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Gallbladder (post-op)

By Laurie | June 10, 2007

I’m keeping a medical file on this blog, so I wanted to keep my account of my gallbladder surgery here too. Here’s what I posted on my LiveJournal earlier today:

I was honestly really scared about getting surgery. I couldn’t get Peanut out of my head, and the fact that he was basically given an overdose of anesthesia into an IV. I’ve never gone through it before myself, so I had no idea what it would be like.

We arrived at the hospital about 9:30 in the morning with my parents. They gave us a pager and said that when it goes off it will be time for me to go back and get ready. It went off about 30 minutes later, and the nurse came and took me back to pee in a cup and weigh me. After that, I signed more papers (they definitely want to get everything in writing so that your family cannot sue). I was then asked to change into my gown (complete with back ventilation) and compression stockings. Those things are TIGHT. I then laid down in bed and the nurse came in to take my blood pressure, pulse, and to insert my IV. I was really scared about that because when D had to take me to the hospital back in December they put one in and it hurt for months afterward. No kidding. This nurse was really gentle though, and she even gave me a numbing shot first. I never felt her stick it in, and I have no bruise or pain from it now either.

I had to take several kinds of strange medications– one that tasted like liquid sweet tarts (Jill?) and another one was entered into my IV to keep my stomach from being upset. We watched TV– I requested The Price Is Right, until the doctor and anesthesiologist came back. I started to get nervous, so I took a small nap and when they finally came in I was still pretty sleepy. They said it was time, and my family gave me hugs and kisses and the doctor put on my cap and the anesthesia shot was given. I remember my family waving and the bed moving, but after that nothing.

It’s really kind of a strange sensation to suddenly wake up and have no clue where you’ve been for hours. I remember waking up and seeing a nurse and them speaking to me and asking if I was okay. The next thing I knew I was being wheeled into another room, and I told them I was cold. They brought me some heated blankets and I went back to sleep. Soon after (at least it seemed like it), D and my parents came in to see me. They say that they sat in the room with me for several hours, but I don’t remember it being that long. They tried to get me to eat and drink a little, and then I got dressed and was wheeled out.

I got a prescription for some pain medication, so we stopped off to get it filled on the way home. I have three incisions in my chest, and one under my bellybutton. They have 3-4 stitches each. They are bruised around them– probably from all the moving around I’ve been doing at night. I like to sleep on my stomach, and that was nearly impossible the first few days.

I’m doing good now though. Today is the closest I’ve been to feeling normal. I’ve been up and around without much pain. My parents came by and took us to lunch, and when we got home Tommy and Marie stopped by with Baby William. I’m thinking I’ll be back to work as usual tomorrow, or at least for half a day.

Topics: Medical |

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