u/Last_Owl5527

Hi!

I am on day 12 of recovery from gallbladder removal surgery. My surgery was done at BovenIJ in Amsterdam. I had 3 visits the emergency since the surgery of which one was rhe most awful experience in my entire life and I am going to start a legal action towards this hospital. But something more important and urgent is happening…Since day 7 I started to have pain across my abdomen (everywhere) but mainly in the middle and my upper right quadrant and radiating back pretty similar to the gallbladder attacks.

Finally managed to see my surgeon yesterday but I am totally lost with their approach…

I have super tender to touch spot, ultrasound report says there is liquid and debris in the gallbladder bed, all my liver enzymes are elevated along with my billurubin… She thinks its okay and nothing to be worried about, some patients do have slower recovery and if I have a stone it may pass…

I cannot grasp this approach. I live on my own, my mum came to take care of me and we thought by 3rd week i should be fine but I am still dependent on others. Moreover they don’t even offer CT or MRI to make sure that there is no stuck stone but relying on ultrasound only which does not give clear diagnosis in these cases…

I want to cry, I feel like this won’t ever pass, they don’t check me properly or take my symptoms serious and I will find myself in a more horrible position down the line with needing ERCP etc…

Please help 😔 anyone experienced the same before? If you are in the Netherlands you can help particularly better, I want to maybe ask for a second opinion but I don’t know the process nor which hospital to request in Amsterdam area for better approach..

But today the surgeon said she doesnt have time for it if my symptoms carrying on then I should go to emergency, but i need department referral for second opinion. I am just super stuck please someone help me 😭

Thank you! 🥺

Hi!

I am on day 12 of recovery. Since day 7 I started to have pain across my abdomen (everywhere) but mainly in the middle and my upper right quadrant and radiating back pretty similar to the attacks.

Finally managed to see my surgeon but I am totally lost with their approach…

I have super tender to touch spot, ultrasound report says there is liquid and debris in the gallbladder bed, all my liver enzymes are elevated along with my billurubin… She thinks its okay and nothing to be worried about, some patients do have slower recovery and if I have a stone it may pass…

I cannot grasp this approach. I live on my own, my mum came to take care of me and we thought by 3rd week i should be fine but I am still dependent on others. Moreover they don’t even offer CT or MRI to make sure that there is no stuck stone but relying on ultrasound only…

I want to cry, I feel like this won’t ever pass, they don’t check me properly or take my symptoms serious and I will find myself in a more horrible position down the line with needing ERCP etc…

Please help 😔 anyone experienced the same before? If you are in the Netherlands you can help particularly better, I want to maybe ask for a second opinion but I don’t know the process nor which hospital to request in Amsterdam area for better approach..

Thank you! 🥺

Hey everyone. I’m on day 9 post-op. Overall, I’m generally fine. My wounds look okay, and I haven’t had any vomiting or fever. I can still feel the incisions here and there, but they’re becoming less painful and are now mostly just uncomfortable.

What’s starting to worry me is that I’ve been having pain on my right side, both front and back. Sometimes it’s near/on my stomach, and sometimes it moves to the left upper quadrant. It feels like a deep internal aching pain. It started around day 6, comes in waves, and today I noticed it mostly after eating.

I’ve been very strict with my diet and haven’t really eaten anything unsafe or high in fat. Only in the last 2 days did I introduce chicken and a slightly fattier side instead of just dry chicken breast. Other than that, I’ve been sticking to very safe foods.

Since surgery, I’ve only pooped twice. The first time was fairly normal consistency, although the color was a bit orange (sorry for the TMI). The second time was more diarrhea-like after eating boiled spinach.

Now it’s been 5 days without being able to go to the toilet. I’ve eaten sandwiches, soup, fruit, crackers, courgette, etc., and I’ve also taken two Movicol sachets, but nothing has happened.

I’m really worried and I’ll call my doctor tomorrow, but based on your experiences, does this sound normal?

Today is day 4 post-op, and I feel like I desperately need a shower 😭

I still have all my bandages on and I’m honestly really scared to take them off. For some reason the idea of keeping the incisions “closed” feels safer to me, and I’m even considering putting clean bandages back on afterward. The nurse told me it wouldn’t really make much difference whether I kept them covered or left them open, but I’m still anxious about it.

What did you guys do for your first shower? Did you replace the bandages afterward or remove them completely? I was thinking to soak the bandages with luke warm water so they get soft a bit but then also unsure if it’s the right thing to do?

I have 4 incisions:
1 upper incision
2 near where my gallbladder was
1 inside/under my belly button (this one hurts the most)

Would really appreciate any advice or experiences because I think I’m overthinking this a lot 🥲

Ok, my experience with the surgery might help some anxious people who are waiting for theirs. If you’ve seen a few of my previous posts, you’ll know how anxious I was beforehand.

Day 0 – Surgery Day
I arrived at the hospital at 7am, and I was out of surgery by 9:30am. Because of my anxiety, they gave me a private room so a family member could stay with me. Then I went down to the prep room, where they mostly just had me wait while they sorted out blood work, the cannula, etc. After that, the anesthesiologist came to pick me up.
I went into the OR still wearing my socks, which even had cat hair on them, so that shocked me a bit because I assumed everything would be fully sterile 🥲

I got anxious and asked to hold my surgeon’s hand. She was very kind, and then I went to sleep.
I remember waking up in the recovery room under lots of blankets. I was in pain, but mostly drifting in and out of sleep. The nurses kept waking me because I was apparently sleeping with my mouth open and occasionally stopping breathing, almost like sleep apnea. I stayed there for about 1–2 hours before being transferred back to my room.

