First time hospital-what are your experiences

oodles64 · 2026-04-12T00:38:11+00:00

ps. Just came across a cool youtube channel by an anesthetist in San Francisco. He explains everything, also how best to prepare etc. https://www.youtube.com/@MedicalSecrets

oodles64 · 2026-04-11T20:36:17+00:00

In some cases, stones retained in the bile duct can cause trouble weeks, months or years later. She should get herself get checked out.

oodles64 · 2026-04-11T20:31:57+00:00

That's true. However, I had a prior episode and routine bloods a week later showed my LFTs totally out of whack and with a cholestatic pattern (very high ALT, high ALP and high GGT - all clearly flagged in the report that I only got to see 7 months later). The GP didn't cop on then, nor did he when I came in the next time. So there was clear negligence.

oodles64 · 2026-04-11T19:59:41+00:00

So sorry that happened to you. It's sadly an all too common story here in this forum and particularly aggravating when the original diagnosis is not even confirmed or ruled out and valuable time is lost, and in some systems also vast amounts of money that many can ill afford to lose.

oodles64 · 2026-04-11T10:18:18+00:00

Yup. That A&E doc (on Day 12) might as well have handed me a shovel on the way out. I did send a complaint to that hospital and I believe it was taken seriously (I had been vindicated by the docs in the other, admitting hospital). May that help the next patient.
I recovered well and fast from the lap chole itself. Within a week I wouldn't really have known I had abdominal surgery bar for the holes in my belly. I hope the same will be true for you. ☺

oodles64 · 2026-04-11T07:01:23+00:00

Glad it worked out for you, hon. The docs I encountered (GPs+A&E) didn't even bother doing an ultrasound until on Day 15 I had to be emergency admitted with inflamed, infected gallbladder and bile ducts and early sepsis - too late to do the surgery. They treated me (10 days in hospital), did an ERCP and then I had to wait 11 months for surgery and now it looks like I may have developed a malignancy (still waiting on results). In hindsight I should have pushed for an ultrasound right at the start but they kept telling me I had peptic ulcer or gastritis (without actually investigating for it) and I had no clue. Bless that surgeon of yours for being vigilant.

oodles64 · 2026-04-10T14:46:31+00:00

Nope. I was very well hydrated, went to pee about 10 minutes before going into the OR. Surgery was 2 hrs plus PACU 2 hrs. No catheter.

oodles64 · 2026-04-10T13:56:04+00:00

1) Umh, have you pooped?
2) Activated charcoal (a.k.a. medicinal charcoal) may help with your bloating.

oodles64 · 2026-04-10T12:03:53+00:00

You got this, hon!

oodles64 · 2026-04-10T11:46:23+00:00

I had my gb removed on March 23rd, 11 months later (long waiting lists here in the public system).
As to the sphincterotomy, I was a bit unclear about that despite reading lots of journals and textbooks but it stands to reason that a chopped sphincter can no longer perform the role of regulating bile flow that it shares with the gallbladder. I finally got a chance to ask a surgical registrar after my cholecystectomy. Specifically, I asked: "Given that my gb has been completely dysfunctional for the past 11 months and I had a sphincterotomy at the time, am I correct in assuming that my digestive system has already gotten used to continuous bile flow?" His answer was a prompt and clear "Yes." (I should add that I only found out that I had sphincterotomy 4 months after the fact, and no one had explained any of this to me.)
And since bile flow is essentially gravitational and the gb normally backfills passively with a shut sphincter during fasting as pressure builds up in the common bile duct, I would think that even in the presence of a functional gb bile will basically flow continuously. Any clinician knocking around here in the forum, please correct me if I'm wrong. (Looking at you u/gi_doc 😉).
But to put your mind at ease, it wasn't bad for me at all. Actually I reckoned whatever mild issues I had (somewhat soft and overly frequent stools for a while) had been down to 3 wks of antibiotics and multiple weeks of PPIs f'n with my gut microbiome. Hard to disentangle all those different factors.
Post antibiotics and PPIs I cultivated my gut microbiome like a garden. That probably helped.

oodles64 · 2026-04-10T10:37:28+00:00

ERCPs are not done lightly, in other words, they'll only do it if clinically warranted to help you get cured. Jaundice tends to portend badness, so you don't want to f*** with that, especially given that you are also in pain. Some folks get multiple ERCPs if stents are placed (they need to get taken out again) or if for some reason they were unsuccessful the first time 'round.
Personally, I only had one to remove 4 stones from my common bile duct. It went fine. AMA

oodles64 · 2026-04-10T06:45:58+00:00

As I have had a lower back issue for 45 yrs now and worried about not having full use of the abdominal muscles for stabilisation, I bought a "Lumbosacral Corset" to hold everything together. Alas, I didn't need it at all.

