Because I can't seem to do anything in half measures, I had the grand-daddy of gallbladder surgeries a couple of months ago. A little background: I spent the first twelve years of my life in and out of hospital with hydrocephalus. I wasn't supposed to make it past first grade, but my last brain surgery was 1978 and there's no way my shunt is still functioning.
My point in mentioning that is that I have a VERY high threshold for internal pain. Paper cut? I'm a total baby. Broken back? Nothing stronger than Ibuprofen and walking around the next day. So I was walking around, playing saxophone with a gallbladder so infected that I was in sepsis. I just thought it was the heat, so when I went to emergency and was admitted, I had a fever of 39 degrees Celsius and apparently my C reactivate protein was 280. I had the surgery a day and a half after being admitted. I'm glad they were able to do it laproscopically, but because of all the scar tissue on my abdomen from my hydrocephalus surgeries, they had to cut four times to get through. Because my gallbladder was so inflamed, there was a risk of complications. Sure enough, the surgeon (who is wonderful) nicked my bile duct so I had to have an ESRP four days later, due to a bile leak. I still have a stent on my bile duct, so I will have to undergo another ESRP . My gallbladder surgeon was thorough and professional, but she also had a terrific bedside manner. I wasn't expecting to get slammed with PTSD, and dealing with flashbacks from my childhood trauma. (Apologies if I'm too long-winded).
Aftermath so far: I lost 25 lbs (I was 240 lbs). My vitals were good the whole time, other than when I was admitted. I had been taking long acting insulin before bed, but my glucose has been in target 93% of the time, and I'm still having a bit of dessert every day. I think there had been inflammation for a long time that I was just ignoring (middle aged, overweight, etc), and the inflammation was driving up my glucose. I couldn't wait to have real food again when I was released. I had almost no sensitivity to food. I decided to try some chili the day after my release. I figured that if it bothers me at noon, at least I'll know before I have to sleep (as opposed to tempting fate at dinner). I had no issues , and have had Thai, Indian, etc without concern. Quality ice cream/ gelato ( no additives) is no problem, but just a little bit of grocery store ice cream made my stomach gurgle , so premium it is 😋. I used to be very regular, and I was able to defacacate as soon as I sat down. Now I am experiencing some constipation, not with cramps, but the feeling that I have to go and it's a false alarm. I am eating a balanced diet with plenty of fibre and hydration, and one coffee per day. Some days I don't go at all, and that's unusual. Sometimes my stomach feels unsettled , but not nauseated. I also start breathing shallowly , but I don't think it's my heart because I'm back to playing saxophone for hours at a time without being winded. I am having a full cardiac checkup this month , just to be proactive , but I expect the abdominal symptoms are anxiety related. My surgeon told when I was discharged that mine was in her top ten most difficult gallbladder surgeries. I'm pretty lucky. I keep beating the odds. I like to say that if I were a cat, I'd have used up ten lives by now. Be good to yourself and others, pet some friendly animals, and stay out of your head. Life is precious.