Had gallbladder laproscopic surgery two days ago. Have been experiencing itching and burning in the anus and slight blood in the bowels. Has this happened to anyone else or should I be worried?
I had my gallbladder removed via lap surgery a week ago yesterday, and feel pretty good except for a nagging pain, tenderness, and swelling right where the gallbladder used to be. It's interesting because before my surgery, I couldn't exactly tell you where the gallbladder was on me... I mean, I knew where the doctor prodded me to feel it, etc. but as far as pointing out the EXACT PLACE I wouldn't have been able to. Now I definitely can. You can also see my abdomen is swollen in that area from the outside.
I notice the pain the most when I bend over/stand back up, and when I'm not sitting perfectly straight.
I'm wondering if this is normal and will that eventually go away too?
Gosh...for everyone here. I completely feel for you! I had my gull bladder removed on Monday morning (so I guess 5 days now) and I have had an awful time with it. I didn't suffer with gull stones for more than a week before they decided to remove it. I have suffered a lot in the past with other things so they didn't want to torture me much longer with anything else I guess (Pituitary tumor, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, fibromyalgia, migraines, gout, etc). The week I had it removed however, I went to the Emergency Room 2 times (last week)
The surgery itself seemed okay. When I first came out I struggled with a lot of pain. I'm typically on Morphine and Ultram (Tramadol) on a regular 6 hours basis so they gave me pain meds until I was maxed out (which didn't help me one little bit /bc of my tolerance). I had an awful sore throat when I woke up which I expected; however, that is just now starting to go away 5 days later. What were they doing? Dancing in my throat with the tube? Crimany! The nurses sent me home just within the hour of waking up which I was NOT happy about. I didn’t feel well and getting in a car for a 30 minute ride home really was not what I felt like doing. I did not like that they released me immediately or even had my surgery at an outpatient surgery center.
Once I got home I began to feel better and I thought for sure I would be back within the week even though the doctor had told the school 2 weeks (I teach special education student with emotional disturbances). Parent teacher conferences are next week so I am really hoping to make it back in time. I’m not sure how much luck I’m having.
It didn’t take me long to start going downhill and feeling worse. I expected more soreness from the surgery the next day, but what I got was beyond soreness. I was miserable on day 2. I’ll start at the top. My head hurt. My neck hurt so bad that I could not lift it up on my own without grabbing hold of my bangs of hair and pulling my neck/head up. My throat was killing me and I could barely swallow liquids. My back muscles hurt so bad (those 2 main back muscles up my back were faaaar from sore. They were hurting like nothing I have ever felt). And then there was my chest pain, not my abdomen where my incisions were, my chest. It was agonizing. Every single breath I took was painful….agonizing. I was snuffed up from the surgery and every time I accidently sniffled I wanted to cry out and pain because it hurt my chest so badly. I didn’t dare cough like I wanted to do over and over again.
The surgery center called that day to see how I was feeling (How nice of them) and I explained to them what I was feeling. The woman on the other end of the phone said “Well, it is normal to feel some soreness after a surgery like this.” I said “Hunny…this is FAAAAR from soreness. This is agonizing pain every breath I take.” She suggested I call the surgeon’s office…so I did. As the surgeon’s office put me on hold, the surgery center called me back and said that after discussion they thought I needed to go to the Emergency Room. I thanked her and hung up. The surgeon’s office came back and said the same thing. So, back to the ER I went…3rd time in less than 2 weeks……$200 co-pays each…like I can afford that.
They did some xrays and decided that the chest pain was just caused by some air built up under my diaphragm from when they put all that air in my belly. I asked the doctor if the pain should be this agonizing. She said that it should not be, but sent me home anyways like I was just a big baby. They gave me an inflammatory hoping that would help. Blah Blah!
Well, the next day I actually felt soooooo much better. I was really happy for the first time in days thinking maybe I would return to work when I had hoped. I felt much better all day. I had even eaten a few small things hoping to give me some sort of energy to get up and moving. I felt really good all day….and then about 9p.m…..it hit me…and it hit me hard. Before the surgery the doctor had given me Reglan for nausea because I felt so awful. This night I decided to use it because I was feeling really, really, really nauseated. About 15 minutes after taking it I ran to the kitchen to get sick. I didn’t only get sick one time. I got sick over and over and over. My poor father!! I’m 30 years old and he stood over me rubbing my back cleaning up my puke. You have to love a good father like mine! I am not sure how I could have vomited up so much. I did not eat THAT much. I vomited about 15 times before I finally stopped. I sat with a pan for a long time since very nauseated. I thought maybe a warm shower might make me feel better. O no! WRONG! After the shower I began vomiting again; another 10-15 times. By this time I began to feel a fever. It was only a little over 100 when I took it. I called my on-call doctor and once again they wanted me to go back to the ER. Why?! Just to pay them another $200.
