My gallbladder
Its been a hard year but there have been some bright points. I struggled with gallstones for most of the year and decided to try to break up the large stones and try to flush them. I found that drinking apple juice (100% natural not concentrate) alleviated a lot of my symptoms. When I did get a gallbladder attack, I took a hydrocodone the ER doc had given me and waited it out.
I then proceeded to drink apple juice every day and take a supplement called Stone Free. Since I knew the main reason the apple juice was working was due to malic acid, I started taking a malic acid supplement. I should have flushed but I waited too long. One greasy meal sealed the deal.
After 12 hours of pain and me hitting the max amount of hydrocodone you can take in a period of time with no relief, I ended up in the ER again. This time, the X-rays/CT showed that the stones turned into "sand" and clogged up the duct and my gallbladder was slamming down hard on the stuff to try to clear it. If you have never had a gallbladder attack, it is really really painful. I felt as if someone kicked me hard in the stomach from the inside out and that I could feel the actual membranes of my internal organs on fire. The pain radiated to my lower back to my "kidneys" and my arm went numb.
Its an unrelenting pain and you feel as if you are going to go insane if you don't get relief. This is what I felt as I lay in my gown waiting for them to find an anesthesiologist. I asked the Lord to help rid me of my pain, and tried to focus on my breathing and relax. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the pain began to subside somewhat. I thanked the anesthisiologist for coming out on a weekend and he said he was happy to help. He also told me that he had ulcerative colitis as well, and that he had the J-pouch surgery because it was "better than having diarrhea all the time." SLEEP.
When I woke up, they wheeled me back to the room and the nurse told me that I needed to "try to get out of bed" because the doctor wanted to see how much I could move. I got up, grabbed my IV and walked wobbly around the nurses station several times. The nurse told me that if all her patients showed this initiative that their recovery time would be much shorter. They also told me that the pain in my belly button was exacerbated by the fact that they did an inguinal hernia repair and that it was probably from birth and most people never knew they had it. They put in a dissolvable mesh that fell apart as the muscles healed.
Getting into bed after laproscopic surgery sucks. If you ever need to have your gallbladder removed, lappy is the way to go. The incisions on your stomach are tiny, the one on your belly is awful (painful), but also small. One piece of advice, the nurse would put me in the bed on the right side of the bed. When I would sit down and then turn and try to twist on my right arm, my whole right side would spasm in pain and I cried out in agony as it felt my arm was being ripped out of my shoulder. Its difficult to breathe deeply after the surgery because you have to cough out all the anesthesia (which sucks) and I began to hyperventilate in pain, and I couldn't get enough air.
The second or third time was enough for me, so I asked her to rearrange all the crap in the room so I could get onto the bed from the left side. It still hurt but it was a lot easier to recover from. Get into bed from the LEFT side. Another tip, cough cough cough cough. I was afraid that I would split open one of the incisions but I didn't. Coughing early and deeply will help you get better faster. Its painful but you must do it. The nurses/surgeons didn't tell me to cough until that night, so the first day was rough.
I did a lot of painful walking, resting and talking to my girlfriend. The nursing staff was great. A gentleman and a lady really helped me and gave me the information I needed. One lady in particular was amazed at how fast I was recovering even though I felt horrible. A couple days later I was wearing clothes walking around and a nurse looked up at me while wheeling a new patient in and said "Oh my God you look so much better!". I think she was one of the nurses when I was agonizing in pain waiting for a surgical team.
Recovery at home wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Before I left the hospital, a social worker helped me get a portable commode that I placed over the toilet so I could have something to grab onto to sit down or stand up. This was invaluable. ( I am 6'2"). Lying down in bed was so painful and difficult that we ended up stacking a bunch of pillows and a body pillow together to make a wedge shape so I could rest on.
2 things I did notice and take up with the nurse was my arm being numb after surgery and my right leg being numb right above the knee. The numbness in the arm went away quickly. The leg didnt really bother me until I got home and started to take the hydrocodone. Eventually, I had to discontinue and take less of hydrocodone and the numbness really bothered me. Get back to that in a sec.
I walked everyday as I was supposed to and worked on my deep breathing. Both hurt and I began to run fevers. At first, I was only able to walk from the house to the end of the block 3 houses down and back a few times. Then I would sit and work on my breathing. Every day I pushed harder and eventually I walked the entire street and back, which was like 1/4 of a mile. Having a cane with you helps you when you wobble. More fevers. The nurse in the ER told me if I got over 101 to go back to the ER. I was hitting 102 sometimes and knocking it down with lots of tylenol.
I went to see the surgeon and they poked my arm and scanned my body again. They said I had a pocket of fluid where my gallbladder used to be and that I "should be okay". They put me on antibiotics (after a scary delay) and a few days later the fevers stopped.
I started to read about numbness of the leg after laproscopic surgery and I didnt like what I found. I would wake up in the middle of the night and my muscle right above the knee would cramp up and feel like it was on fire. I had to hurry and twist my body to the edge of the bed and get my leg in a relaxed position so it would subside. This was not your ordinary charlie horse. I luckily have 2 doctors in my gf's side of the family, and her father and brother told me it was probably a pinched nerve. The numbness seemed to get more pronounced and the cramps worse as the nerve tried to "come back on" after weening off hydrocodone that masked the symptoms.
Its been 2 months now and the numbness and hypersensitivity is still there, but lessened.The surgeons tried to deny it, but I know they caused it. Many people have complained on internet forums of the same thing after having lappys done, mostly on the same leg/spot.
