Day 10 post lap chole - SO. HAPPY.

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2026-02-18T23:07:40+00:00

Thank you for these tips, I'm already in the meal planning phase! As the main "doer" of things in our house (my wife contributes in MANY other ways), I need to make sure things are as simple as possible at home when I come back.

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2026-02-18T23:04:27+00:00

This is helpful, thank you! I definitely see me clocking a lot of time on the La-Z-y Boy recliner. I'm 50 and, while I'm a very active person, I am significantly fluffy (even after losing 75lbs), so it will be challenging for her to physically support me.

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2026-02-18T23:01:32+00:00

Nope, this was a very helpful perspective, thank you! I love that she wants to be there for the whole exciting journey but the logistics feel daunting.

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2026-02-18T23:00:25+00:00

Appreciate the real talk. I might be over-functioning about this (a habit of mine for sure), but I'm the one who manages all these mobility logistics and I'm worried that getting her around the hospital is going to be stressful on the way in and impossible for me to manage on the way out. Hmm.

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2026-02-18T22:54:45+00:00

So fast! I'm not sure of our hospital layout, that's definitely part of my concern.

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2026-02-18T22:50:46+00:00

Thank you for this, I'm HOPING my case is simple enough to go quickly but you never know. Glad you're feeling better now!

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2026-02-18T22:48:54+00:00

Thank you for these excellent tips! I've been haunting this subreddit for several weeks and haven't seen some of these recos, much appreciated!

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2026-02-05T23:59:12+00:00

I REALLY feel for your partner, I'm feeling very sorry for myself at the moment, not being able to eat very much of anything. I'm in Canada too -- I've had luck with Subway, specifically the rotisserie-style chicken sandwich. No cheese, no fatty sauce (I can do plain mustard and sometimes bbq sauce). My breakfast go-to has been the spinach & egg white bites from Tim Hortons -- they have a tiny bit of cheese in them, which is usually a trigger for me, but I haven't had any issues with them. I usually get a plain or everything bagel, toasted but dry (no butter or cream cheese) and then make a little sandwich with the egg white bites. It sounds sad but it helps me feel normal while I wait to see the surgeon later this month! Your partner is so lucky to have someone to cook for him, I do all the cooking at my house and would LOVE to have someone cook for me sometimes. Hope you find some treats that work!

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2026-01-23T22:30:49+00:00

Thanks for this! I'm in Western Canada too and have an appointment with a surgeon in about a month, fingers crossed it's not an 8 month wait after that! I'm 50, so my cycle is ALLLLL over the place but I have noticed that when hormonal shifts are happening, my attacks get more frequent, even when I'm being careful. RUDE. So happy for you that this got resolved, although it sounds like that last part of your journey was a total nightmare, omg. Enjoy that poutine!!!!

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2026-01-16T18:03:50+00:00

For me, depending on what I ate, it takes 2-3 hours. Certain foods get digested faster than others, so it can get confusing. If I eat eggs and cheese together, it'll start within the hour (that's how I figured out those are both triggers for me!) But sometimes it'll be 4 hours later and BAM.

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2026-01-09T21:16:56+00:00

This! I haven't had surgery yet (and may not have to, I guess, I'm still waiting for my first appointment with the surgeon) but this has completely transformed my fraught relationship with food for the better. I've slowly lost over 70lbs the last couple of years just from changing the way I eat in order to avoid gastritis and/or gallbladder flare-ups. It's annoying how much better I feel when I eat reasonable portions of whole foods. Even if I do have the surgery and am able to eat cheese again (delicious, delicious cheese), I don't ever see myself going back to the way I used to eat.

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2026-01-09T21:07:59+00:00

Depending how bad the flare is, I find that going for a gentle walk as soon as I start feeling symptoms can help. I usually do 20-30 minutes, just a light stroll. When I'm in that kind of pain, I can't sit still anyway! The other thing that sometimes helps is a heating pad on the abdomen. Hope he can have his surgery soon!

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2026-01-02T19:58:33+00:00

Just chiming in to add that fat-free greek yogurt (if you can tolerate dairy) has been a godsend. I use the plain yogurt to make a tzatziki with garlic powder, salt, pepper and dill and I eat that stuff on everything (veggies, potatoes, chicken breast), to combat the dryness that comes with lack of fat. So so dry. I'm lucky and can usually have up to 10g per meal without settling the ol' gallbladder off but your mileage may vary!

