8 posts tagged “gallbladder surgery”
Posted pics finally if you want to look at them:
Moving day for my daughter Stacey and her friend Denise
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=...mp;id=559709463
My Surgery (don't worry, no gross ones!)
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=...mp;id=559709463
Pittsburgh Good Eats Food Expo
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=...mp;id=559709463
Penguins vs Maple Leafs game we went to
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=...mp;id=559709463
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=...mp;id=559709463
Well the bad news is the back pain I was having was NOT from my gallbladder after all. I had been having back pain in my shoulder area for quite some time which I attributed to working on beaded banners, sitting on the couch all evening, watching TV, and concentrating on the banners and not stretching, etc. But then when I was reading up about gallbladder problems I read in every article that most of the time there is back pain in that area from gallbladder problems. I had never mentioned the pain to any of my doctors because I just assumed it was from my poor posture while beading. I mentioned it to the surgeon at the appointment before my surgery and he said he was confident it WAS from my gallbladder and it would disappear. Well it DID disappear for about 3 weeks after my surgery, but apparently only because I wasn’t working on banners! LOL I started working on banners last week and it appeared again. Oh well. That’s okay because the nausea is totally all gone and that was the extremely bothersome thing I experienced from gallbladder disease for over 2 years. Now I just have to concentrate on my posture!
Okay so the leaves are falling everywhere and they are beautiful and the ground is covered with all these leaves, right? And down the street from us in a yard that is not only filled with huge trees but that also borders the park we live in (we are the caretakers in a 160-acre municipal park for those of you who don’t know that), there was someone raking leaves. Are they nuts? Isn’t that useless this time of the year? I mean won’t they all just blow away over the winter and the ones that don’t can be ground up using a mulching lawnmower in the spring? Waste of time to me, but what do I know?
Anyone out there watch Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe? We do……….and the shows seem to be getting grosser and grosser! Last week there was one episode where he was helping out in a poop plant……….and they just kept showing poop and more poop and other “things” that people put down their toilets. I was about gagging watching it and I couldn’t even smell what he was having to smell, although a few times I almost thought I could! So then in another episode he was on a sheep farm learning how to shear sheep and then also how to do other things to them, such as cutting their tails off (I think that was a sign that they did the next thing to them!) and then castrating them and they ummmm………..used their teeth to do it! Mike Rowe actually did it! I really hope the guy gets paid REALLY good to do that show! YIKES!
So while watching these shows lately, I am having trouble with gross things, even things like body parts and all the stuff that I used to love to watch and not bother me at all like autopsies (I have actually assisted at a few of those) and surgeries and bad accidents, etc. Is it possible that the part that made it so those things didn’t bother me was in my gallbladder and now it’s gone and things gross me out? I hope not! LOL
So speaking of my gallbladder removal, I am eating just about everything again and am no longer following a low fat diet. Not bad for only 4 weeks after my surgery, huh? The doctor and a dietician friend said 5-6 weeks or even 3-4 months for my body to adjust. I read horror stories online from people who had their gallbladders removed 10-15 years ago and still couldn’t eat a lot of stuff. But nope, I am eating just about everything and occasionally things go through me within maybe an hour or two, but usually just once, not 3-4 times like the week after surgery. Needless to say I am thrilled!
Sad Pittsburgh sports weekend. Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Penguins both lost and both had it within their reach. Oh well. Can't win all the time. Oh...........we finally got a Direct TV HD DVR. We have a DVR in our room with the regular TV but we record things and never watch them because all we want to do is watch our big screen HD TV anymore! So since two of the Penguins games this week are on late (10:00 is late when we have to get up early the next day for work) and knowing that if we record it on the other TV we won't want to watch it because it won't be in HD, we broke down and got the HD DVR. There have been other shows we have wanted to record so this will be a really good thing to have.
The Steelers posted an apology by Santonio Holmes for his behavior last week so maybe I was wrong and they AREN'T going to get rid of him after all. Hmmmm.......
Let’s see, what else is going on? Busy with selling on Ebay and needing to post more on Ebay and designing banners and such but I am going to put all that stuff in a separate post about Beaded Banners by Bonnie.
I guess that’s about it for now. Catch ya later in my next blog!
I haven’t blogged in a while so thought I should catch up! Actually a lot has happened since I blogged yet….nothing exciting really……..but between trying to go back to work and trying to keep up with orders and still not feeling 100%, I didn’t have time to blog. So here goes………..LOL!
