If you want to read about my actual surgery, FOLLOW THIS LINK!If you want to read about the day(s) right after, FOLLOW THIS LINK!
So, what is it like 5 years after a successful surgery? I am sure everyone's story would be a little different, but here is a quick summary of where I am at these days:
- 99.9% of the time, I don't think about or remember I am without a gallbladder. There are times when I do think about it, which I will try to break out down below in this list, but even those things are typically fleeting thoughts that last but a few minutes.
- In terms of scars and such, no one really ever notices I had surgery unless I point it out, and point my finger at the almost unrecognizable little scars. Can't ask for much more than that!
- I will always have my incisions. Let's face it, someone cut through my abdominal wall muscles with a blade. Fortunately this was laparoscopic, and the incisions were small, but they are there nonetheless. This means scar tissue. How does this impact me? Well, when I try to do intensive abdominal exercises, there are times where I feel pain in those spots. I find that if I exercise my abs regularly and strengthen all the muscles, this can go away. But more often, I am in and out of working out, and when more out of shape these incisions can be a bit of a pain. From time to time an ab muscle may cramp around that area as a result. I tend to try not to go too crazy on my abs for that reason.
- My #2 is a little more liquid than it was before my surgery. If my diet is clean, it's not so bad, but I would say that on a 1-10 firmness scale, before the surgery I was in the 5-9 range, depending on my diet. Years after the surgery, it's more like the 3-7 range. I guess this can be expected somewhat with the constant bile drip. Long periods of fasting (like skipping breakfast but just having a black coffee) can result in a 1-3 range urgent trip. It's just something I have gotten used to and have learned ways to manage it. On a typical day though, we're talking 5-7 ish.
- Eating heavy junk food (deep dish pizza, Bloomin Onions, etc) can sometimes lead to digestive discomfort (slow digestion, aches in the gut). This makes total sense without a gallbladder to push out extra bile to help digest the fats. It is what it is - again, I learn to live with it. I also tend to make sure that I am not eating those kind of meals back to back, and often try to eat very clean the day after a super fatty processed food meal.
- Satiety: Can't say for sure if this is age, but ever since my Gallbladder was removed, my hunger pangs were never as strong as they once were (not a bad thing), and I felt full earlier than I used to. For example, Thanksgiving for me used to be where I would eat 2-3 large plates of food. These days, I feel completely full after one large plate. Because it's a holiday, I still go back and have a second plate, and then some dessert, and then I feel painfully stuffed. But even on normal days, I don't have that ability to double down on large plates. Again, this isn't a bad thing, it's just more a sense of not feeling like my old self. As I mentioned, this could just be age (in my early 40s now versus 20s and 30s).
- Although a Bloomin' Onion might cause me some discomfort later, for the most part I have no food restrictions of any kind, which is in itself a blessing.
Keep eating clean, and keep your chin up!
