If you get your gallbladder removed and your surgeon says it could cause diarrhea for a while but your discharge papers say take stool softener because of the pain medication? Listen to the surgeon.
It hasn’t been a fun couple of days.
Thank you for reading my very short rant. Back to the bathroom!
When I got my tonsils out, I missed the first dose of my stool softener, and the pain meds had me backed up so hard that it felt I was trying to shit a cinder block. Considered going to the ER for a bowel obstruction (which can be super dangerous). Finally passed that first brick, along with a concerning amount of blood, and then what felt like about a half-mile long by three-inch thick poo-choo train that my body had assembled with the help of the stool softener after that first missed dose.
So, between that and diarrhea, I think I’d personally err on the side of diarrhea.
Either way, I’d pay very close attention to how your body responds to any deviations from your medication plan, and make any adjustments in small increments leading up to your post-op appointment where you should discuss them with your doc.
So, between that and diarrhea, I think I’d personally err on the side of diarrhea.
I’ve had to experience both in the last few months, unfortunately. I haven’t had solid food since August, I’ve been surviving on Ensure and Gatorade. So basically it’s a lot of constipation and it’s not pleasant. But this is worse because I’ve had accidents three times now. I sleep and sit on towels all the time until this is over. The constipation is painful, but at least it doesn’t last long and doesn’t end up with showering and changing a couple of times a day. I guess it’s six of one, half a dozen of the other, but I’d rather have the short-term pain.
My wife last year took 3 courses of different antibiotics for an antibiotic resistant infection. It fucked up her gut so badly that she could basically only have ensure and sports drinks, or else she would throw up. On top of that, her mental health went out the window. It wasn’t a fun time. I hope you recover soon.
She’s doing great now. She found a good psychiatrist that went above and beyond for her. Shes on several medications, and it took 6-8 months, but she’s pretty much back to normal.
Hopefully you can be just as fortunate with your recovery.
Sorry, you accidentally replied to yourself instead of me, so I only just saw this. I’m really glad to hear she’s back to normal. That must have been really hard. My wife and I both have mental health issues, as does our daughter, so our whole family is a real mess. Medications are helping us too. Also, I forgot to say this to you before- my dad developed an allergy to antibiotics when he was a senior and he had to take really exotic ones with a bunch of Benadryl and an epipen on standby if he ever had an infection, so I totally sympathize there as well.
Now. Some good news- one of my symptoms before the gallbladder was removed seems to be gone, and it was removed as a last resort before I went to the Mayo clinic, so this may have worked! Still no appetite, but before the surgery, I would dry heave almost every morning and had done so for close to a year. I haven’t done it once since the surgery. I have not gone four days without doing that since probably January.
Sorry, you accidentally replied to yourself instead of me, so I only just saw this.
Ahhh, oops!
That’s good that there’s some promising improvements. Hopefully you keep improving!
My wife would also dry heave constantly, and it would go into overdrive when she tried to eat something. At first she could only eat bananas, but then she ate too many and now she still dry heaves when eating bananas, even though she’s fully better. I think it’s a mental thing for her for bananas. I think she associates bananas with that feeling.
Well at least she’s mostly better! I’d probably dry heave eating bananas too, but then I hate bananas. Anyway, glad to hear she’s doing better and I’m glad I’m starting to do better. Hope you had a good holiday!
That really sucks. I’m sorry to hear it. Is she doing better now at least?
Idk if you’ve considered it but you could get some adult diapers, I know it’s not a thing of pride or whatever but they exist for a reason.
There’s also moisture proof pads (or you can get puppy pads super easily) to save your furniture, even if you towel on top. When my mom died she had some… bleeding and accidents (cancer is horrible) and that shit soaks into furniture fiercely. Had to replace all the soft parts and reupholster the whole thing (was antique, very expensive, ugly as sin, but we couldn’t match the fabric). Moisture proof pads will potentially save you a lot of money if this is ongoing. Plus having them around for whenever is always good. You never know when you’ll get food poisoning or something.
