Gallblatter surgery complications
By stary1
@stary1 (6611)
United States
April 25, 2012 6:01pm CST
Good grief...my poor hubby went to the emergency room and was sent home with a 'diagnosis' of stomach flu. Then a week later he was back in emergency and they decided he had an infected gallblatter. He ended up having 2 surgeries . The first they removed the gallblatter, the second they had to go back in to stop some bleeding. He ended up in ICU for over a weeek. I thought gallblatter surgery was suppose to be painful but not this complicated. 
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15 responses
@celticeagle (189838)
• Boise, Idaho
26 Apr 12
I used to have gall bladder attacks and pleurisy attack at the same time. Oh, it hurt so bad! Some of the worst pain I have ever had. And all that helps is some ice cold liquid. If such things are caught early they aren't near as bad as if they are let to get worse.
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I think the fact that he was misdiagnosed on the first emergency room visit was the reason he had such a hard time of it....@celticeagle (189838)
• Boise, Idaho
26 Apr 12
Yes, indeed. Misdiagnosis can be deadly. Luckily it was caught. Ugh!
@bunnybon7 (50970)
• Holiday, Florida
26 Apr 12
good grief. where are you located? i mean i sure hope the doctors are better here. there must be terrible medical service where you are. my mom had hers out way back in the 50's and never had any trouble that much. was up and about and better in a few days. 
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
26 Apr 12
Your poor hubby indeed, I hope he is doing much better now. Is he home yet and recovering well?
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
26 Apr 12
Oh good and yes he may be weak for a while, but at least the worst of it is over. I have heard many stories where a doctor misdiagnosed a patient, it can be devastating.. 
@stary1 (6611)
• United States
26 Apr 12
carmelanirel TY yes he is home but he is weak and with the double surgeries I guess recovery time will be longer...plus he is really PO'd they didn't catch it the first time...The experience was a nightmare...certainly nothing either of us anticipated...
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@lilybug (21107)
• United States
26 Apr 12
When I had my gallbladder removed about 12 years ago they ripped it trying to take it out because my liver and gallbladder were fused together. I was in some severe pain for about a week, but I only had an over night hospital stay. I was supposed to go home a few hours after the surgery, but since they botched it I had to stay.
I hope your husband is doing better soon.
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@ShyBear88 (59342)
• Sterling, Virginia
27 Apr 12
My husband had his Gallbladder taken out in October. But he didn't have any complications or difficulty with his. He did have a longer recovery because of them taking out his appendix at the same time. I hope your husband feels better soon and isn't in pain for too long.
@stary1 (6611)
• United States
20 May 12
ShyBear88 Thanks... my hubby is better. I am glad your husband didn't have complications. He had a lot to deal with having both parts removed. I have been told gall blatter surgery is among the most painful.
It seems almost sensible to remove the appendix at the same time...after all we don't need our appendix and now when he gets a pain in his side he will know it isn't appendicitis...
@ShyBear88 (59342)
• Sterling, Virginia
21 May 12
Even though the appendix isn't' need it is still need it does some of the cleaning of stuff we eat and drink all of the time. It did hurt a lot of him I think its good to say he had a baby taken out of him. He still hurts here and there but that is because they want through muscles and they take a while to heal it hasn't even been a year. The good thing was that a few days after he had his surgery my parents where taking my daughter out of town for 2 weeks so that helped a lot for his recovery and getting back to work. Since he has a desk job he got to go back to work sooner. There are things he can eat that often any more. We don't eat red meat but that is because of something else not his gallbladder.
@billutheguy (179)
• India
21 May 12
My mom has a similar problem , although her case is not so critical , so she has been controlling it by using some home remedies like drinking that flax seed tea but that may not be required after the surgery .
A long time back I was diagnosed with stomach flu my self but it turned out to be some intestine infection, but it required a surgery anyway .
Its a troubling time because of all the limitations to the patient but its also not hard for his loved ones to see him in that state .