I did experience gas pain, especially in my abdomen. It felt like something heavy was sitting on top of me. I also had shoulder pain, like I had a bad injury. None of it was unbearable though definitely uncomfortable and painful, but not “I want to die” painful lol.
They gave me morphine and oxycodone. Unfortunately, they didn’t provide anything specifically for gas relief, so you basically just have to walk it off. I tried to, but then the only real complication happened.

I suddenly felt extremely nauseous and started contracting before vomiting, which hurt my stitches. I got up to vomit, and then my blood pressure crashed really badly. Three nurses, including the head nurse, rushed into the room. When I came around again, they said it wasn’t the first time they’d seen it happen, but apparently I had gone completely pale even my lips were white and they were equally terrified so when they checked my blood pressure it was 68/42 and It was probably even worse when i went fully pale. I genuinely felt like I was going to pass out.
They handled it really well, but after that they recommended I stay overnight, so I agreed.
By 8pm I was transferred to the night ward, where I shared a room with two older ladies who didn’t speak any English. I had to use my basic level Dutch, which actually turned into a fun experience.
The night was painful, but nothing oxycodone couldn’t help with. I got up twice to walk and pee. I didn’t have much appetite, but I managed to eat some clear broth soup, a slice of bread with cheese, and ice lollies. Same thing again for breakfast. Also saw my stones which were super dark and spikey! I felt the spikes and even told my friends when I felt the pains and they came exactly how I thought they would look like.

Day 1
I was transferred home. I followed some advice I’d read here and brought a pillow and prepared a wheelchair because I have a long walk to my apartment. That definitely helped.
I also heard a lot of people were more comfortable sleeping in an inclined position, so I ended up getting a hospital bed delivered to my home through a free service. It’s probably overkill, but honestly it helps a lot with lying down and sitting up more comfortably.
That night, though, I started having breathing difficulties. At first I thought it might be from taking too much oxycodone, but looking back I think it was trapped gas. I ended up calling an ambulance. They did an ECG and saw possible signs of a lung embolism, so I had to go back to the hospital in the ambulance.
That ride was awful — the bigger the vehicle, the shakier every bump in the road feels 🥲
What happened at the hospital afterward was honestly one of the worst medical experiences of my life, but it’s unrelated to this surgery, so I won’t go into detail. I ended up having a massive anxiety attack though, crying and hyperventilating, and I think that made my incisions hurt horribly the next day.

Day 3
I was super sore after the hospital experience the day before, but overall I managed okay. I could get up by myself without much help, walk around a bit, pass gas, and I finally had my first bowel movement naturally without needing laxatives after the oxycodone.
That night was terrible though. I think I got really bloated after eating boiled courgettes with cottage cheese. My body absolutely did not like it. The gas pain made me incredibly sore, and honestly that was probably the most painful part of recovery so far. But i still haven’t experienced any diarrhoea (although it felt like it twice) or vomitting.

Day 4
Today is day 4, and overall I’m okay, but I’ve started feeling my incisions more now. I’m also struggling with food because I’m scared of eating something “wrong” and making recovery more miserable. Right now I’m sticking to safe foods like rice, chicken, and crackers.
Hopefully recovery keeps going like this. I’m not going to lie it’s definitely miserable at times but nothing I was absolutely terrified of has happened so far, and hopefully it stays that way.

If your surgery is coming up, you really will manage it. Try not to panic 🫶

I still haven’t opened my bandages because I’m honestly scared to look, and I still haven’t showered either… but today’s the day. Wish me luck.

I’m planning to put fresh bandages back on after showering because it makes me feel a little more secure. Did anyone else do that? Any tips for wound care?

I have surgery in two days and I’m completely freaking out 🥹

I have a few final questions for those who’ve already gone through this:

- What was the best diet/food prep for the first week after surgery? Besides the low on fat and try and fails but more after to learn the safest choices.

- How soon after surgery were you able to sleep on your side or face down comfortably?

- My surgeon said they plan to discharge me the same day after laparoscopic surgery, which honestly feels strange to me for a procedure like this. Were any of you discharged the same day? What was your experience like? I’m considering pushing to stay overnight because of my anxiety.

- I have severe anxiety and I’m especially worried about vomiting or intense pain making me panic and think something is seriously wrong. I want to avoid unnecessary ER visits if possible. Besides obvious things like fever, what symptoms/pain levels were considered “normal” during recovery, and what symptoms actually turned out to be concerning?

- Any unexpected recovery symptoms that caught you off guard but ended up being totally normal?

- If you had nausea after anesthesia, how long did it last and did anything help?

- Is there anything you wish you had bought/prepared before surgery that made recovery easier?

I know everyone heals differently, but hearing real experiences would really help calm my nerves a bit right now. Thank you and sorry for the anxiety spam questions 🙏

Ps: Especially if anyone had their surgery in the Netherlands can particularly help