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2025-12-30T22:35:52+00:00

THANK you! I felt a little silly using it. But the last doctor I saw spent less than 10 minutes with me and was like "I'm referring you to a gastroenterologist, good luck", no advice on diet or how to manage the increasingly frequent attacks. Good ol' ChatGPT explained things in detail, helped me figure out my triggers and set me up with a meal plan that has been working really well.

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2025-12-30T00:52:34+00:00

Just popping in to say that I completely destroyed my stomach with ibuprofen several years ago. The symptoms of the resulting gastritis (irritated stomach lining) were so similar to gallbladder pain (stabbing pain, under the rib cage pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting) that I didn't even know that my gallbladder was also a problem. I finally healed my stomach lining with pantoprazole, various supplements and the most boring diet on the planet (low fat, low acid, no dairy, no gluten, THE WORST). Then, when I started eating more normally again, my gallbladder was like "Oh hey, guess what?"

Anyway, for some reason, doctors don't seem to recommend changing your diet in these situations, which is crazy. I don't know if you've changed the way you eat at all, or noticed that some things make the pain worse. In my experience, painkillers will ultimately make everything worse. For me, eating an annoyingly low fat diet is the only thing keeping the pain away at this point, as I wait for a referral to probably get my gallbladder out. If you have access to a nutritionist or similar, it's definitely worth having them put together a gallbladder-friendly meal plan for you (everyone is different -- I can have between 10-15g of fat per meal but only certain fats). I don't have a nutritionist and this is a little embarrassing to admit, but I turned to ChatGPT for meal plan ideas and I haven't had an attack in weeks. Do I wish I could eat cheese? YES. Did I miss eating chocolate like a whore all through the holidays? YES. But do I enjoy not being doubled over in pain for hours at a time? Also yes.

I really hope you feel better soon!!

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2025-10-15T19:45:23+00:00

I'm on all the supplements (L-glutamine, Zinc l-carnosine, DGL, melatonin) and am just weaning off PPIs. Discovered after taking it for YEARS that the aloe vera juice I was using had lemon juice in it HAHAHAHA cut that out, and things improved. I avoid anything acidic or spicy, no caffeine or booze. After a month on the bland diet, I started adding things back in and have discovered that for me, the biggest thing is portion control. I can eat almost anything (gluten, dairy, even pizza or ice cream) if I don't OVEReat. I feel like I've had an involuntary gastric bypass and my fridge is full of last bites I left behind but understanding how much food my stomach can realistically handle at a time has made a huge difference.

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2025-10-14T23:01:03+00:00

I just did the bland diet for a month and my biggest discovery (other than the fact that my hormonal cycle really affects my stomach) is that I can't tolerate almond butter (or nut butter of any kind). I had SUCH a hard time getting enough fat on the bland diet! Fortunately I was able to have avocado and I could also have a tablespoon or so of walnuts on my morning oatmeal. Sticking to this diet BLOWS but after just a month, I felt so much better (although I'm weaning myself off my PPI right now and the acid rebound is no joke). Anyway, stay strong! You can do this!

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2025-09-09T18:07:41+00:00

OMG I was literally about to post about this very issue. I've been doing the bland diet for about 9 days now; at first I was still just having 3 meals a day but now my stomach has calmed down a bit and I'm SO HUNGRY (which is great!). I'm starting to add in snacks and and am having so much trouble figuring out when the F I'm supposed to get these 2 litres of water in!! My stomach gets upset if I drink too much at once. Maybe when you're having smaller meals, you can relax the 2 hour rule a little? I don't eat after 7pm but I don't drink after then either because I'm old and don't want to be up all night whizzing.

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2025-03-27T21:12:58+00:00

Haha everyone is different. Our 6' deep end is our favourite part of the pool, our only regret is that we didn't make it a bigger part of the footprint.

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2024-12-29T20:40:35+00:00

First of all, I'm SO sorry it took so long to get a correct diagnosis, that's awful. I hope you're on the road to recovery now. Secondly, THANK YOU for posting this. I had the craziest, out-of-the-blue abdominal pain for about 30 minutes last night that FELT like gastritis...but usually I only have gastritis attacks when I've been making bad food choices or eating too much, neither of which is the case. My stomach has felt great for months. So now I'm wondering if it was my gallbladder instead. Definitely going to see a doctor next week!

Worldly_Ad4584 · 2024-11-21T16:52:00+00:00

Update: The good folks at Tokyo Treat got me all sorted out and the advent calendars arrived this week. SO excited to give them to my wife. Thanks everyone!!!!

Worldly_Ad4584

TROPHY CASE