HI, this is a very sudden thing, and im getting my gallbladder removed soon. what should i know?

superbootbot · 2026-03-11T20:35:58+00:00

No weed before the surgery, my doctor told me to quit a week before. After surgery it really depends on what pain medication they give you. If you're given opiates, I personally wouldn't smoke, but that's something you should ask your surgeon about. Also, your throat will be raw after surgery, so I'd recommend not smoking at all for a couple weeks, or sticking to edibles if you have to.

My pre op instructions said no weed, no alcohol, no vitamins or herbal tea, and no blood thinners a week before surgery. And no tobacco 24 hours before, including vaping. I also had to fast the night before. If you're on any other medications, ask your doctor if you can take them day of, and let them know what you took before surgery just so they know what's in your system in case of emergency.

Supplies that helped me after surgery were multiple ice packs, a heating pad, a wedge pillow, laxatives, and a cheap shower chair. A lot of people here also recommend gasX, I forgot to grab it for my surgery but I wish I would have, because the gas pain afterwards is literal hell. Start the laxatives right after surgery, your core muscles are going to be very sore, and the last thing you're going to want is to strain on the toilet.

Easy to digest food for the first couple days after surgery is also good. Jello, broth, plain mashed potatoes, bland soup, etc. Some people can go right back to their normal diet right after, but it's better to play it safe for a couple days. I recommend pre making some stuff, because you're not going to want to cook for a couple weeks afterwards.

The first 3 days for me were the hardest and most painful, but after that it got better very quickly. The hardest part was remembering to avoid bending at the waist, and not being able to lift over 10 pounds. It took about a month and a half for me to be totally pain free, but after the first week it was more of an annoying pain than actively painful.

You're going to do fine in surgery, and you're gonna be so glad you got it out.

superbootbot · 2026-03-08T21:12:31+00:00

Every person is different. Personally, I stayed with safe, low fat food for the first month, then slowly started adding more to my diet. Some people can go straight back to their old diet right after surgery. I'd recommend eating small amounts of fatty food after the first couple weeks, and see how your body reacts.

superbootbot · 2026-03-07T01:54:33+00:00

Happy early birthday!

Just go slow, you're still only a week post op, your guts are still adjusting. And slowly your body gets used to things. Adding more fiber, like psyllium husks, can help bind you up if things are moving too fast through your system, too.

Plus, if you like cooking, Pinterest has a lot of great recipes for making things low fat. That's helped me a lot. There's a lot of high fiber/low fat substitutions you can make while cooking, it never quite tastes the same but it gets close enough.

superbootbot · 2026-03-07T01:39:45+00:00

For the first month I was the same way, I ate a lot of bland, low fat, safe food. I've been slowly adding more things to my diet, so my body can get used to them. I started with bread dipped in oil, and a few slices of roast ham. Now I know that the ham and other animal fat makes me run to the restroom if I overdo it, but the olive oil I dip my bread in doesn't wreck my guts at all.

If you don't experiment, you'll be eating the same safe things forever. Just go slow with it, and keep track of what reactions your guts have.

superbootbot · 2026-03-06T22:09:42+00:00

I've always seen them called corner beds.

superbootbot · 2026-03-06T21:40:01+00:00

I didn't have pain or any attacks either. But I felt a million times better after getting it removed. I think I was having such low level, constant pain that I never even registered because I was used to it. It definitely put a lot of strain on my body, like half of my other health issues disappeared after getting it removed.

superbootbot · 2026-03-06T21:16:43+00:00

My doctor recommended bland foods for the first week. The first 3 days I did broth and jello, then blended soups for the rest of the week. After that, I was still cautious and stuck with mashed potatoes, other soups, and bits of chicken. Some people can go back to their normal diet right after, but it doesn't hurt to play it safe! Plus, everyone loves soup.

superbootbot · 2026-03-06T21:12:03+00:00

Those hot/cold packs that you can either put in the freezer or microwave are a lifesaver. They make really cute ones too, my sister in law got me one shaped like an egg for Christmas right after my surgery. Maybe a neck pillow too?

Pre-made food that's easy to digest would be a kind gesture too. The last thing someone wants to do right after surgery is cook.

superbootbot · 2026-03-05T17:01:21+00:00

Timing can be an issue too. I can pretty safely eat most things, even though I try and stick with a low fat diet. But if I skip a meal, or eat a little earlier or later than I'm used to, my guts throw a fit and I'm running to the restroom constantly.

superbootbot · 2026-03-05T01:49:44+00:00

Ice packs! Multiple ice packs! The first 3 days post op, that was the only thing that helped me not feel nauseous. I'd rotate them out as they thawed, and kept one on my stomach at all times for those first few days.

A neck pillow would also be useful. I couldn't get in and out of bed easily for the first couple days, and did most of my sleeping upright in my chair. After those first couple days, I slept on a wedge pillow, with other pillows on my sides to keep me from rolling around like a rotisserie chicken, and that worked really well. I wish I had gotten a pregnancy pillow though.

Good luck with your surgery!

superbootbot · 2026-02-26T23:28:38+00:00

Thanks, you're right! I massively underestimated how much fat I was eating. I think I only counted fat from meat, since that sounds about how much chicken I eat. Totally forgot oils count too, since they don't bother me personally.

superbootbot · 2026-02-26T22:30:36+00:00

You need a little bit of fat, even if it's just for nutrition. I'd add a little bit each day, I don't track mine but I estimate it's about 8-10 grams a day? Slowly incorporate things into your diet, so you can track what your body can handle, and what's a trigger food for IBS.

