Need tips for upcoming surgery

[alclarkson]

So, I've decided to finally bite the bullet & get my gallbladder taken out. I go Thursday to do preop & schedule the actual surgery. I've read there is a certain antibiotic that is better for MCers. I know they'll give me an IV antibiotic during surgery so if someone could let me know which is best & have the least chance of causing a flare up, that would be great. Anything other good tips would be welcomed as well!

[BuggityBoo]

I was just diagnosed yesterday, and my GB taken out 4 yes ago, so I can't help with the antibiotic. With the GB removal, all I can suggest is to take 2 weeks off after. You will b weak and tired and I got D after it for about 3 months. Stay away from fats especially.

[Joefnh]

As I just came out of bowel surgery 2 weeks ago, my biggest recommendation is to go SLOW.

I made the mistake of going back to work after only one week off and that was too soon. Allow yourself the time to heal

Best wishes for a speedy recovery

Joe

[alclarkson]

I can't believe 2 full weeks off for recovery from a laproscopic procedure. Could I do 1 week off then maybe 1 week office work- just sitting doing paperwork, or would you folks not recommend that?

I'm not looking forward to the D, as I've finally gotten that under control for the past month w/ only 1 flare-up.

[sarkin]

This is a classic situation where the only answer is... "it depends."

It sounds reasonable that your recovery from a lap procedure would be less grueling than Joe's recent experience. I had a 'minor' lap procedure some years back that went perfectly well, but I had an "idiosyncratic" reaction to the anesthesia - so it took me a week to be normal again, instead of a few days.

I hope you get the easy road! But I don't think anyone can predict with certainty.

How are your symptoms at the moment? I do think that the more stable you are going in, the better your odds are of weathering the procedure well.

Good luck

Sara

[tex]

Hi Andrea,

People I've known personally, who had that procedure, were able to go back to work, (nothing physically demanding, of course), after a few days of rest. Let your body be your guide - it will tell you if it's not ready to return to work.

As far as "safe" antibiotics are concerned, the fluoroquilonones, (especially Ciprofloxacin), are not only well-tolerated by people with MC, but in most cases, they will stop a reaction that is already in progress, for the duration of the antibiotic treatment. Z-Pak, (azithromycin), is another antibiotic that rarely causes problems for those of us with MC.

The riskiest antibiotics are those that have a history of causing C. diff infections, particularly, clindamycin, (Cleocin), ampicillin, (Omnipen), amoxicillin, (Amoxil, Augmentin, or Wymox), and any antibiotics in the cephalosporin class (such as cefazolin or cephalexin).

There is a possibility that antibiotics administered by IV may not be as prone to causing D, as orally-administered antibiotics, but that may be an individual issue, of course.

Best of luck with the procedure.

Tex

[Bifcus16]

Hi Andrea.

When I had that procedure I went back to work after 10 days, but was still uncomfortable. In hindsight, I wished I had taken a few days longer. But everyone is different. It was days before I could roll over or lie comfortably other than flat on my back, and that meant I lacked sleep which impacted everything else. Tip - clutch a pillow to your tummy when you want to roll over - it holds all the 'bits' in place that they have loosened up.

I also had D whenever I ate anything even remotely fatty. That lasted for about nine months. On the other hand my dad never had any problems eating fatty stuff after his op - he was into the fish and chips at the first opportunity!

My naturopath recommended heavily dosing with vitamin C just prior to surgery to help boost the immune response.

Lyn

[MaggieRedwings]

Morning Andrea,

When I had my gallbladder out it was a long procedure since it was so infected I was in the hospital - entered as emergency - for 6 days until the infection was under control. They then did the surgery but I need a full 2 weeks before going back to work and then should have waited. I have a high tolerance to pain but since the infection was present pre-op it really took a lot out of me. I highly suggest that you go slow and take the recovery time you need. As we always say here - everyone is different.

Maggie

[alclarkson]

Thanks for all the good tips! I will def. ask for Cipro & play the recovery time by ear. I'm an x-ray tech & it is a very physical job- lots of lifting, pushing, pulling, you name it, so just 1 week is def. out. I'm thinking maybe a 2nd week on weight restrictions in the office. We'll see.

Sara- I'm actually doing great. I've only have 1 BM not norman for about a month and a half.

Maggie- I'm the same way- high pain tolerance. That's what's pushed me to just get it done. I"m afraid that it will get infected & I'll have a horrible mess on my hands.

[alclarkson]

I'm taking the flare-up thing back. Got chosen for jury duty today, got a little stressed out about it & had 3 bms today, not D but skinny little fellas. This makes me worry about the upcoming surgery b/c I know I'm going to stress out about it, I am very very scared about being sedated. Thinking maybe I should go back to taking pepto a week or so before the surgery. Anyone think that would help, or would that just be putting off the inevitable D once the gallbladder's gone anyway?

[tex]

Sorry about the unnecessary stress, but really, the sedation is nothing to worry about - that's the easiest part of the whole process. It usually goes so quickly that it's over before you know it, and the next thing you know, you're waking up in recovery.

I have no experience with taking Pepto as a preventative measure, but IMO, I doubt that it would do any good. If the cholecystectomy causes D, it's probably going to last for something like half a year, or more, anyway. I don't know if a "cleanout" will be necessary prior to the surgery, or not, but if it is, that would remove all of the residual Pepto.

Tex

[Sheila]

I had my gallbladder out a few years ago, pre CC, and was in considerable discomfort for a week or more. couldn't wear my undewire bra because of where the incision was located. I was in the midst of a very stressful situation at the time and I think that contributed to my difficult recovery. My daughter-in-law had her gallbladder out a month later and bounced back with little to no pain. You just don't know how your body will react. Strenuous lifting is probably contraindicated for a couple of weeks at least. Both DIL and I developed a lot of belching after having the gallbladder out. I had never done that before and neither had she.

I was on a Zpak when on vacation last month and didn't have any D the entire trip. I didn't realize at the time that it was the anti-biotic that probably controlled the D. I had just joined this board and didn't understand much about MC.

Started Entocort yesterday, three pills, and no D last night and very little this a.m. WOW!! I'll continue with the GF diet and try to be sensible with the rest of my food. I know I'm lactose intolerant but not sure about the rest of it. Have to wait for the results from Entero lab.

Good luck with your surgery.
Sheila

[alclarkson]

Thanks all for the tips and what not. D-Day is next Tuesday, the 19th. I'm a lot less tense about it than I was for the upper and lower endoscopies. I think it's because I'm going to be "out out", not just forced to forget about it with meds. I'm kind of actually looking forward to it. I've gotten a lot more nauseas lately. I've had a bad LC flare up I've been dealing w/ since the last week of June. I'm pretty much alternating between pepto one day and loperamide the next. It seems to cut down on the number of BMs I have, but when I gotta go, I gotta go!!!

[Zizzle]

Keep in mind that Pepto is a salicylate (like aspirin), so it may be contraindicated for days before surgery due to bleeding risks.

[alclarkson]

Oh my gosh, I wouldn't have even thought of that zizzle! Thanks you sooooo much. I didn't mention it in any of my pre-op stuff either, so they wouldn't think to tell me. I owe ya one!