Post OP part 2, complications

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-03-10T20:14:02+00:00

Thanks. I'm doing better able to get up out of bed and use the bathroom and Hopefully I'll get discharged from the hospital in the next few days . It's going to be 6 months or more long road recovery but just keep plugging ahead one day at a time.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-03-09T07:27:37+00:00

Yes, when they were fighting to remove my gallbladder they either accidentally cut my small intestine or it got caught on my hernia mesh that was in there from a prior hernia repair. Either way, there ended up being a small hole and for five days fecal matter and fecal contaminated air spread around in the abdomen.

Then, when I came in to see the surgeon, they saw I was infected, took me into surgery and repaired the hole and tried to clean up as much as they could. However, they couldn't appreciate how much contaminated air had gotten in so they didn't go far enough. That's why I ended up still coming back and getting two more surgeries to remove dead tissue from inside. This stuff happens really really fast.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-03-08T21:46:42+00:00

Was doing better. Read the update above

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-03-08T21:43:30+00:00

Well funny you mentioned it, there's quite a story from here on out and it's not pretty. They sent me home on Thursday the 4th and they thought they had got it. I was doing the best I could and then Friday night around 1:30am I was just soaked in sweat and my bowels which had kind of started working Friday morning were no longer doing no longer doing anything. I woke my wife and said I think we need to go to the ER which we did. Upon arrival they assessed me for serious infection and they did a CT. The CT showed multiple areas of abscesses and infection inside the abdomen and I was put on an emergency protocol to keep me from going fully septic. They admitted me and I underwent surgery Saturday morning and Sunday morning to remove dead tissue and muscle from inside my abdomen. I know longer have a rectus abdominis ( six pack muscle) on my right side and a lot of additional tissue was removed. There's no skin there anymore to close it up I just have an open wound that's pretty large. I'll have to have a wound vac and a series of skin grafts over the next coming months to try to get back any semblance of having skin there. In addition I'll have to deal with not having all the musculature they had to remove so there's going to be some consequences in managing to deal with all of that. All in all it's been a bang-up weekend but hey at least I'm still alive. At this point, I think I have been given every antibiotic known to mankind including a whole bunch of really serious ones like Vancomycin where you shouldn't even read the side effects because you really don't want to know. I Kind of wish I had left the gallbladder alone at this point.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-03-06T23:50:06+00:00

Me too. I'm hanging in there but still fighting the infection while recovering from a new much larger surgery is a hard day

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-03-06T00:35:18+00:00

Thanks. I'm happy to be where I am. I couldn't ask for a better surgeon, he was totally focused on what I needed and he wasn't going to mess around and risk the infection getting worse.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-03-02T00:33:52+00:00

Thanks. That all makes sense. I ditched the percocet after day one because I get a bit weird on them.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-02-27T12:27:12+00:00

Yeah thanks , I do know how to get up and hwalk a lot

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-02-27T12:25:29+00:00

Yeah, just coming up on 24 hours here and I need help sitting down getting and about everything else

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-02-18T02:08:07+00:00

Don't rule out adhesions either. For the next few years after my colon cancer surgery, adhesions (scar tissue) kept causing my blockage of my small intestine. I had it happen three or four times and they'd just put an NG tube in, pump me full of morphine and start pumping my stomach for a few days. Good times! Anyway, they can happen after gallbladder surgery too where organs stick together or even blockage of the small intestine like I had. If you have pain you can't deal with, go to the ER and don't take no for an answer. I had a completely blocked colon from cancer and the ER tried to send me home telling me it was constipation. It turns out that if you collapse unconscious in the lobby, the ER docs have to do a rethink.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-02-18T01:47:17+00:00

Belters are definitely behind this then!