Idk if you’ve considered it but you could get some adult diapers, I know it’s not a thing of pride or whatever but they exist for a reason.
I’ve considered it, but yeah, I don’t know if I could handle an ego hit like that. I’d feel like an old man and I’m only 46. Sitting on towels seems to have worked so far.
In that case at least consider the moisture proof pads, if you don’t already use barriers like matress pads that block moisture from the mattress itself and the like - everyone should be using them anyway because it extends the life of the mattress by a seriously significant amount, especially if you sweat at night, but most people apparently don’t, and frankly I don’t get why that barrier isn’t just built in… when it’s required for warranties… one urine accident is enough to permanently ruin a mattress, no matter what you do, and those happen all the time.
Anyway if you use a pad, they provide a barrier that is more independent of pride. If you can sit on a towel, it’s no different, but better for your stuff. You can buy puppy pads and nobody will know they are for you, but you won’t have the super negative consequences of no barrier.
I’ve just seen what happens long term and I’m sure you don’t want that on top of the issues you already face. That’s no fun. None of it is, but why let it get worse, you know?
Either way, I wish you a super speedy recovery from all of it! At least the gastro distress, if nothing else.
Yeah, I get what you’re saying. I think I could handle sleeping or sitting on a pad like that. A diaper though… I realize it’s totally not rational, but I just can’t face aging like that. Not yet. Anyway, thanks for the advice and the good wishes.
Rationality doesn’t factor in. There’s a reason my mom asked for pads and not diapers, even though diapers would be easy to come by and the pads weren’t.
Literally dying, escorted to toilet, sponge bathed… refused diapers.
She was an RN and worked hospice for a long while so she knew her options and chose the prideful ones.
And that’s ok. You have to live with yourself today and tomorrow and for however long after. Do what makes you comfortable, but please get some moisture barriers before you get to the “omg this cushion is full of mold” stage.
Fair enough. We actually have some puppy pads around and I’ve already put them down, so I appreciate what you said.
Thanks for the PSA. Those discharge papers have generic advice (it is true you usually want stool softeners when you take pain medication) but the surgeon will be more familiar with your specific condition.
Thanks for the advice! I’m getting mine out next year hopefully soon, to deal with my cripplingly intense 10 hour long gallstone pain episodes O_O
Nothing like writhing in the most intense excruciating pain for 10 hours and then finally falling asleep of exhaustion from the experience at 9am and having to sleep and recover all day, completely randomly with no warning, eh?
Ugh, sounds pretty awful. My issue isn’t gallstones. I talked about it elsewhere in the thread so I don’t want to annoy people by repeating it, but I do understand that sort of pain issue both because I have a nerve disorder and because I had kidney stones last year. I really won the genetic lottery.
Anyway, good luck with your surgery!
Or you could diet the stones away and keep the gallbladder:
Holy Shit (pun intended)!!!
Please, I am not a clergyman.
Maybe you are royalty instead, with your porcelain throne and all that.
I had to give up my claim to the throne when I got my gallbladder taken out. I cannot be the king if my body has been corrupted.
It’s still Saturnalia, so roles are reversed. You can be king for another day or so
Great. I only get the powers of monarchy when I’m stuck in the bathroom.
So that’s how squids fly.
More seriously, my sympathies.
If you don’t have one already, consider a bidet.
It’s nice enough on the day to day, but when you’ve got diarrhea it helps making it more bearable.This so much. If you can swing it the warm water option ones for winter are even better. Luxe Bidet makes affordable ones that I found easy enough to install.
I mean diarrhea still sucks, but at least you don’t also end up with irritation from wiping so much.
I appreciate the sympathies.
Thanks for the tip. I will likely need my gallbladder removed in the coming year.
