Hey everyone! Man it feels like forever since I've written a post and looking at my post history there sure haven't been many but at the same time I have also had to be in the hospital a surprising long time now. Surprisingly long even with the surgery in mind that I had on Tuesday. Starting off, the surgery went well, it's called a laparoscopic cholecystectomy where they generally do 4 small incisions on your stomach to remove the gallbladder so it'll stop infecting my pancreas and other organs around it. The thing was that the MRI here at this hospital showed I had gallstones also stuck in the bile duct which would explain the jaundice (yellowness of skin and eyes) but a few days later when we did another MRI at another nearby hospital they didn't find any there, to make sure that they had actually moved on from it they decided to check the bile duct during the surgery as well and since they were already in the area they decided to also check the liver. I'm not sure and haven't asked but that could explain why there are 5 incisions instead of the usual 4.
One of the bigger incisions is on the belly button which is usually covered well for most people so you won't see the scars as well as the others and that's where they pull the gallbladder out of after having cut it. You're welcome for that imagery. :P
I was given anesthesia and was looking forward to the usual "count down from 10 if you can" but to be honest I don't even remember when it started which I find weird, I do remember having some nice dreams though and then waking up to everything being blurry and someone talking to me. Apparently I was also given morphine before I woke up so I was being all weird, as I was asking the nurse next to be how it went I remember having problems breathing, it felt like if I exhaled too much I felt pain and if I inhaled too much I felt pain so I was trying to describe to her that I could only breathe between 40 to 70% and I'm not sure she got what I meant or if it made any sense. The funny part was when I asked how it went and asked her to hold my hand while she was telling me, lol, I think I remember she did for a while but probably realized I was under morphine and hadn't been shot in a war-zone and was about to die.
She mentioned that everything went well and one of my biggest fears that I had was waking up with a tube which came out of my body that was supposed to suck out any gallstones from the bile duct but she said there was no need as none were found and the liver looked fine too. While I was happy about that tube not being there I wasn't as happy about the catheter they had snuck in after the surgery while I was still sleeping, was my first time experiencing that as well so it did feel pretty weird not feeling the "need" to urinate as it did it automatically. Am I sharing too many details with you yet?
Alright so to keep things a bit shorter, usually after such a procedure the patient is supposed to go home after a few days and recover there with pain medication and a diet while watching what sort of heavy lifting or exercise they do (not that I've been doing all too much of that in general either) but weirdly enough the jaundice has still not disappeared even today after 5 days. They're not really sure as to why, either because I don't drink enough water even though they keep reminding me daily or because it took me such a long time to arrive to the hospital from the first day I got the symptoms. At this point it's getting a bit annoying having to still be here because of that though so not sure if they thinking there is a chance there could still be something else they might not be telling me about but aside from today they've been taking blood samples of me daily to check up on stuff. That practice alone has really put the nurses to the test as my veins are harder to find than Satoshi and after many have tried and failed to get blood from my arms I keep trying to tell them to just go for my hands to save themselves some time and myself some pain and bruises (my left arm looks like someone has repeatedly punched a blue eye on a daily basis for over a month).
Other than that, the pain has gone away even though they still keep giving me some painkillers and the pain which I thought was in the lungs since I wasn't able to breathe right after the surgery is also gone and turns out it was just muscles so now I'm able to fall asleep on the sides/belly which I couldn't after the first couple nights. Hopefully being able to sleep 8h+ will help my recovery and this yellow color to go away soon so I can be back home to tend to everything Hive and some gaming that I have missed quite a bit. I have of course been trying to curate here and there with my account on my phone and read up on happenings on slack, twitter and the OCD discord server but for the most time just been sleeping on and off in short periods.
Special thanks to the OCD team for keeping the curation going on finding great quality posts and to my lovely girlfriend @hiddenblade who's an experienced curator and has been taking the time off to help me curate more freely with the OCD accounts the past couple weeks, so if you've received curation that wasn't from the compilation post you should thank her for it. :)
I apologize for the community collaboration and curation project not being finalized yet, I am hoping we can get to it as soon as I'm home and a bit more back to my normal state but thanks to the ones that have stepped up and have been sharing their best posts from their communities in our discord for added curation. Looking forward to see what more we can do and how we can evolve so it helps the platform, users, retention and engagement even more!