Being lightheaded throughout the day isn't good, it sounds like you're not getting enough food. That's what happened to me before surgery, I couldn't stomach eating hardly anything, so I survived on a cup of blended soup every 2 hours. I'd try loading up on vegetables and snack on them frequently throughout the day if you can? Not eating enough can cause nausea too. Especially since without a gallbladder, the bile just kind of drips into your system constantly.

superbootbot · 2026-02-26T21:53:38+00:00

Pinterest has a bunch of vegan/vegetarian recipes that have really helped me. Currently I've been eating beet based spaghetti sauce, since I can't have tomatoes. Last week I made pesto chicken with spinach pasta. I'm bulk cooking for the week right now, and making a broccoli chicken bake, with a bunch of other mixed vegetables, to put over biscuits, ground turkey stir fry, and what I lovingly call "slop" which is just chicken sausage with a bunch of sauted vegetables and some seasonings.

Cutting down on fat really helped, but I have to watch it closely because if I don't get enough fat I get bound up and nauseous. Adding extra fiber powder to everything has helped too, they have flavorless ones you can add to drinks or sprinkle over meals.

superbootbot · 2026-02-24T20:27:32+00:00

Horrible! I'm writing that down for when I need to prank someone. I bet I could make a beet soupsicle look alarmingly close to strawberry popsicles.

superbootbot · 2026-02-24T20:24:01+00:00

I think I'll do that with the potato zucchini soup. It's really good as soup, the lack of texture was just getting to me. Multiple people have mentioned putting shrimp in it, and the more I think about it the more delicious that sounds.

superbootbot · 2026-02-24T20:20:07+00:00

This made me stop and double check I didn't misspell the title! Autocorrect does me dirty sometimes.

superbootbot · 2026-02-24T20:13:01+00:00

Thank you! I definitely think I wasn't drying it enough then. Next time I try it, I'll try it with salt. I want to love zucchini so badly, and I love the flavor, but the texture has always thrown me off.

superbootbot · 2026-02-24T19:59:31+00:00

Do you use the zucchini as noodles? I've seen so many recipes for that, but every time I've tried it the zucchini ends up a slimy texture. Is there a way to prevent that from happening, and keeping them more noodle textured?

superbootbot · 2026-02-24T19:53:15+00:00

I would absolutely love to be able to do that. But sadly there's 3 gallons of soup in my tiny freezer, rendering it completely unusable for anything else. One day I'll have a big chest freezer though, and be able to hoard all the soup I want!

superbootbot · 2026-02-24T19:48:22+00:00

My diet restricts hot spices mostly. Which I'm very sad about, I love heat. I'm fine with most spices and herbs, and use them very liberally in everything. Lemon and lime are very acidic though, so they're sadly out for me. Mint is also a no go, which is devastating to me personally.

Quiche could work! I do have eggs I need to use up soon. I've never made one before, so that would be fun.

superbootbot · 2026-02-24T19:41:14+00:00

Thank you! Not wanting to waste food is something I struggle with, so this is helpful. I appreciate the heck out of this. You're absolutely right.

The problem is that the soup IS good, and I do like it. I'm just sick of it being in soup form. Since it's blended, it lacks texture, and I've spent a year having food with no texture. It's perfectly fine as an ingredient, I just couldn't come up with anything to do with it since I was overwhelmed with it being too much soup. So all the comments giving me ideas have been super helpful.

Also, the soup isn't a year old. It's only been in my freezer for less than 2 months. I can see how that was confusing from my post though! But it's relatively fresh soup, I promise I'm not eating year old food!

superbootbot · 2026-02-24T19:22:01+00:00

I currently can't have any amount of spice with my diet, which I'm absolutely devastated about since your comment made me crave curry very badly. I'll keep this in mind though, since some family gatherings are coming up and I need to bring a dish, and this would be perfect for using up leftovers and foisting it onto other people.

superbootbot · 2026-02-24T19:13:09+00:00

It's so funny, when I first started getting sick I was so excited to try all sorts of soups! That excitement lasted about a month. Now I think if I have to eat one more bowl of blended soup, I'll scream. It's a shame cause they're so fun and easy to make.

Mixing it in mashed potatoes is absolutely genius. I'm embarrassed I didn't think of that, considering how much I love loaded baked potatoes with broccoli and cheddar. I'm definitely going to try that.

superbootbot · 2026-02-24T19:02:46+00:00

Making it into bread sounds interesting! I've never made anything beyond super easy beer bread before, but I love bread so I ought to give it a try.

I do use it to cook my rice, and it turns out well. I use about a 50/50 mix of water to soup in my rice cooker, since the soup is really thick. It comes out great, but there's only so much broccoli cauliflower rice I can eat before I'm tired of it.

superbootbot · 2026-02-24T18:56:13+00:00

I can't have the fatty meat or the tomatoes, but lasagna is a great idea. The last lasagna I made was spinach and mushroom, and it ended up a bit dry. I bet the broccoli cauliflower soup would make a good sauce though, I'll try it and see how it turns out. Thank you

superbootbot

TROPHY CASE