Re: Gallbladder removal to

[Guest guest]

,

If you have any evidense of pancreatitis and are having an ercp then PLEASE ask

the doctor for a 23 hour observation hold. It really is important. And if the

ERCp doesn't happen, be aware of your pain levels after the GB surgery which is

done out paitent...as really STUPID as that is.

I haven't had the pleasure of being back at the Kaiser hospital since giving

birth to my son 14 1/2 years ago, but they really have improved it alot, haven't

they?! I will be thinking of you.

Sandy in Ca (fairfield)

-------------- Original message --------------

Hi all,

My gallbladder removal & possible ERCP are scheduled for next Wed. Oct. 5th.

Kaiser Vallejo

975 Sereno Drive

(707)651-1000

I think it will be an out patient procedure.

I'll let you all know what time when I find out.

Thanks,

K.

[Guest guest]

, when I had my laparoscopic cholecystectomy, it took me 5 WEEKS to

recover. You should be on a 23 hr. observsation hold as Sandy suggested.

Sending you home after a lap chole like it's out-patient surgery is stupid.

Just plain stupid. Especially in view of your pancreatitis.

Jerry/NC

*****************************************************

>

> ,

>

> If you have any evidense of pancreatitis and are having an ercp then

> PLEASE ask the doctor for a 23 hour observation hold. It really is

> important. And if the ERCp doesn't happen, be aware of your pain levels

> after the GB surgery which is done out paitent...as really STUPID as that

> is.

>

> I haven't had the pleasure of being back at the Kaiser hospital since

> giving birth to my son 14 1/2 years ago, but they really have improved it

> alot, haven't they?! I will be thinking of you.

>

> Sandy in Ca (fairfield)

>

[Guest guest]

O.k. now I'm scared Jerry. I will talk to the surgeon on Tues. when I go for my

pre-op. I guess I'll know more then. Thanks,

K.

Jerry Pople wrote:

, when I had my laparoscopic cholecystectomy, it took me 5 WEEKS to

recover. You should be on a 23 hr. observsation hold as Sandy suggested.

Sending you home after a lap chole like it's out-patient surgery is stupid.

Just plain stupid. Especially in view of your pancreatitis.

Jerry/NC

*****************************************************

>

> ,

>

> If you have any evidense of pancreatitis and are having an ercp then

> PLEASE ask the doctor for a 23 hour observation hold. It really is

> important. And if the ERCp doesn't happen, be aware of your pain levels

> after the GB surgery which is done out paitent...as really STUPID as that

> is.

>

> I haven't had the pleasure of being back at the Kaiser hospital since

> giving birth to my son 14 1/2 years ago, but they really have improved it

> alot, haven't they?! I will be thinking of you.

>

> Sandy in Ca (fairfield)

>

[Guest guest]

O.k. Sandy. Thanks for the info.

K.

TazLady21@... wrote:

,

If you have any evidense of pancreatitis and are having an ercp then PLEASE ask

the doctor for a 23 hour observation hold. It really is important. And if the

ERCp doesn't happen, be aware of your pain levels after the GB surgery which is

done out paitent...as really STUPID as that is.

I haven't had the pleasure of being back at the Kaiser hospital since giving

birth to my son 14 1/2 years ago, but they really have improved it alot, haven't

they?! I will be thinking of you.

Sandy in Ca (fairfield)

-------------- Original message --------------

Hi all,

My gallbladder removal & possible ERCP are scheduled for next Wed. Oct. 5th.

Kaiser Vallejo

975 Sereno Drive

(707)651-1000

I think it will be an out patient procedure.

I'll let you all know what time when I find out.

Thanks,

K.

[Guest guest]

Don't be afraid, . Everything will be OK. Just don't let those guys

push you around.

Best Regards,

Jerry/NC

*****************************************

>

> O.k. now I'm scared Jerry. I will talk to the surgeon on Tues. when I go

> for my pre-op. I guess I'll know more then. Thanks,

> K.

>

[Guest guest]

K,

keep in mind that everyone is different. I do think keeping you for 23 hours is

certainly a good idea, especially if they are also doing an ERCP. I would

suggest that you tell the anesthesiologist that you get very nauseated from

anesthesia and ask that they give you zofran (if you can tolerate it). Because

zofran is much more expensive than phenergan, they typically won't start off

giving you zofran for nausea unless you tell them that you need zofran to help

keep you from puking your guts out. Before zofran came along, I really would

puke my guts out for hours after any type of surgery, no matter how minor.

