be up and around in a couple of days.

-a

 

[thermionic]

It gets bad press for some reason (probably because our right wing media is ideologically opposed to it), but I have nothing but praise for the NHS. My partner recently spent over a week in hospital (birth to our rather loud son). It got complicated, but I can't imagine how she could've received better treatment - at any cost. True, it's a total PITA when you get shifted around (my mum was this week, same as you), but I have nothing but admiration for the staff. Sorry for going OT - my point is that you are likely to be in good hands. I wish you a speedy recovery.

 

[PRR]

Ian-- best wishes, today and whenever they do it.

Lurkers- I too had a gall-job, last year. UK practice is different from the US. I had less than 2 hours of pre-op consult and testing. On the assigned day I went in at dawn, was awake by 10, sent home at noon. My designated driver was ordered to make me rest all day; but I felt fine and was hungry.

I may have been told to avoid lifting more than a gallon for a couple weeks, but this may be boilerplate. My assessment is that I was 99% ready for anything. Certainly nothing like the appendicitis filet-job (not a McBurney's) I had some years before. Gall-job was like I'd been in a knife-fight, with a letter opener, which didn't hit anything I needed. Big deal.

Over the weeks I had healing itch and odd twinges, much less than expected.

You would expect digestive upset, and some folks do, I didn't.

> You will probably be awake and able to post while they do it...............just kidding

That's what I thought. They used to knock-out for a colonoscopy, now they don't (here), and you get to watch. But for the gall-job I was told "you do not want to be awake". One reason is that the gall-stuff is packed tight like some wretched amplifier chassis we know. They inflate your gut-cavity to get some space to work in. That's some of the twinges I felt after.

 

[sahib]

Good luck.

Get well soon.

 

[Ethan]

Whenever it happens, I hope you have a speedy recovery Ian!

 

[Andy Peters]

> You will probably be awake and able to post while they do it...............just kidding

That's what I thought.

They knocked me out for my gall-bladder-ectomy.  The doc said the procedure took fifteen minutes.

They used to knock-out for a colonoscopy, now they don't (here), and you get to watch.

The first one I had, in 2013, they let me watch. I did a follow-up last year, and they knocked me out. Why? "It's our standard procedure now."

But for the gall-job I was told "you do not want to be awake". One reason is that the gall-stuff is packed tight like some wretched amplifier chassis we know. They inflate your gut-cavity to get some space to work in. That's some of the twinges I felt after.

Yeah, they inflate your gut with nitrogen, and while they pump most of it out when they're done, it still gets into your muscles, especially your shoulders. And my shoulders hurt more than my gut after the procedure.

 

[Rocinante]

Good luck Ian,
How about a funny anecdote that somewhat relates?
I almost had my pancreas removed.  I had a nasty couple of cysts that kept puncturing my artery and causing my body to bleed internally until I collapsed with only a pint and 1/2 of blood in me.  The damage that the splenic arterial blood and fluids did to my pancreas (as well as what  the pancretic fluids that went into my spleen) was thorough.  Pancreatic fluids are an acid of sorts that break down enzymes (creating insulin) and proteins.  They gave me a stint and sent me on my way and I was good for a whole two weeks.
And then I bled out 7 and a 1/2 pints of blood again (the average male has about 9).
They were concerned that this would continue and explained that my best option was to lose the pancreas and spleen.  They were pretty damaged anyway, they said.  I could only sigh.  God damn martial arts classes.  I was in the hospital recovering from my recent near death and they said I could go home for a couple of weeks but that I would have to come back to get the operation.  While I was recovering in the hospital one of my doctors was telling a pancreatic cancer specialist about a patient of his who had come in to the hospital lacking 7 and a 1/2 pints of blood.  That this patient was talking and making jokes and although he looked ill seemed almost okay.  Most of the time people who have that much blood missing from them have just been shot or in a serious car accident or fallen from a building and they are usually unconscious or at best  barely conscious.  Not asking to go outside for a smoke or flirting with bad nurses.
And not only did this patient do this once but he did it twice and was there now.  The other doctor was amused  by the story and looked at my chart.  After some consideration it was his opinion that if they just removed the splenic artery (which is one of the culprits along with the cysts) then the cyst would have nothing to perforate and thus time to heal and not absorbing my splenic blood and I would be fine.  He theorized that considering I had been walking around and talking with only a pint and 1/2 in me I probably didn't Need the splenic artery.  They asked me my opinion and immediately I said let's go for it.  So they left and returned with a stretcher.
"Wait you mean right f***ing now?"  I asked.
"Well you are here already."  Was their response. 
I was a awake as the tiny robotic claws snaked through my leg and into my abdomen to fish out the offending artery.  The doctor used my chest as an elbow rest as he maneuvered the claws with a couple of tiny joysticks,  the nurse carefully wiping sweat from the doctors face.  The nurse, the doctor, and I stared intently at the monitors that were nearly on top of me as the claws moved deeper in, all of our faces a green/blue from the back-light making the scene even more surreal (which really wasn't necessary .  I had been given "twilight" which has you aware of your surroundings but not really able to do much about them.  You are merely a witness to the events and hardly a participant. 
That was 5 years ago.  I suffer occasionally from attacks brought on from my pancreas (and they can be nearly intolerable) but overall I am a pretty healthy dog.  More importantly I am a grateful healthy dog. 

I wish you the best of luck and a quick recovery Ian. 
Cheers,
Dylan

On a side note; Chronic Pancreatic Splenic Arterial Pseudoaneurysm (which is what I was/am diagnosed with) is the answer to the extra credit question in the final medical licensing exams at several universities.