1. < Digestive Health

Dealing with symptoms after Gallbladder surgery

Posted by roisemaire @roisemaire, Nov 30, 2017

Hi is there anyone out there that suffers from nausea and pain almost 4 weeks after gallbladder operation. Every time I eat anything i get pain in site of operation. And tired all the time no energy

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johnny12345 | @johnny12345 | Mar 4, 2019
In reply to @rosemarya "As one of you has mentioned. "It is good to know that we are not alone!"..." + (show)
@rosemarya

As one of you has mentioned. "It is good to know that we are not alone!" This most definitely applies to this conversation, doesn't it. As a non medical person, I am always amazed at our differences and our similarities when we experience the same event. (gallbladder surgery).

Here's my story.
My husband had his gall bladder removed after an attack of pancreatitis. He had experienced no warning symptoms. He was in severe pain and was immediately admitted to the hospital via ER. He could not have the surgery until the pancreatitis was under control. On day 5 the labs showed he was ready, and he had laproscopic surgery. He was extremely weak and had lost considerable weight. He had nausea and could only sip clear liquids at first. After he returned home, he eventually was able to return to a more normal, but bland diet of soft foods. It was nearly 3 months until I was able to resume normal meal planning.
I don't have a gall bladder, either. It was removed along with my liver during my transplant surgery. As a result, we had already adopted a more healthy diet, and eat very little fried food. I do notice some discomfort, if I eat something fried or too much fat or spicy. He, on the otherhand, eats anything he wants.

@marierya, I hope that you and your doctor can decide what is best for you. Will you kep us posted.
@missdraggunn, I don't know anything about the meds that you are taking, but with your evening nausea and cramps, I am wondering if there is anything about your eating pattern that causes that. Have you tried eating that 'menu' midday with a light snack in evening? Or is it related to the timing of the meds?
@kozlo52, thanks for sharing your experience to open possibilities for others.
@micki733, That is interesting about the vitamin absorption. I know that we have to stay hydrated when we have vomitting, so it does make sense.
I, too, splurge on occasion. Is it possible that the weight loss is due to you becoming more active? Or have you possible decreased the amount of food that you are eating during a meal? That is something me and my husband have observed that we do.
@johnetteg, Have you talked to your surgeon about the rib cage pain? After my abdominal surgery, I was limited on lifting for a while. And when I started getting more active, I felt pain and if frightened me. My doctor told me about the scar tissue that was involved and how adhesions formed during the healing. He told me that is was okay to slowly return to my normal activites, but not to over do it. For me, around 9 months was involved.
@harliegirl, It is so rewarding to hear that you are doing well. What was it like for you to learn a new way to eat? Was it hard to do?
@billjn3, Hi, just checking in. How are you doing?

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Rosemary, you said your husband had lost alot of weight i too have lost about 25 pounds in 2 months had my gallbladder removed last week did your husband lose weight because he didnt eat that is what i did and it scares me sooo much but now it has been a week and i get nausea and kinda dizzy did he expierence this as well

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1 reply
johnny12345 | @johnny12345 | Mar 4, 2019
In reply to @missdraggunn "I had my gallbladder out the 16th and I've been experiencing nausea especially in the evening,..." + (show)
@missdraggunn

I had my gallbladder out the 16th and I've been experiencing nausea especially in the evening, stomach cramping, and fatigue. I have no appetite and have just been tensed and stressed over the whole thing. I have a follow up Friday with my surgeon. I'm hoping I get better soon, I on around the clock reglan for the nausea which sometimes doesn't even help all the way in the evenings.

