gallbladder surgery...what to expect?

ifwisheswerefishes

got the dreaded phonecall from my doctor's office today. i have to have my gallbladder out.

can anyone give me any insight into what the pre-op and post-op is like, what i can expect, and what i can do about breastfeeding...am i going to be off my feet a lot? can i still BF? what do i have to do to prep pre-surgery?

feeling very overwhelmed. any advice or information you ladies can share would be amazing.  

watercolor5

Nothing to add, just that I'm in the same situation, so I'll be watching this post... GL with the surgery!  (I see the gastro surgeon on Nov 2)

senorita04

I had my gallbladder taken out 5 years ago. I had to stay in the hospital overnight (standard procedure for my hospital, but I have heard of people going home the same day) and was home early the next morning.

I wouldn't say that you have to be totally off your feet, but I had to take it easy for a couple of days. My stomach was pretty sore..  the pain shouldn't be too bad for you after just having a baby :P

I can't really help as far as BF goes... DD1 was a toddler and no longer BF'ing, so that wasn't an issue for me. Like I said earlier, my stomach was pretty sore, so I would imagine BF may be pretty uncomfortable. It may be easier to pump if that's possible.

I can't really remember anything else... It was a long time ago, and I can't really remember the pre-surgery prep. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

enjoylife

I didn't have my gallbladder out but did have appendicitis and had surgery almost 2 weeks ago for it. I had to pump/dump for a day. Pp wasn't kidding about the laparoscopic air bubbles they hurt like a biiiiych and I didn't even feel the abd pain from surgery until 2ish days later once the air dissipated. I was readmitted for a wound infection and now on antibiotics but I have been able to bf as well as pump jut be very vocal with the doctors and nurses reminding them you BF. FWIW I was on Percocet now changed to Tylenol 3 and clindamycin and levaquin for pain and antibiotics and can still bf. we introduced the bottle about a week before my surgery so we didn't have to worry that LO wasn't going to take to it. Good luck with the surgery and I hope a speedy recovery. I don't mind the pain, what is worse is the weight restriction. I'm not supposed To lift more than 1015 pounds and LO is 7 weeks old and 13 and my almost 2 year old weighs 30 pounds and doesn't quite understand why I won't pick him up anymore.

EMOmamma

Sorry - I was lurking looking for a friend and this caught my eye.  

I just had mine out at 5w pp in June.  They told me a 20lb weight limit so I had no problem handling my infant but couldn't pick up my toddler for 2 weeks.  For BFing I had to pump and dump because the had to use contrast (I had a errant stone blocking the common bile duct and causing pancreatitis) but with just the anesthesia I could have BFed as soon as I felt able.  If you can find out the exact meds you can check infantrisk.com and find out what the risks are.  Doctors seem to always say 24hr but it's not always necessary.  I was really down and out for about 2 days then I was ok after that.  Good luck!

rpt06

I had mine out when my DD was 4 months old.  It really wasn't a big deal.  I was a little sore and had to take it easy but was fine over all.  I had help for a couple days afterwards but after that I was on my own.  I just didn't do any unnecessary lifting.

stella_blu

Talk to the doc and anesthesiologist and find out what meds they plan to use and then call your pharmacist or LC and ask about the effects on bf. I think I only skipped one or two feedin with dd. I was really uncomfortable for about 12 hours and still not right for a couple days. I had mine out at 3 months pp with DD.

My first attack was when she was 2 weeks. I managed them with diet until I could establish bf and build enough freezer stash.