Regarding my recovery from my 9/29 gallbladder removal, I am getting there. In fact this afternoon I have my follow up with the surgeon. Poor hubby has to take off work to take me because I have no clue how to get to Shadyside! I’ve been there twice…..once to visit someone and the other time the morning my of my surgery when it was 5:30 a.m. and I wasn’t thinking about WHERE we were going but WHAT was going to be happening to me! So yeah, poor hubby has to take off work early to take me.
I am anxious to hear what the doc has to say about my pain. In the area where my gallbladder used to be still hurts some. I really think it is because they had to cut so many adhesions away and it takes longer to heal inside than outside, but I want to hear that from the surgeon and not just assume that is the case. Food-wise I am eating most things. I still have to stay away from really fatty things or I have problems, but it has only been 3 weeks since my surgery and already “things” have adjusted and I am able to eat almost anything. For that I am truly grateful! I still want bacon and a greasy cheeseburger from McDonalds, but that might happen this week because we went to the Penguins game on Saturday night and because of that we won a free Big Mac because of one of the power play goals! Just gotta make sure a bathroom is close by when I eat it, that’s all. Okay, enough of that………TMI! LOL My energy level is still down, but the surgeon told me I would be tired for 4-5 weeks due to surgery and the general anesthesia. I’m inpatient though and want to feel better NOW. I worked 2 or 3 hours a day starting a week after my surgery and then 6 hours a day last week. This week I am planning on a full 8 after today. I would rather be part time because of all my orders and requests for pattern designs, but don’t think that will happen because I hear my boss doesn’t want me to do that, even though I don’t have much to do at work.
My business is going well. I have been selling quite a bit on Ebay………not TONS, but consistent. I am still selling quite a few beaded banner rods and end caps, but as far as I know there is only one other place beaders can purchase those. I started posting pony beads online and they have been taking off so I am building up my stock and have many more to post. I still need to post my own pattern designs on Ebay but I have had people that have been finding me through www.bannersbybonnie.com and emailing me and ordering through me so that works for now. I also posted some other non-craft things on Ebay (both new and used) and those have been selling. I have boxes of stuff to post and more crafts and my mom’s crafts and my mother-in-law’s crafts and well I need time! I so wish that first week after surgery when I was home 24/7 I had felt like being on the laptop 24/7 like I had planned! Oh well, like they say, the best laid plans of mice and men………!!!!
So one of my favorite shows is Extreme Home Makeover. I love it and have NEVER once watched it without getting teary eyed……….and I don’t cry very easily! They are in town this week. GO FIGURE! If I had not just had surgery and had to miss so much work, trust me I would be there volunteering at least one shift! I am hoping that we can drive by at least once, just to say I was there. I am VERY tempted to take Friday afternoon off so I can yell “BUSDRIVER, MOVE THAT BUS” and watch the family when they come home! But at least the news is keeping us updated regularly and that helps…………a little.
The election……….ARGH. I hate it…………I hate all the commercials……….I hate all the signs everywhere littering the scenery. And I have no clue who to vote for because, well no one is a very good candidate in my humble opinion. I heard a good one on the radio the other day and if you are from Pittsburgh you will truly understand this. They said forget the election………..just be a STEELERS FAN! HAHAHAHA
Our kids……….let’s see. My daughter Stacey and her friend Denise have settled in quite well here in the Pittsburgh area after moving here from Tennessee mid-September. We haven’t been over since they got all settled, mainly because of my surgery. Last time I was there things were starting to look good and from what Stacey says they are all settled in. Stacey loves her job as a paralegal at Edgar Snyder’s office. She says everyone is really nice and she and her boss get along good. She takes the bus from right outside her apartment to about 4 blocks from her building. When the weather gets bad she can drive a short distance to a park and ride and then take the T (subway/trolley thing) in and get off at the basement of her building. We can’t email like we used to, but she generally text messages with me on the bus on the way to and from work so that is good. Thank goodness for 21st century technology, huh? LOL Denise transferred to a Sears here in the area and is happy there. She has a little drive to work but not too bad………I think they said 6 miles. We don’t see them often because they are probably about 45 minutes away and across the river(s) but it’s nice to know they are close by. Stacey has made a couple trips to Erie for geneology stuff and to help my Mom with cleaning and Denise has been working some long hours and weekends, so that’s one reason……..but again, my surgery has prevented seeing them, too. We have some places we want to show them and things we want to do together and that will happen soon. Denise isn’t liking the cold weather too much I don’t think since she spent a good portion of her life in the south, but at least Pittsburgh doesn’t get as much snow as Erie does! I told her to not go by all the winter horror stories she has heard from Stacey because Pittsburgh is so much more mild in the winters than Erie was and that’s all that Stacey knows is Erie winters! LOL
My son Craig and his wife Mary took their vacation in California to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. I can’t believe it was a year ago today they got married! CONGRATULATIONS CRAIG AND MARY! I have heard a couple things about their trip but can’t wait to see pictures. They were going to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego and have visited the Walk of Fame and Beverly Hills as well as many other places. I am so happy they were able to get away and see California and they are having a good time.