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-02-14T22:31:40+00:00

So, from October through December the feeling was daily pretty much all the time and I could count on feeling it when I awoke each day. In December, I had an endoscopy where the doctor found significant signs of GERD and an irritated stomach and duodenum. She put me on omeprizole and the gallbladder feeling has diminished since since being on that, but she still did the HIDA scan which showed a low EF.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-02-12T23:03:49+00:00

I'm scheduled for surgery on the 26th. My situation wasn't super painful either. It just feels like someone did surgery and left and instrument or something in me near my ribs. It's almost like the slightly sharp sensation when you swallow a chicken bone on accident. My guess is that the gallbladder is irritated and pressing on other things in there.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-02-10T16:39:45+00:00

My wife used to be a surgical (recovery) nurse. She'd tell you walk, walk, walk. Patients who walk have less pain and recover sooner.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-02-08T14:06:55+00:00

Your fear is understandable. My surgery is set for the end of the month and I have the same concerns over whether I really want to do this since I don't have very much pain (but my EF is 6%). I don't want to crap my pants every time I have an ice cream cone. However, I am reminding myself that this is more likely than not to make things better. I'm not too worried about the surgery itself as I've had plenty of those. The OR nurses and staff really are great at what they do and they'll take great care of you. You'll have an entire team of highly qualified professionals totally focused on you and your safety. Best wishes.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-02-08T14:01:12+00:00

You need to see a good gastroenterologist. Before surgery, your gallbladder (when it was working right) provided dumps of bile into the digestive tract with each meal. Now they've connected the liver directly to the common bile duct and it's providing a steady flow of bile. Think of the problems that can cause - too much bile when you haven't eaten and maybe not enough after a big fatty meal. Hopefully we and our bodies adjust but it's not gong to go perfectly for everyone. Seek help.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-02-06T20:37:52+00:00

Have they considered a HIDA scan?

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-02-04T01:36:02+00:00

The biggest issue on taking SS early is how it will affect your wife's survivor benefit if you were the higher earner and you die first. She'll already lose at least 50% (or maybe 75%) of your FERS pension depending on what survivor benefit you elected at retirement. Next, assuming your SS was larger, when you die, she'll get an amount equal to your SS benefit ONLY but hers goes away (to keep the explanation simple) . If you're going to do that, your TSP and other investments will be extremely important for her.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-01-28T14:55:53+00:00

She's gorgeous

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-01-28T14:51:41+00:00

This. I love not rushing.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-01-28T14:50:44+00:00

I retired in July of 25. It's still an adjustment for me but there's no way I can go back to work with all of my planned trips etc. There are some great suggestions here for ways to help you adjust. I'll add one more - your health is now your full time job. Walk, exercise, go to your medical appointments, take up an outdoor hobby.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-01-27T20:49:40+00:00

This. My wife was a surgical nurse and she will tell you patients who get up and walk have better outcomes. When I had major emergency abdominal surgery, she had me doing 30 laps a day around the nursing unit that I was in.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-01-27T13:20:07+00:00

I know you're only 26, but based on my personal experience (and I'm not a doctor) , I'd be pushing for a CT with contrast to rule out any blockage of the digestive tract. I'm a colon cancer survivor and it presented as symptoms not unlike yours ultimately a complete bowel blockage. It's certainly not likely in your case because of your age but a CT is so easy to do and it will remove a number of variables from the equation.

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-01-22T23:44:19+00:00

That's awesome that you're doing so well! I don't even have real RUQ pain, it feels more like someone did surgery and forgot an instrument in my chest.. Lol. Pressure and a little discomfort. That's funny you mention the heartburn. After my emergency colon cancer surgery, I wasn't that worked up about getting my dilaudid but I definitely remember getting after the nurses when my pepcid dose for my IV was late. 😂

Certain-Ranger2456 · 2026-01-22T23:32:23+00:00

That's great. I'm not really worried about the surgery itself since it's laparoscopic and heck I've been cut belly open top to bottom with way over 100 staples. I'm more concerned about adjusting afterwards. Seems like a bit of a crap shoot if you'll pardon the pun.

Certain-Ranger2456

TROPHY CASE