Lastly thank you for all the wishes to my followers who frequently have read my posts, whether long, short, dumb, random gaming or crypto content, you've really made it worth having been active and given my all to this chain in the past 4 years to show that just being a top trending author is not what it's about, it's about the connections and the community and I'm so happy to be able to call this place my home.
I'm glad to hear the surgery went well @acidyo. Hope you will get the rest that you need and come back here in full force. :D
Have a great day. :D
Thanks, you too!
Yes it's great
Okay wow you guys really spammed me with comments, will have to get back to the rest a bit later so I still have the energy to burn some voting power on curation today. Thank you. <3
Man, it sure is great to have you back around! Glad the surgery went well without much complications! Welcome back!
Crikey @acidyo! Sounds like things got real. Easy to forget our hive community are real people sometimes with very real problems and experiences haha
It’s so easy for someone to become the thumbnail avatar..
Your pain and stresses sound about right, but appears you have a good team of doctors and nurses sorting you out :)
Man, I love anaesthetic. I had a general about a year ago for a routine procedure and it was the best sleep I’ve had in many many years (although I do have young kids so any sleep is considered good) and I woke up feeling like a million great-British-pounds. 😁
Take care!
Take care of yourself! Life comes first, interwebs second.
Hopefully they've narrowed the jaundice down and are working on getting that to go away. Lots of fluids is important to flush it out!
Thanks, yeah still not gone but have to admit haven't been the best at eating the food they've been providing here and drinking enough of water, trying to improve that now with some care package I got today with lots of fruits, healthy drinks and healthy snacks.
Yeah, hospital food is often times better meant for the trash barrel instead of our stomachs lol It's one thing that baffles me, the hospital is where you go to heal and recover but the garbage they feed people is crazy!
I'm glad you got a bunch of healthy snacks drinks and importantly fresh fruit! All of that will do wonders to make your body get better. I would just advise going slowly to start and then progress from there.
Great to read an update from you. Take care, mate, and may you be better ASAP.
Acidyo, health first. You know it.
Super-glad to see @hiddenblade holding the torch.
Also, surgery had to go well with all of us praying for you! (Indian prayers do work!)
Wishing you a great year!
Hehe yeah I'm happy about the awesome community we have here, hoping to be back at it 100% very soon to bring it and everyone new to new heights. :)
I'm glad you're slowly recovering. Thanks for trusting me with curation. :D
glad to hear from you! surgery can be a hit and miss and I had my one and only 2 years ago unplanned and it felt a bit like yours. Get some more sleep and rest as your body needs it. After some time, you will be up and back to your normal self again. Just keep watch of those "holes" so they close nicely .....
LOL. I can see that you are fine and now able to insert some humor into your post but I wish you well and do hope you get well soon. First time I read a post from you so nice to meet you @acidyo. My wife almost had an operation similar to yours but she wanted to try out some alternative medicine. After consulting with a couple of doctor friends, and signing a waiver to leave the hospital, she tried the apple therapy, which worked wonderfully. She's been gallstone-free after that, but had to do therapy a couple times over. Cheers!
What kind of therapy is that? Thanks!
It's very similar to this but modified by our doctor for her specific condition.
https://www.davidwolfe.com/liver-gallbladder-flush-protocol/
I can very much relate brother. I also had my gallbladder removed due to the stones. I had two of those 16mm in size. But its been a year since my surgery but the four holes in my stomach still reminds me of that time.
Jaundice is common due to gallstones and even after the surgery some bile remains within the body which can cause jaundice for quite a while. My body has always been weak so i had some problems adjusting to the surgery. After the surgery, vomiting was a major problem. Greenish bile rushed out of my mouth twisting and turning my insides. Sorry for the mental image.
But all gets better with time and you need to adjust to your surgical state. No heavy lifting, no hard foods, no alcohol or even soda and also no spicy and oily food. I went back to drinking and smoking too soon depressed because of all the financial expenses i caused but it only increased my expenses while making me sick.
