For those who had gall bladder out prior to surgery, how different is the sleeve in comparison?

[simpsongrad 85]

I had my gall bladder out laparoscopically in 2009. Left the hospital a few hours later and was at a football game cheering less than 48 hours later. I had four incisions with that surgery. Trying to prepare myself for this one and wondering how similar the two operations are. Thoughts from those who might have experienced both before?

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[+bodyimage 2]

Great question, I had my gallbladder removed as well and wonder the same thing.

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[cuteNATL 93]

I had my gallbladder removed in 2010... And it took maybe a week and half to heal from. I was sleeved on Monday and the pain is reminiscent of having my gallbladder removed, BUT there is one incision that hurts more than ANY of them and it's gonna be the one where the surgeon removed your stomach. I think I will be healed in maybe 2-3 weeks because this surgery is a little more invasive, plus I'm a lot older than when I got my gallbladder removed Lolololol. You WON'T be able to bend at all.

[KristenLe 5,979]

@@simpsongrad @@+bodyimage

I haven't had WLS yet (10/18) but had my gallbladder removed under emergency circumstances in 2003. The pain before surgery was so unbearable that I don't remember there being much pain at all following the surgery. The gas pain would certainly be similar and there's probably more of a risk of complications post-op with the WLS - so you'll have to take it easier than you may have with your gallbladder. No cheerleading for a few weeks! :-)

[sgc 538]

I had my gallbladder out in 2007 and my sleeve just this past June. I would say they are similar. I had some pretty bad shoulder pain for a day after I went home from the hospital from my gallbladder. No shoulder pain with the sleeve. I really had very little pain around the incisions with either surgery. There was more of an adjustment with the sleeve due to the limitations of what I could eat. After the gallbladder the hospital gave me a big meal shortly after the surgery.

[candi1981 1]

I think the sleeve was much more painful but everyone is different.

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[Vikki53 13]

It is not the same, the sleeve is a bigger surgery and a longer recovery.

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[Vikki53 13]

Infact I remember coming out of recovery saying this is not like the gallbladder..lol..the nurse said no honey it isnt.

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[Lori Orr 29]

I had my gallbladder out July2015, and I wondered if this will feel similar.

Something I read repeatedly is how the muscle is sore and incisions hurt. Do our internal organs not have pain receptors??? I mean, they're taking a huge hunk out of our stomachs and stapling the wound!

[GirthyGirl 79]

I had my gallbladder out in 2005 and was sleeved this past January. I recovered very quickly from my gallbladder. Very little pain and was able to return to normal activities in no time at all. With the sleeve I was in a lot of pain and it took me a couple of months before I felt good again. Since my recovery went so well with my gallbladder I thought the sleeve would be the same. It wasn't.

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[PorkChopExpress 820]

My gallbladder ordeal was such a nightmare compared to the sleeve, it isn't even funny. The sleeve was a cakewalk, by comparison.

I felt sick after the gall bladder surgery, and although I was diligent and walked as I was supposed to, I just couldn't seem to shake the full abdomen feeling. I had no appetite. Finally toward the third day in the hospital, I felt like I could try a sandwich. I ate it, then went to sleep. Woke up the next day and since I had successfully eaten, they were prepared to discharge me. I got ready, sat on the edge of my bed and suddenly the saliva started flowing like crazy, and I felt sick. I projectile vomited all over the room, twice...completely emptied myself. Turns out I'd developed pancreatitis...something they told me only happens for like .5% of patients. Lucky me. So this necessitated two more days in the hospital on IV fluids only, and I couldn't even drink anything...I had to be completely empty so the pancreas could heal.

After I was discharged from the hospital, the bloated and full feeling in my abdomen didn't get better, no matter how much I walked or moved. I thought it was stubborn gas, but after a week I had to finally go to the emergency room, because my doctor said there was no way that should be the case. They had me do a CAT scan which revealed that about a liter of bile had emptied into my abdominal cavity. Apparently, the bile duct that was cut from the gall bladder wasn't tied off securely or something, and since it was able to provide a place for the bile to go, the sphincter muscle that would normally work off of pressure from the ducts was no longer opening to allow bile to leave...it was simply dumping into my upper abdomen, as it was produced.

I had to have two drains placed while I was in the CAT scan (my only anasthesia was Morphine, and if you know anything about this drug, you know that it doesn't kill pain so much as make you not care about it...so I felt the whole procedure, I was just too loopy to care). I then had to go in and have a stent placed in the sphincter muscle so that it would keep the entry to the intestine open, so the bile would drain where it was supposed to and my bile duct could heal properly. After about a week, the drains weren't producing anything else and I was able to have them removed, then go in and have the stent removed. Finally, at long last, the ordeal was at an end.

I'm two weeks post-op on my sleeve and I feel almost normal, with the exception of not being able to eat much, and with just a tiny touch of soreness in the abdomen when I exercise, but nothing big. So to me, this surgery was completely easy and I didn't have anything I'd really consider "pain" associated with it...but you gotta consider my history. I think even my umbilical hernia repair was harder than this one. The difference is, the sleeve is way more psychologically demanding.

Edited October 8, 2016 by PorkChopExpress

[rolosmom7 740]

Gallbladder incision pain and recovery was worse. I think it was where the incisions were located in my abdominal wall. But the eating adjustments here take more of a toll in my experience. 6-8 weeks of a slower recovery. 5-7 days of a more painful recovery for gallbladder.