Doug’s son Travis is working at an insulation place and busy with his friends and his new (used but new to him) vehicle. We don’t see him much, but he is happy so that’s all that matters!
After not doing much for a few weeks it was nice to get out Saturday. We went to the Pittsburgh Good Eats Food Expo. It was incredible! We didn’t stay as long as we would have liked because I didn’t want to get too tired because of our plans that night, but talk about FOOD! The admission price was $15 per person and we had $3 off coupons so we spent $12 to get in. Not only did we have more samples of great food to eat while we were there, we took home lots of samples and tons of coupons! If we had eaten ALL the samples offered while we were there, it would have been enough for two meals! I was a little nervous eating some of the things because I hadn’t tried those items since my surgery, but I figured might as well and I really didn’t have too much trouble because of it. Had to run to the bathroom once after we got home but that’s it.
We went home and rested for a few hours and then headed to Mellon Arena to watch the Pittsburgh Penguins BEAT the Toronto Maple Leafs! It was awesome. We spent a little more and parked right by the Arena so I wouldn’t have to walk as much. We won the tickets on Ebay in the last few minutes of an auction Friday afternoon and the seats were tremendous and the best thing is we basically got both for about the price of one ticket! I will be posting pictures in the next couple days hopefully. (I am behind on posting pictures as well as behind on blogging!) I was tired when it was over but I spent all day yesterday at home on the couch working on paperwork and organizing more for my business while watching the Pittsburgh Steelers BEAT the Cincinnati Bengals and other football games all day.
So I think all my paperwork is finally organized enough that I can keep posting away on Ebay and start updating my site. I have a lot of banner patterns I need to design for customers and I think I may be feeling good enough that I can be creative again so need to start on that this week. So the plans this week are designing and posting. I have some beaded banner orders but the customers are out of town for a couple weeks so those can wait a little, except for one smaller one I need to get done.
Okay so this is what happens when I don’t blog for a while………..I have to write a book! LOL No one probably reads these anyway so what am I worried about? HAHAHAHA
Have a good one. I’m off to see the surgeon soon!
WROTE THIS PART ON MONDAY AND DIDN'T POST IT:
So I survived the night! LOL And now I am on laptop instead of phone so can type much better! I just couldn't figure out how to get comfortable last night using it so stuck to phone.
Let's see...........gallbladder was removed yesterday morning. Just the normal post surgery stuff yesterday. Last evening Stacey was here for a while and then Doug stayed and watched the Steelers game that went into overtime of course but at least they won. Unfortunately they have lost a couple guys for the season plus other injuries. It was after midnight when Doug left, in fact probably closer to 12:30 and he called me at like 1:10 that he was home and exhausted. Poor guy. Between all our stuff this weekend and then yesterday his system doesn't know if it is coming or going!
My night was a typical hospital night..............I think I was awake more than I slept. Every time I got up to use the bathroom it was a major production because I would have to take the things off my legs that were keeping the circulation going then get up and unplug the IV pole and take roll it in to the bathroom with me. So then they decided that EVERY time I went they wanted to do this mini sonogram thing so I would have to beep the nurse to come in and do that. So I would head back to bed, plug the IV pole back in, put the things back on my legs, turn that machine on, and then beep the nurse and wait for her to come in and do the scan. So then take time to go back to sleep and then do it all over a couple hours later! LOL
My throat is hurting really bad from the tube they put down during surgery. They said that is a common problem. This morning I almost feel like I am getting a cold but it may just be the really irritated throat and my allergies making me feel like that. The air is SO dry in here and it could be that. I have been taking a pain pill just about every 4 hours and sometimes it was more because my throat hurt bad but my belly does hurt some too so it helped keep me more comfortable with that, too.