Since zofran, I only end up getting sick about 1 out 10 times after being put to

sleep. I do have to be honest and tell you that I always get sick after ERCP,

no matter how much zofran and phenergan they give me. When I do start throwing

up they usually give me a combination of zofran and phenergan as often as they

can safely give them and I do think that helps to keep the nausea from being

even worse.

As for the gallbladder surgery, I had my gallbladder taken out in 1998, only 3

days after the ultrasound showed stones and sludge and the HIDA scan showed the

gallbladder was only functioning at 13% of normal. I had the surgery done on a

Monday, which happened to be my 8th wedding anniversary - June 1st. We already

had a trip to IL scheduled to go to my husband's niece's college grad. We

planned to leave on Thursday, June 4th, and stay through the weekend. I was

going to wait til we got back to have my gallbladder taken out but the surgeon

told me that with the shape my gallbladder was in, he could not guarantee that I

wouldn't end up needing emergency surgery while we were on our trip. I tried to

talk my husband into going on the trip without me, but he said he would not go

if I didn't go with him. I was not about to be the reason that he wasn't at his

niece's graduation. So, I went ahead and had the surgery on Monday, June 1st.

They did keep me overnight, because that was standard at that time. However, I

really would have been fine to go home the day of the surgery. I did get sick

once after the surgery the first time I got up out of bed to go to the bathroom,

but after that I didn't even get nauseated again. To be honest, by Wed. (2 days

after surgery) I felt better than I had felt in over a month. I didn't have a

tremendous amount of pain in the month prior to the surgery. However, I think I

was nauseated the whole month. Even water made me feel very nauseated and

bloated. I lost 20 lbs in the month before having my gallbladder removed. We

went to IL on Thursday as planned and attended the graduation on Friday. Of

course, my husband did all the driving, but I had to do a lot of walking. I had

to walk slower than normal but it really didn't hurt to walk. The most

bothersome thing was that my belly was bloated and tender to the touch. I

actually had to send a friend to Walmart the day of my surgery to buy me some

bikini panties because all I had at that time was briefs (granny panties as my

daughter calls them). I could not stand anything putting even the slightest

pressure on my belly. Wearing pants was totally out of the question and so were

panty hose. Thank goodness my surgery was in the summer. I had several summer

dresses and jumpers that I could wear with bikini panties and sandals. It was

almost 6 weeks before I could wear pants or pantyhose again. That was kind of a

pain because I was working and had to dress 'professionally'. by the way, I had

the surgery on a Monday, home from the hospital on Tuesday, trip to IL on Thur,

back from IL on Sunday, and back to work on Tuesday.

Keep in mind that I didn't have pancreatitis at the time and I was a lot younger

(37 vs 44) and healthier than I am now. Actually, I should probably say I

didn't know I had pancreatitis at the time my gallbladder was removed. I had

been having the same pain under my right rib for a few years before the tests

finally showed that my gallbladder was bad. I didn't have the pain all the time

and even when I had it, it wasn't all that bad other than about 3-6 times a year

when I would just suddenly double over with pain. Back then, the really bad

pain never lasted long enough to go to the ER, but it was absolutely level 9-10

pain and stopped me in my tracks til it subsided. I assumed it was my

gallbladder and that eventually it would get bad enough to show up on tests. I

now think the pain was either sphincter of oddi dysfunction or maybe mild

attacks of acute panc. Who knows, but I do know that the pain was in the same

location as the panc pain I have now and it also felt exactly the same. The

only difference now is that I have some level of pain under my rt rib/through to

the back 24/7. The pain is always there (even with daily pain med), it just

varies in intensity. I ended up having my first 'documented' attack of acute

panc in Jan 2000, about 1 1/2 years after my gallbladder was removed. I was

diagnosed with cp in June 2003.

I know you are apprehensive but hopefully getting rid of a bad gallbladder will

make you feel much better. A bad gallbladder is nothing to fool around with -

it HAS to come out!

Have you thought about asking your doctor for something to help you feel less

anxious, like xanax, klonopin, etc.? Just a low dose til you have the surgery

might really help you make it through the next few days. Getting good rest is

important at any time, but it is especially important before surgery.

take care and know you are in my prayers,

W