The Emergency Room gave me something for nausea immediately. Thank goodness because it was a miserable trip to the ER because we live about 30 minutes from it. Ugh. The medication they gave me was Zofran (sp?). That seemed to help, but it took a little while until I really settled down and felt comfortable. When I came into the ER I was shaking like crazy and my pulse was through the roof I guess. My slight temp; however, had dropped and my temp was completely normal when I arrived…figures. The decided this time to do a CT of my abdomen/pelvis area. Once again they found nothing so decided to send me home. Before I left, however, I was feeling a fever hitting me again so I asked them to take my temp. My temp was a 100.6. The nurse said “O that’s not bad.” I said “I know it’s not, but can you let the doctor know before I leave.” She did and the doctor said “take Tylenol at home.” I asked when I should be concerned and come back and the nurse said “If you can’t keep your food down and begin vomiting.” OMG! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!! That is why I’m here. I have been vomiting all night. After saying that to her she said “Well, I would say if you can’t keep temp down with Tylenol then I would come back if the vomiting continues.” Boy I’m close to the dumbest hospital on the planet.
So….I went home. Before I did; however, I told the nurse that IF I have to come back to the ER for any reason…any reason at all….they will NOT send me home and I will make sure of it.
They sent me home with a few pills of Zofran which seemed to help me through the night; however, at 6 am I had another temperature, this time it was 101.7. I called my surgeon bright an early when they opened and after waiting all day to hear back from him (4:30p.m.) he said “Just take Tylenol.” I said “When should I become concerned about the nausea, vomiting, and the fever??” She said “If it gets over 102 with the Tylenol.” Wow. I just can’t believe all these doctors. I just had a major surgery…had an organ removed and in the last 2 days I have had severe chest pains, severe nausea and vomiting, and a fever of almost 102 and they say “Just take Tylenol.” Does anyone here know about Tylenol being the cure-all?? I was unaware.
So today I feel….ok. I am still very, very nauseated, but not vomiting. I was able to get my family doctor to prescribe more of the Zofran (sp?) so that seems to help. The Reglan doesn’t do anything however. My pain today seems….umm...minimal…well…well painful. My abdomen is bloating again…more than normal (for me). Usually I look like a 6 month pregnant woman. Today I look like an 8 month pregnant woman. Everything is tight and uncomfortable. It is much more uncomfortable when you have stitches in your belly. I am able to sit myself up without help today and I’m praying that everything is on the right track. I know God has a plan for all of this even though sometimes it is hard to see in the middle of all the chaos. So….we will continue to see how this works out. I would say to anyone who is having the chest pains, “I know they hurt, but they are normal because of the bloating of abs during surgery.” I wouldn’t stress much about that. I would also not be concerned about diarrhea. I have heard that is very normal after having your gull bladder removed. Your body needs time to adjust.. I have not had a bowel movement now in 6 days (which is normal for me) and that I would be concerned about. I expected the surgery to change that. The other symptoms I’d be more concerned about…temperature…vomiting, etc.
**Lots of hugs and prayers to those of you whom are suffering.
~Jodi~
#1....I suggest that you change your diet. Have chicken soup with noodles light salt, yogurt, melons and light walks for a couple of weeks. Become active, do some house cleaning that does not entail heavy lifting. Try squatting to pickup items instead of bending over. As you accomplish these task your mental health will motivate your well being and you will feel so much better. The pain around the incision will be tender, especially around the main one to the right of where your gall bladder was. Hang in there, think positive and do things that will boast your self esteem. It will take about six weeks for all the discomfort to become less noticeable. Even though they are small incisions, it still was major surgery.
#2...Take into consideration the following: One common complication of cholecystectomy is inadvertent injury to analogous bile ducts known as Ducts of Luschka, occurring in 33% of the population. It is non-problematic until the gall bladder is removed, and the tiny supravesicular ducts may be incompletely cauterized or remain unobserved, leading to biliary leak post-operatively. The patient will develop biliary peritonitis within 5 to 7 days following surgery, and will require a temporary biliary stent. It is important that the clinician recognize the possibility of bile peritonitis early and confirm diagnosis via HIDA scan to lower morbidity rate. Aggressive pain management and antibiotic therapy should be initiated as soon as diagnosed. If you do have major discomfort take the following into account.
During Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy, gallbladder perforation can occur due to excessive traction during retraction or during dissection from the liver bed. It can also occur during extraction from the abdomen. Infected bile, pigment gallstones, male gender, advanced age, perihepatic location of spilled gallstones, more than 15 gallstones and an average size greater than 1.5 cm have been identified as risk factors for complications. Spilled gallstones can be a diagnostic challenge and can cause significant morbidity to the patient. Clear documentation of spillage and explanation to the patient is of utmost importance, as this will enable prompt recognition and treatment of any complications. Prevention of spillage is the best policy.
(Read more at Wikipedia when you enter: Cholecystectomy or cut and paste this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholecystectomy