Medical Questions

[PB]

Some of you may remember the other day I said something about them telling me I had kidney stones.

Well the moronic Doctors were wrong once again, and sent me for this $600 test to check for the amount of kidney stones. Well they didn't see any, but they found that I have a huge gallstone that is basically blocking off the bile duct in my body. yes I know all this probably sounds a little gross..

But.... now they are saying I must have my gallbladder removed or it could do major damage to my body. It can cause things such and liver troubles to gangrene. YUCK.

my question... has anyone here had their gallbladder removed? or any other body part for that matter.. I have never had surgery before. I've never even had stitches.. well other than with labor, but that was completely different. I know it is a procedure that is done quite often though.... but in the back of my mind, of course, i'm like.. my luck something will go wrong. lol. And it's creepy to me to know that they are removing an actual organ in my body. ewwww... but what freaks me out even more, is knowing i had symptoms of it for over a year and a half, and they just now found it.. by accident.

any suggestions? Ideas? full jokes? something!

PB

[Cruise Director]

Im not a lot of help here. All I have ever had removed are my tonsils and wisdom teeth. Good Luck.

[zim]

nor am i, every part of my body that has been removed has fallen out of its own volition.


but PB, like it or not our doctors are human.
dont be angry they didnt find it sooner, be happy they found it now. go for the operation (after a 2nd opinion) and be well. everything will be a ok.

a support group is something you have.

[Rabble Rouser]

My mother had her gallbladder removed, and it appeared to be nothing to worry about.

I'll talk to her about it when she gets home and post any info I get.

[Rabble Rouser]

Okay, back with more info.

And this is her personal experience, so I don't know if it's like this for everyone.

She was put under anesthesia, and hers was removed in the laparoscopic way, which is the most common. She had three one-inch cuts, and they stuck tubes in through the cuts to fill the abdominal area with gas (yeah, it's pretty gross), and used a laparoscope (which is a small camera) to locate the gallbladder. They make a few snips, and take it out. She was stitched up, and was kept overnight for observation. Most people do not have to stay overnight...she only had to because of another condition she had.

She said that after coming out of the anesthesia, she had very severe pain in her one shoulder, which was caused by the gas that was pumped into her. She said that the intense pain only lasted for about an hour, and then took the form of discomfort, as opposed to pain. She said it only lasts about a day, or whenever the gas is reabsorbed by the body. She also experienced some discomfort in her abdominal area, but she said that only lasted a few days as well. No medication was necessary.

The stitches dissolve, and she was given patches to wear over them for a week. The patches stayed on very well, and she was basically able to shower and everything without them coming off. She had to limit her physical exertion for about a week, but after that, it was fine.

She said that overall, it was not bad at all. She said the worst part for her was actually coming out of the anesthesia. Everyone comes out of it differently. She came out totally terrified and disoriented, but when I was put under before, I came out totally calm (my first question was "What time is it?"). How you'll react, I don't know, but people who react like my mother aren't that common.

Now, if the gallbladder is almost or completely blocked, you'll have to undergo a different kind of surgery (open cholecystectomy, I think it's called) where one long incision is used as opposed to several smaller ones. I really don't know a whole lot about that, except that recovery time is longer.

I found some links to further explain stuff.

http://www.sages.org/pi_chole.html
http://www.besthealth.com/surgery/GallbladderRemoval_1.html (this one also explains a bit more about open cholecystectomy)

Hope that helps. :)

[Billyman]

PB, you've little to worry about. Gallblader removal surgery is as basic as removing tonsiles. I don't know if they'll put me to sleep or not. For some reason hospitals are doing more and more with local anesthesia (I like the "put me to sleep", it keeps me from getting bored) ;) If they put you out, you'll wake up a little groggly, tired and a little sore. If they don't put you out, you'll just be a little sore. Don't worry about it sweety, you'll be ok. It's not like brain removal surgery or any thing (most people don't recover from that). You'll be fine.

And besides, anything goes wrong, there's always that malpractice thing. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Heh, kidding, just don't worry about it.

Would you like me to go there to make sure they do it right?

[PB]

You guys are so great!

Thank you for all the information. I know it's not a big deal surgery, just the idea of removing one of my organs is creepy to me.

I have never been "under" before. I am majorly allergic to Betadine.. and I think this is part of what worries me most.. If they get it in there, I'm dead and that is all there is too it. I remember being sedated and having to scream cause i could hardly move, and there was all these tags on me saying I was allergic to betadyne... she comes and swabs down my arm to take blood once again... luckily it just bunred my skin rather, if she had actually made prick into my skin, my heart could stop again. which is how i found out i was allegfic to it to begin with.... not pleasant, believe me.

I think that's more of what I'm afraid of, but I'm trying to get them to wait another 6 weeks providing nothing strange happens, then I'll have time to prepare for it.


Thank you again!

PB

[ms. bing]

i hate to be the one negative voice, but....
tyler is where doctors go to learn to be doctors. i have never gotten good medical attention around here nor has anyone i have ever known. for the average little problem, this is not a big deal, but if they want to do surgery on you, get a second opinion and go to dallas to get it. if they tell you the same thing, youll be able to relax and rest assured, but it already sounds like theyre fumbling with the diagnoses, and it would really suck for you to find out they removed something they didnt need to, or didnt solve the whole problem.
think about it this way, if it was your son, what would you do?

[PB]

Originally posted by ms. bing

think about it this way, if it was your son, what would you do?

Good Point! I knew I always liked you for some reason! :) *kiss*

I know all about all the doctors here sweetie.. believe me... I am still baffeled, that for 2 years I had constant issues that are big symptoms of gallbladder problems.. and they finally found it on accident~! hello nurse!

PB