A few weeks passed and I was starting to get my wind back. I could breathe normally again and then my lower wisdom teeth hurt really really bad again. That story is even more painful...
I then proceeded to drink apple juice every day and take a supplement called Stone Free. Since I knew the main reason the apple juice was working was due to malic acid, I started taking a malic acid supplement. I should have flushed but I waited too long. One greasy meal sealed the deal.
After 12 hours of pain and me hitting the max amount of hydrocodone you can take in a period of time with no relief, I ended up in the ER again. This time, the X-rays/CT showed that the stones turned into "sand" and clogged up the duct and my gallbladder was slamming down hard on the stuff to try to clear it. If you have never had a gallbladder attack, it is really really painful. I felt as if someone kicked me hard in the stomach from the inside out and that I could feel the actual membranes of my internal organs on fire. The pain radiated to my lower back to my "kidneys" and my arm went numb.
Its an unrelenting pain and you feel as if you are going to go insane if you don't get relief. This is what I felt as I lay in my gown waiting for them to find an anesthesiologist. I asked the Lord to help rid me of my pain, and tried to focus on my breathing and relax. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the pain began to subside somewhat. I thanked the anesthisiologist for coming out on a weekend and he said he was happy to help. He also told me that he had ulcerative colitis as well, and that he had the J-pouch surgery because it was "better than having diarrhea all the time." SLEEP.
When I woke up, they wheeled me back to the room and the nurse told me that I needed to "try to get out of bed" because the doctor wanted to see how much I could move. I got up, grabbed my IV and walked wobbly around the nurses station several times. The nurse told me that if all her patients showed this initiative that their recovery time would be much shorter. They also told me that the pain in my belly button was exacerbated by the fact that they did an inguinal hernia repair and that it was probably from birth and most people never knew they had it. They put in a dissolvable mesh that fell apart as the muscles healed.
Getting into bed after laproscopic surgery sucks. If you ever need to have your gallbladder removed, lappy is the way to go. The incisions on your stomach are tiny, the one on your belly is awful (painful), but also small. One piece of advice, the nurse would put me in the bed on the right side of the bed. When I would sit down and then turn and try to twist on my right arm, my whole right side would spasm in pain and I cried out in agony as it felt my arm was being ripped out of my shoulder. Its difficult to breathe deeply after the surgery because you have to cough out all the anesthesia (which sucks) and I began to hyperventilate in pain, and I couldn't get enough air.
The second or third time was enough for me, so I asked her to rearrange all the crap in the room so I could get onto the bed from the left side. It still hurt but it was a lot easier to recover from. Get into bed from the LEFT side. Another tip, cough cough cough cough. I was afraid that I would split open one of the incisions but I didn't. Coughing early and deeply will help you get better faster. Its painful but you must do it. The nurses/surgeons didn't tell me to cough until that night, so the first day was rough.
I did a lot of painful walking, resting and talking to my girlfriend. The nursing staff was great. A gentleman and a lady really helped me and gave me the information I needed. One lady in particular was amazed at how fast I was recovering even though I felt horrible. A couple days later I was wearing clothes walking around and a nurse looked up at me while wheeling a new patient in and said "Oh my God you look so much better!". I think she was one of the nurses when I was agonizing in pain waiting for a surgical team.
Recovery at home wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Before I left the hospital, a social worker helped me get a portable commode that I placed over the toilet so I could have something to grab onto to sit down or stand up. This was invaluable. ( I am 6'2"). Lying down in bed was so painful and difficult that we ended up stacking a bunch of pillows and a body pillow together to make a wedge shape so I could rest on.
2 things I did notice and take up with the nurse was my arm being numb after surgery and my right leg being numb right above the knee. The numbness in the arm went away quickly. The leg didnt really bother me until I got home and started to take the hydrocodone. Eventually, I had to discontinue and take less of hydrocodone and the numbness really bothered me. Get back to that in a sec.
I walked everyday as I was supposed to and worked on my deep breathing. Both hurt and I began to run fevers. At first, I was only able to walk from the house to the end of the block 3 houses down and back a few times. Then I would sit and work on my breathing. Every day I pushed harder and eventually I walked the entire street and back, which was like 1/4 of a mile. Having a cane with you helps you when you wobble. More fevers. The nurse in the ER told me if I got over 101 to go back to the ER. I was hitting 102 sometimes and knocking it down with lots of tylenol.
I went to see the surgeon and they poked my arm and scanned my body again. They said I had a pocket of fluid where my gallbladder used to be and that I "should be okay". They put me on antibiotics (after a scary delay) and a few days later the fevers stopped.
I started to read about numbness of the leg after laproscopic surgery and I didnt like what I found. I would wake up in the middle of the night and my muscle right above the knee would cramp up and feel like it was on fire. I had to hurry and twist my body to the edge of the bed and get my leg in a relaxed position so it would subside. This was not your ordinary charlie horse. I luckily have 2 doctors in my gf's side of the family, and her father and brother told me it was probably a pinched nerve. The numbness seemed to get more pronounced and the cramps worse as the nerve tried to "come back on" after weening off hydrocodone that masked the symptoms.
Its been 2 months now and the numbness and hypersensitivity is still there, but lessened.The surgeons tried to deny it, but I know they caused it. Many people have complained on internet forums of the same thing after having lappys done, mostly on the same leg/spot.
A few weeks passed and I was starting to get my wind back. I could breathe normally again and then my lower wisdom teeth hurt really really bad again. That story is even more painful...
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