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Hello i am so sorry you are not feeling well i too had my gallblader removed last week i was wondering do you sweat alot now and nausea that is my case still not gaining any weight sooo scary

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johnny12345 | @johnny12345 | Mar 4, 2019

Hello i had my gallbladder removed a week ago felt great first 3 days now nausea no appetite and sweating very tired and body sore all the tme does this sound ike you as well

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2 replies
Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Mar 4, 2019
In reply to @johnny12345 "Rosemary, you said your husband had lost alot of weight i too have lost about 25..." + (show)
@johnny12345

Rosemary, you said your husband had lost alot of weight i too have lost about 25 pounds in 2 months had my gallbladder removed last week did your husband lose weight because he didnt eat that is what i did and it scares me sooo much but now it has been a week and i get nausea and kinda dizzy did he expierence this as well

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@johnny12345, Do you know what caused the 25 lb weight loss before your surgery? Was it the reason for the surgery?

My husband had no symptoms beforehand and his weight was steady up to the day of his pancreatitis attack which came on suddenly. The doctors think that a gallstone was the cause, although it must have already passed when he was admitted to hospital. He was in the hospital for 5 days prior to being able to have laparoscopic gallbladder surgery. That is when he began to lose weight. The surgeon called it his 5 day fast because he was too sick to eat anything. After surgery, when he was supposed to try to eat, he had nausea so more weight loss. He is a thin man, so any weight loss is it too much. After 3 more days in hospital, he came home, and only sipped ginger ale and tea. After a couple days, he remembers eating some chicken noodle soup, and half of an English muffin.
We don't remember any dizziness, only being tired and needing to take it easy and nap - that was hard for him to accept. He slowly began to walk a little longer each day, and as his strength returned, so did his energy. He ate small bland diet and we gradually introduced some normal foods. I always asked him what he felt like eating, or what would taste good to him.
As a time comparison, his surgery was 1st week October 2017, and I remember that by Christmas that year, he was okay to eat lasagna for dinner.
His weight has returned to his normal weight.
I don't know if this makes a difference, but he only used the pain drugs for the first 2 days. After that he only took tylenol.

I hope that you feel better soon. Have you had a post op visit with your surgeon? This is something that you will want to discuss with him. Also your primary care doctor, who knows you, should be able to investigate what is going on and what, if anything, should be done to help you.

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Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Mar 4, 2019
In reply to @johnny12345 "Hello i had my gallbladder removed a week ago felt great first 3 days now nausea..." + (show)
@johnny12345

Hello i had my gallbladder removed a week ago felt great first 3 days now nausea no appetite and sweating very tired and body sore all the tme does this sound ike you as well

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Have you taken your temperature? If you have a fever, you might be developing an infection, and you should call your doctor.

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Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Mar 4, 2019
In reply to @micki733 "Thank you for checking on me and the others :). As for what I had mentioned..." + (show)
@micki733

Thank you for checking on me and the others :). As for what I had mentioned that you replied to, I have been eating less at each meal since and probably before surgery as I had daily nausea and only ate to keep something in me out of necessity. I eat probably half of what I used to as far as portion and don’t eat as many vegetables as I used to. I just have very little appetite and when I do eat, I can’t eat much at one sitting, so I wondered if I’m getting less of needed vitamins. I am taking OTC Vitamin D3, Vitamin B-12, and Vitamin E in addition to other meds I now take for gastritis (which I hope are temporary meds). They say it may take while for me to get back up to par. I have joined a Gall Bladder support group on FB also and a lady had my same symptoms (nausea-which has gotten better, fatigue, weakness, and now tremors). She said I took her a few months, but once she could eat right, those symptoms disappeared. I’m praying for the same for me and for all of us. If you or anyone else has had my symptoms above, please share your experience bc most people don’t have those and I’ve been tested for autoimmune disorders using tests by my primary care physician, but have an appt with a neurologist (can’t get in until late April) to help rule those out.
Thank you !

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@micki733, Did you see the link that I shared yesterday on gastritis?
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gastritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355807
In it, I read that treatment of gastritis depends on the specific cause. There are also some suggested lifestyle and home remedies that you might want to look at.