Overall, it’s been a pretty easy recovery. The pain is minimal enough that I’m doing okay with one tramadol a couple of times a day and by tomorrow, I’ll probably be off the tramadol. The diarrhea has been the worst part so far. And it’s been pretty bad, admittedly, but the lack of serious pain is not something I expected. In my case, the gallbladder removal was a last effort at solving my weird issues before I go to the Mayo Clinic. I’ll know if it was a success in 1-2 weeks.
Good luck with your surgery! I hope it goes as smoothly as mine.
My only complaint is that my surgeon used a robot on other people but not a robot on me. Why didn’t I get a robot?
I had mine out a few years ago, and it was a pretty easy recovery. I don’t remember any diarrhea at all, nor any advice to take stool softeners. Then again, I only took ibuprofen for the pain. I had some hydrocodone prescribed but I never needed it.
The pain has been bad enough that the Tramadol has been worth taking so far, but I don’t think I’ll need it tomorrow.
The surgeon was surprised I only took ibuprofen, but then he pointed out that since I was already living with chronic pain, maybe the added bit from the surgical recovery wasn’t enough to really notice.
Either way, I wish you an easy and speedy recovery and hope the gall bladder removal fixes what you need fixed.
Thanks! Actually, I’m also a chronic pain sufferer. I have a nerve disorder in my face. I could probably live without the tramadol because of that, but I feel like it’s worth it just for basic comfort until tomorrow.
Or you could diet the stones away and keep the gallbladder:
My partner is finishing recovery for a bilateral reduction, and her surgeon explicitly said to ignore the discharge papers and to only listen to his instructions/medrec papers for the same reason.
That would have been nice to hear from my surgeon. Oh well.
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I appreciate the advice. I spent a couple of years on various opioids at various dosages due to a shitty neurologist trying and failing to treat a nerve disorder, so I’m pretty aware of what withdrawal is like. It helps that I don’t really like any of the effects of opioids apart from pain relief. I’ll be okay taking it for only 3-4 days and only for pain.
And yeah, I’m doing a follow-up soon after Christmas. They said 1-2 weeks.
My issues were not gallstone issues. I had low function in my gallbladder based on certain metrics which led to mild dyskinesia. But even the surgeon said he only gives it a 50/50 chance of working.
Basically, I have had no solid food since August. I live on Ensure and Gatorade. This is the second time around for that because I couldn’t eat solid food for about six weeks starting in February of this year either. It’s not nausea, it’s a total aversion to food. My doctor described it as like anorexia except with a physical rather than a psychological cause. I also dry heave most mornings when I get up, but nothing has ever come out.
The good news is I haven’t heaved in two days. The bad news is that the aversion to food has not abated even slightly and I’ve gone two days without heaving before. So we’ll see what happens. If this doesn’t work in 1-2 weeks, it’s off to the Mayo Clinic.
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Good luck to you! I hope every day continues to get better!
Edit: Ask your doctor about Marinol, it’ll possibly make you munch your heart out. :) (it’s legal THC, and your condition seems chronic enough to warrant the use)
Re the edit- I just use the real thing. It’s illegal here in Indiana, but it’s legal in neighboring Illinois and I’m very close to the state line. It helps with my trigeminal neuralgia (the nerve disorder) but it hasn’t done anything about my appetite. The only thing it does in regards to this problem is help settle my stomach after the morning heaving.
If you are a heavy cannabis user, they have to use stronger anesthesia on you, but I seem to be able to tolerate anesthesia without any long-term effects, so that wasn’t a concern.
Marinol is not thc and is absolutely garbage compared to full spectrum cannabis products. Assuming you live in a sane state, go get yourself some RSO if you want to see if cannabis can help (I don’t think it will, it doesn’t sound like your symptoms are nausea related lack of appetite)
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Ahh the more you know, I didn’t realize it was actually delta 9.
Oh Ugh I’m sorry.
Thanks. Honestly, it sounds worse than it feels. I’m not in pain and I feel fine most of the time. It sucks not eating, obviously, but I generally feel okay. That’s part of what has made this issue so mysterious.