The whole scanning thing was that they felt I was retaining water in my bladder and they were concerned about that. But I have convinced them that is just the way I am. Since I am not uncomfortable or have any bladder infection signs the doctors and nurses are tending to agree with me.........that's just the way I am and that I don't empty it all the way all the time.
The surgeon's Physician's Assistant was in this morning and said I am doing really good. I told her what I ate last night for dinner (meatloaf, potatoes, pudding, fruit) and she was quite surprised and then I told her I had potato chips last night with no problems and she was VERY surprised. She said that my gallbladder itself wasn't in the best condition but she's seen worse. The part that both she and the surgeon couldn't believe was how bad things AROUND IT were. She said there were a lot of adhesions which happens when an organ has a lot of inflammation and infection. She said something about when there are problems like that the stuff in your abdomen all adheres to the organ that is bad and there was a lot of it. She said my gallbladder was bad longer than the two years I have had the nausea. I asked her how they were still able to do it laparoscopically because I had heard that the reason they would have to do it the old fashioned way opening my belly all up was when there are a lot of adhesions.............but she said that she held the gallbladder out of the way while Dr. Georgiades carefully cut away the adhesions and then they were able to take it the way they did with the 4 one inch incisions. So my impression? They are pretty good surgeons apparently! She also said that they really gave me a lot of IV fluids throughout the surgery and since because of my prior problems with general anesthesia so that IS why I didn't have problems............but that is also why I have to keep going to the bathroom because I am having fluids pumped into me more than normal. That along with all the shots and patch they gave me for nausea made it so much better for me after the surgery.
She took all the bandages off the incisions and they are looking good. They are not concerned about the bladder thing since I am not having problems. They have unplugged the IV from the thing in my arm now so next time I head to the bathroom it will be just me going! YAY! She said Dr. Georgiades will be in sometime later today (late morning or afternoon) and I will be able to go home.
My instructions are low fat diet for a couple weeks so my body adjusts to no gallbladder and the bile going straight from liver to intestines without being stored in gallbladder. She said some people have diarrhea for a while and some don't so I may have it and may not. I was supposed to see the doctor next week to decide about work but he is out of town so I won't be seeing him for 2-3 weeks...........so she said no work this week for sure...........and I should play it by ear next week and if I am feeling good enough to go in half days but if not feeling good then don't go in at all but not to try full days until after next week. That will work I think. Let's see...........no driving for at least this week. I can take walks but to be aware that I will tire easy to make them short and work up to longer ones. No lifting or anything this week at all then after this week lifting and any activity is based on how it feels...........if it I hurts, don't do it. She said after this week I really can't do any damage to the incisions or anything, it might just hurt is all. So basically this week she said do nothing but rest a lot and maybe little walks.............and then starting next week do things as tolerated and if it hurts stop...........and then work my way back to full activity that way. She said I might still be tired for up to 3-4 weeks as my body heals because all my resources will be going towards helping everything to heal.
So I guess that's about it. I am pretty excited that I ate real food last night and chips and ice cream and had NO nausea or anything! So here's hoping that all that and all the pills I have been taking for all that are done forever!!!! They keep telling me low fat diet but we'll see! I want meat and food and EVERYTHING!!!! LOL
Well, this is it...........this might be my last blog for several days or so. I am FINALLY having my gallbladder out on Monday. After 2 years of nausea that has been getting worse and worse I am glad. Nervous..........but glad. I don't do well with general anesthesia and it has to be used so that part is giving me some anxiety. But I just got the phone call that we have to report to the hospital at 6 a.m. on Monday. Not sure what time the cholecystectomy (medical work for yanking of the ole gallbladder) will be, but hopefully sometime that morning. I will be in the hospital overnight and then home on Tuesday.
As soon as I am up to it on Monday or Tuesday I will be checking my emails on my Blackberry, so feel free to email me at fyremonksgal@msn.com .
Have a busy weekend planned, which is a good thing to keep my mind occupied and not as much time think. Tonight hubby has bowling and I go and chit chat with other wives. Tomorrow is our last day at Ligonier Country Market for the season so here's hoping I sell a bunch of stuff. Tomorrow night we have tickets to a comedy night at our buddy's fire department so that should be a good time. Sunday we are taking my daughter who just moved to Pittsburgh to our favorite flea markets and maybe hit Oktoberfest.
So probably not much blogging time between now and the sugery so..........catch ya on the flipside where I will be gallbladderless!!! And hopefully nausea free for the first time in 2 years!!!!