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johnny12345 | @johnny12345 | Mar 4, 2019

Yes maam they said it was gastroteritis because my stomach was so upset i fidnt really eat for about 6 weeks so that caused my gallstones... I guess it did and yes i have checked my temperature i do not have one but i have been nausea and sweaty since then every doctor says oh your fine sooo scary you know all my blood work comes back fine and ct scan is showing all good.

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micki733 | @micki733 | Mar 5, 2019
In reply to @rosemarya "@micki733, Did you see the link that I shared yesterday on gastritis? https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gastritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355807 In it, I..." + (show)
@rosemarya

@micki733, Did you see the link that I shared yesterday on gastritis?
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gastritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355807
In it, I read that treatment of gastritis depends on the specific cause. There are also some suggested lifestyle and home remedies that you might want to look at.

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Thank you Rosemary ! I clicked on it and read it. I think mine was acute gastritis as I never had any problems until about a month ago. My surgery was 7 weeks ago today. Before then, and right after, I never had stomach pain at all. The last time I took ibuprofen was the day after surgery. I took it twice that day instead of the pain meds as I don’t like pain meds. He last time I had any alcohol was way back in December before Christmas and symptoms starting. Now that I’m on Protonix for a month, it’s gitten much better. I have to take it for one more month and then my doctor will let me know if I can stop it. Thanks for the info ! I appreciate it.

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1 reply
micki733 | @micki733 | Mar 5, 2019
In reply to @johnny12345 "Hello i had my gallbladder removed a week ago felt great first 3 days now nausea..." + (show)
@johnny12345

Hello i had my gallbladder removed a week ago felt great first 3 days now nausea no appetite and sweating very tired and body sore all the tme does this sound ike you as well

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@johnny12345...I had surgery on 1-15-19 and I was fine for the first week (other than the expected soreness). At the one week mark, I had a follow up with my surgeon and it all went well and they released me to go back to work on light duty. No picking up or pulling on kids. I did that for two-half days and other than typical “go back to work after surgery ” fatigue, I was fine. By the third day I was supposed to go in, I woke up nauseous, fatigued, and weak. I made it to school but couldn’t stay. The fatigue, nausea, and weakness stayed for weeks. I went to Gastrointerology at the beginning of February and they did testing (endoscopy, lab work, and CT scan) and found only mild gastritis and treated for that. In the past week or so, the nausea has subsided. I don’t have much of an appetite and I make myself eat, typically bland foods as a preference these days, but I have been able to eat most anything my husband has brought him or cooked. The fatigue and weakness has stayed with me, but I feel that is slowly getting better. I have developed a “tremor” in the past 3-4 weeks too. It feels like a nervous tremor when you get scared or excited and I can tell it mostly when I use utensils to eat or pick up my drink to drink some. The only things I’ve done differently is joining this support group as well as ones on Facebook and I started taking a multi-vitamin each day in addition to making myself eat small meals throughout the day. I’m still not back at work yet as I can’t handle the kids for that long at the time as of yet. I’m an occupational therapy assistant in the school system. I hope you feel better soon !

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1 reply
Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | Mar 5, 2019
In reply to @micki733 "Thank you Rosemary ! I clicked on it and read it. I think mine was acute..." + (show)
@micki733

Thank you Rosemary ! I clicked on it and read it. I think mine was acute gastritis as I never had any problems until about a month ago. My surgery was 7 weeks ago today. Before then, and right after, I never had stomach pain at all. The last time I took ibuprofen was the day after surgery. I took it twice that day instead of the pain meds as I don’t like pain meds. He last time I had any alcohol was way back in December before Christmas and symptoms starting. Now that I’m on Protonix for a month, it’s gitten much better. I have to take it for one more month and then my doctor will let me know if I can stop it. Thanks for the info ! I appreciate it.

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Thanks for sharing your positive message. I hope you continue to experience improvement. Keep the in touch - because your progress is an encouraging sign to others.

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