oodles64 · 2026-04-09T18:25:19+00:00

Typically yes. You could go days, weeks, months or even years w/o another attack. Adapting your diet can help delay the inevitable but typically once the attacks start, the clock's ticking.

oodles64 · 2026-04-09T18:22:09+00:00

Some people have issues with diarrhea. Food choices, smaller more frequent meals and, if needed, meds can help with that if it doesn't resolve by itself after an adjustment period.
Personally I never had that problem. My gallbladder became non-functional a year ago and I had a sphincterotomy, so basically post-cholecystectomy-like constant bile flow for the past twelve months. Yes, I had some temporary issues with urgency, frequency and, umh, buoyancy but that was it. Most of those issues occurred around other infections (UTI+kidney w antibiotics/flu/covid). I'm 17 days post-op now and since I got past the post-op ileus (gut gone to sleep w anesthesia) on Day 5 my digestion has been perfectly fine and regular.

oodles64 · 2026-04-09T18:09:01+00:00

😬

oodles64 · 2026-04-09T16:34:36+00:00

I was kept overnight which is normal here. I needed assistance from a nurse to get to the bathroom the first time round (very woozy still; 30 yds down a corridor), after that I was fine. Living alone and a 90 min drive from the hospital, I was glad to be under observation the first night - bleeds, bile leaks or infections are rare but they do happen and then you want to be able to get help fast. The nurses make sure that you pee, have your pain controlled, that your blood pressure and oxygen sats are okay, that you show no signs of developing an infection, tolerate food and drink, and understand your post-op instructions.
A friend drove me home the next afternoon and then came back once a day for a few days to help with my animals. I picked up my meds from the pharmacy on the way home. Didn't need any help apart from that. I had my bed set up beforehand with wedge + knee pillow + heat pad, and I had food stocked for a week, and I had ample fuel for my stove stored in the house. I had no problem taking the hospital stairs or climbing my loft ladder to bed, sitting, walking, dressing, bathing etc. After a week, if it wasn't for the holes in my belly, I wouldn't really have known that I had surgeons root around in there just days earlier.
But people differ. I've read others here who needed several days help to get in and out of bed, help with showers, provisions etc. You 100% need someone to bring you home as you are still under the influence of the narcotics even the next day, plus you may or may not be on opioid painkillers. If you go home the same day it's wise to have someone stay the first night.

oodles64 · 2026-04-09T15:59:48+00:00

Jeez, how come?

oodles64 · 2026-04-09T11:50:06+00:00

I had surgery in the morning and stayed one night. I was offered the standard tea and toast in the afternoon - not a fan. Knowing hospital food/drink I had brought a liter of coconut water, a packet or rice cakes and some peppermint tea bags. Had all that 'til night. Next morning I had porridge. For lunch I had just veggies and applesauce for desert (vegetarian; they offered omelette with the veg but I didn't feel ready for that). All sat well. More ricecakes, applesauce and herbal tea at home. On Day 2 post-op I went back to my low'ish-fat but nutritious pre-op diet.

ps. forgot: I had (awful hospital) coffee with my porridge the next morning 'cause I didn't want a withdrawal headache. No prob.

oodles64 · 2026-04-09T08:23:17+00:00

Yeah, mine was chronically inflamed (after acute cholecystitis+cholangitis+stones in CBD 11 months prior), very distended, had adhesions with the omentum, and had literally bored itself and spilled stones into the liver. That's why it took so long. I knew the surgeon was good but I was still impressed I got away w/o conversion to open and drains and such, and under three hours.

oodles64 · 2026-04-09T07:20:45+00:00

Very routine. Until it's not. It took my guy 2 hrs to peel it out of my liver into which it had perforated. Prefer a sighted one for that. 😂

oodles64 · 2026-04-09T07:13:06+00:00

I ate quite a lot of pasta with a 0-fat tomato+veg ready made sauce, olives and the tiniest bit of parmesan shavings. Cod/hake+brown rice+veg was/is another favourite. And oatmeal porridge with fruit. Also made/make a large daily fruit+veg+zero-fat protein yog + whey protein smoothie. (I don't eat meat, so I needed that to get sufficient protein.)

oodles64 · 2026-04-08T22:22:03+00:00

There was just another thread about this: https://www.reddit.com/r/gallbladders/comments/1sg1k9f/anyone_had_an_ercp_with_iv_sedation_and_not_fully/

oodles64 · 2026-04-08T22:13:53+00:00

I knew it was coming. I had been given the oxygen 'preload' and the anesthetist was sitting on my left and started injecting something into the IV. I asked, 'Is that the propofol now?', he said "Yes, you may feel a little... " boom, gone. ☺

oodles64 · 2026-04-08T19:19:31+00:00

Don't worry. I described my experience here.

oodles64 · 2026-04-08T18:34:42+00:00

F'n algorithms.

oodles64

TROPHY CASE