Sounds like you’re full of shit
Not anymore hopefully.
But wait, there’s more!
Oh god no…
It’s stopped. For now.
So…listen to them when they say likely diarrhea or take the stool softener? I just got out of surgery….please answer quickly!!!
Do not take the stool softener. Not if you value your underwear.
Shit
Very much so.
Listen to what your surgeon says, doubly so if they contradicted your discharge papers
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I believe the shoulder pain is from the gas they pump into you, because they talked to me about it (I don’t remember why it specifically becomes shoulder pain) and I got the shoulder pain for a while, but the gas pains overall left me quickly thankfully. The nurse said that for some people, especially women, it can take a week or two like it did with you. The pain was right up there with some of my most severe trigeminal neuralgia flare-ups and the kidney stone I had last year, so I’m really, really glad it didn’t last.
I was told walking helped, and I spent about an hour walking around the house (with a cane because I was still a little groggy from the anesthesia) and it did help.
It’s because the trapped gas puts pressure on nerves that radiate to the shoulder.
But not nerves that go to other places? Is there something specific about those nerves?
It’s similar to how men often feel pain down the left arm with heart damage. The theory is that in utero, as we develop, the tissues that the nerves going to your gall bladder area and your shoulder may have started as the same batch of tissue. As you develop things branch off and move away from the starting point in different directions. But your brain still has a little bit of holdover from when the structures were the same clump of cells.
Gall bladder can refer pain to the right shoulder sometimes. Is that the side you had symptoms on?
Interesting. Thanks for the explanation. My case was unusual. I had no pain… I’ve gone into it elsewhere in the thread and I don’t want to annoy people by repeating it over and over again, but suffice it to say, I didn’t have the typical symptoms of someone with gallbladder issues.
Sorry for your troubles. Had my GB out about five years ago; my gut has never completely recovered. Got to the point where I couldn’t leave the house ’cause of loose stools. (Pro Tip: learn about the Bristol Scale. It makes talking about your situation much easier with your family and doctors.) Today I have my life back: I take 2mg of Loperamide in the a.m. and 4mg before bed. Now smacking the Bristol Scale solidly (pun there) at the middle of the bell curve. Hope you can get yourself back on track!
Wow! That sounds really bad and I’m sorry to hear it! I will look up the Bristol Scale and talk to my GP about it. I’m glad you’re doing better now!
One of my symptoms seems to be gone, so having the gallbladder out might have done the trick in terms of my mystery illness, but I’ll have to wait 1-2 weeks when it comes to possibly getting my appetite back. I haven’t had solid food since August. I was also dry heaving every morning, but I haven’t done it once since I had the surgery last Thursday, so that’s three days without doing it, which I believe is a record. That makes me really hopeful.
Anyway, I appreciate the advice. Thanks!
Wait, so if the discharge says this, one would assume you get prescribed opiates for routine surgery? I legitimately do not think I have seen this in my country, like ever (we are talking uncomplicated routine gallbladder removal).
Yeah, they give you a week’s script for percoset in the US when you get it removed. What do they do in your country?
I mean, a percoset I guess is fine, low abuse potential. Most people, like 95% are fine with a regular single NSAID as needed (like Ibuprofen or Dexketoprofene) after routine surgery.
I’ve had a lot of experience with opiates already. I have a very painful nerve disorder and I had a neurologist who tried for something like two years to find the “right” one that would work on it and none of them ever did. I never got addicted in the sense that I ever felt a craving for any of it, but I did go through withdrawal for a couple of days, which was not fun. So I’m not worried about abusing it by using it for 3 or 4 days.
Oh, for sure, I do not mean anyone in particular, just seemed silly as a blanket policy, but I did not consider it might be percoset. That one is kind of abuse-at-your-own-risk since taking too many risks liver injury.
It’s tramodol, not percocet. Still strong, but I really don’t like the way they make me feel other than the pain relief, which is going to make it pretty easy to stop today.
