3.5 Weeks post op and doing great
I’ve been a long time lurker here, but wanting to provide some hope and positivity for those contemplating or waiting for surgery. I’m a 45f, and had my first gallbladder attack at 16 years old. I suffered from attacks on and off through my teens and 20, and then they started getting worse during and after my first pregnancy. Sometimes I would go for months without one, but when they would come, they were really significant, 7-8/10 pain. At this point, doctors couldn’t tell me what it was, I’d had several ultrasounds after attacks and never any stones, so was diagnosed with IBS. In 2019, I finally got a hidascan - EF was at 12% and gallbladder removal was recommended. I dragged my feet, terrified of surgery, and then covid hit and I fell off the surgical radar.
After my 3rd baby (a 2020 surprise!) I started having attacks that were a 9-10/10 and felt like a heart attack. We even called an ambulance once! I went on HRT in 2023, and attacks got more frequent. General discomfort with eating got worse, and by mid 2025, I was having at least one attack a week. They could last anywhere from 1-12 hours. At that point I asked for another surgical consult, and another hidascan, and this time my EF was at 0%. I STILL drug my feet through, just so scared of surgery , and didn’t get on the list until early 2026.
Finally had surgery on May 16th, and I was SO SCARED. I’d never had surgery before and was/am incredibly creeped out by the whole concept of anesthesia and being operated on while being half dead (ha). I was scared of an error being made. Scared of complications. Scared of making the wrong decision.
Anyway, gallbladder came out, I went home, and I had a pretty rough recovery. The anesthesia made me feel pretty terrible for about 48 hours, the norco made me depressed, and being in made not able to move much or sleep well…well it sucks. I’m someone who struggles to take things one day at a time, and when I’m not feeling well, tend to go down a rabbit hole of anxiety that I will never feel well again. I had a good amount of pain from the gas, a ton of abdominal bloating, and eating wasn’t super pleasant. Once I stopped the pain meds, I started to feel better emotionally, but I still had a good amount of pain.
(I promise this story ends well)
On day 7, I went to a family event and ate Mexican rice and chicken from a buffet, and I was in pain and felt sick for 8 hours. This scared the crap out of me and I was worried about all the things I’d read about on here (SOD, PCS, retained stone). I went back to eating like an 80s mom on a diet. I was suppose to go back to work the next day, and I did, but I also called the surgeons office as soon as they opened and was able to be seen by a surgical resident same day. She wanted to rule at a retained stone, so she scheduled me for a CT scan and ultrasound, and wrote me off for the rest of the week.
By the time I got all my testing done and results back, I was feeling so much better. Labs and scans came back normal, and by day 14, I was eating almost normally (slightly lower fat than pre surgery) with no pain, and I was starting feel the benefits of the surgery. More energy, less anxiety, no pain, a general sense of well being since my non-functioning and inflamed gallbladder was finally gone after 30 years.
The reason why I wanted to post this is because I see so many people say that they’ve been told you’re supposed to recover from this surgery quickly. Like 5days to a week. But any medical literature talking about recovery rates of gallbladder surgery are only referring to the recovery from the PHYSICAL surgery. Like, recovery from the stab wounds and ability to be physically active without harming yourself more due to said stab wounds. It is not referring to your body’s recovery and adaptation to having an organ removed. That is just going to take longer.
For me, it took about 3 weeks. At 2 weeks I was feeling good, while still being careful about what I ate. At 3 weeks, I’m now eating almost like I was before (I ate a really high fat diet so just trying to rein it in a bit), and I am having no symptoms. No diarrhea, no pain, nothing. More energy. Less anxiety. Happier.
So my advice is, after surgery, give yourself time to recover. Know that it may take time for you to feel better. Everyone is different. I’ve read on here that it takes some a people 6 months for their system to adjust, and then they feel great.
Side note: I was diagnosed with chronic cholecystitis, biliary dyskinesia and sludge pre surgery, but when they took that sucker out, it was actually PACKED to the brim with poppy seed size pigment stones (black) and motor oil sludge. My surgeon suspects my pain on day 7 may have been a stray stone or two that were big enough to cause severe pain, but small enough to pass through. But I guess we’ll never know…
Good luck to everyone on your journeys!!!