So I wish him a speedy recovery , I mean that is all I can do.
@billutheguy (179)
• India
22 May 12
My surgery was months ago , thanks anyway and thanks for the warm welcome.
@GardenGerty (169448)
• United States
26 Apr 12
Sometimes gall bladder surgery does have complications, it sounds as if the hospital is not very good at their job.
@sylvia13 (1850)
• Nelson Bay, Australia
26 Apr 12
My sister had gall bladder problems a while ago and she was in constant pain until they found time to remove it. Now she is better, has no pain, but she does have to watch out what she eats, as grease always affects her!
@shaggin (74987)
• United States
26 Apr 12
I'm sure with any surgery there is always complications that can arise for the unlucky few and sounds like that was your husbands case :( I am so sorry to hear all that he went through. A friend of mine had to have her gall bladder removed while she was pregnant with her 3rd chid. I was so scared for her but the surgery went fine and the baby is about 5 months old now.
@stary1 (6611)
• United States
26 Apr 12
shaggin..I am very happy to hear about your friend..that is the usual case... that this is a fairly routine and uncomplicated procedure. I still feel had the orpiginal diagnosis been correct perhaps all of this could have been avoided, but that is not what happened.
@stary1 (6611)
• United States
20 May 12
roberten..Thank you ...things are indeed betting better. It was a nightmare for sure...I agree if that first emergency room diagnosis had been correct I bet we could have avoided all this trauma..oh welll..such is life sometimes...at least he is on the mend now..
@stary1 (6611)
• United States
6 May 12
savypat
Thank you..he is getting better..It is about a month since he is home and he doesn't need the wheel chair or walker anymore and is using a cane for a bit of balance since he is still weak. Sometimes he forgets he needs a cane and I think that is a good sign since he can walk fairly well without one. He lost 20 pounds during the 2 weeks in the hospital...and he really only needed to lose about 5 so now we are working on putting weight on him without putting it on me
@marguicha (230350)
• Chile
27 Apr 12
Not everyone has the same problems with any illness or surgery. And not all surgerys go well. That´s why they are always a risk. But it seems that the medical staff is taking care of your husband. Let us hope everything ends well.
@macdingolinger (10385)
• United States
26 Apr 12
Wow, that's crazy. I had my gallbladder out and went home to rest! Then about 10 days later I headed out on a 6 mile hike! It is supposed to be very simple - I am sorry your husband had so much trouble! Sheesh!
@DoctorDidi (7018)
• India
22 May 12
Any sort of surgery may be complicated at any moment. So it is always wise to undergo the surgery by a senior as well as expert surgeon. Did the surgeon operate by 'open abdomen' method or by laparoscopic approach?
@DoctorDidi (7018)
• India
3 Jun 12
This is the problem with laparoscopic surgery that if the surgeon is not an expert in the field, there are always such complications and the ultimate solution is to go for abdominal approach by long incision in the traditional way. But it is a good news that he is in the way of recovering.
@stary1 (6611)
• United States
3 Jun 12
DoctorDidi ..You are correct..there can always be complicatins, one just assumes and hopes there won't be. The first surgey was laproscopic...after the surgery he had internal bleeding so they had to go in again and this time it was an abdominal long incision..the scar healed well but he was so weak after 2 weeks in the hospital including 11+ days in ICU, that he is just now getting stronger but not quite totally recovered yet..
@toniganzon (77137)
• Philippines
26 Apr 12
I fear that i might have some problems with my gallbladder too. Yeah it could be complicated. All IM surgeries actually are a bit complicated especially if the person is not so young anymore.
@stary1 (6611)
• United States
26 Apr 12
toniganzon ... get it checked out..one symptom they say is pain in the left shoulder..though my hubby didn't have that. The first emergency room visit they failed to do a sonogram..the second time 2 weeks later, they did and found a problem with the gallblatter...
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