So take care and have plenty plenty of rest before getting back to your life.
Get well soon
Damn, sorry to hear that man, luckily I haven't had any vomiting afterwards but the jaundice is staying for a lot longer than they're expecting and they are now asking another medical team to check in on what it could be. Yeah, can't even begin to think about what the expenses will be. :<
Its nothing but a bad time mate
But bad times eventually end
bear through it strong man
Thanks for sharing.
Speedy recovery, my friend. You're a brave one, I'll give you that. My absolute very best to you as well as all the amazing things you've done for this platform...
Bless, brother.
Thanks Ezzy!
Sleep aids recovery so hopefully you find some consistent rest. Hive will be here when you get back, as will the community who have always appreciated your content, efforts behind the scenes and support.
Hi @aciyo,
Sorry to hear you were in the hosptal and you had surgery, thats scary, but it sounds like you are better, but still jaundiced. I hope you are correct and it's just your hydration and not anything more serious. I am unfamiliar with your curation trail, but I will study it now, you are fortunate to have your partner help you with this, as many might find this stuff to boring to indulge in LOL
I will ask my wife to pray for you, as she is in Church and I am at work, I think I will say a prayer for you also, even though I am not at Church, I think it still counts.
Take Care,
@shortsegments
No midriff tops this summer!
Glad you finally got the surgery done (when did we start talking about going to the doctor - oh yeah, the end of 2017!) and hopefully you will be on the up from here on out. Remember that you will still have to watch your diet, otherwise you will feel like shit but you can also take this stuff called Precosa (probiotic) that could help with that - my wife takes it.
Here's to a better tomorrow :)
Oh the imagery on that...LOL
Stay strong Acid!
Wish you a speed recovery.
Also thanks for sharing with this special community :)
Ahhh get well soon! Galbladder is a bitch an dont feel worried over the next couple of days if you have the feeling that your bowels are falling into place again. (It is because they are, we stir them to everywhere...yeah im an OR nurse haha)
Also your fifth incision you can see it as adding an extra little hand (unless it is a tiny one in your left upper abdomen, then it was only to insufflate the gas) which sometimes is needed because bowels are in the way, or when a liver flap is a bit larger. I hope the little stone has passed already and the jaundice is wearing down. Get well soon dude!
They did mention something about the gas indeed and said that's the reason I've had pain in my shoulder which still comes and goes. Yeah still waiting on the jaundice to go away but it's getting a bit worrisome with each passing day it doesn't.
I am glad that everything went well. Get healthy and we at @ocd will be taking care of things in the meantime. Just focus on yourself. If you need anything, you know how to contact me.
Thanks mate.
Good to get an update from you,take care and do come back with a bang.
Oofty, that's a voyage and a half you have been on and indeed are still on! Good luck mate and get totally better soon!
Glad your surgery went well, and I sure hope you get the jaundice sorted soon too so you can go home.
Thanks for sharing so many details :p
So did the morphine give you a handsfree pee?
Good to hear you are on the mend!
Ya, although handsfree peeing was not a first experience. :p Cheers
That's great to hear ! I hope you'll have a switft recovery
Im so happy for you man, i hope you get well soon and do your activities as you did before all this nightmare, you are missed your health matter then the projects, because this last can done anytime just take careful of your health we are all here doing our best to make this chain success. We love you
Sorry to hear but glad all went well. Hope you fully recover soon!
My thoughts are with you! Good luck in those recovery times!
Excellent @acidyo. Glad the surgery was a Success. I know that can be touch and go
What a bad timing to get sick, man! I'm glad you got the help you needed and now you're doing fine. I love the nurse story hahaha I can imagine waking up after something so random like a surgery, everyone would want some support.
Hello! I hope you feel better! I have seen the publication and entered quickly. It is a somewhat uncomfortable situation that you have experienced due to the procedure, medication that you have to take and especially the restrictions that surgery entails. Beyond that, the most important thing is that you have a positive spirit and you put a little humor into the situation so that it is not so stressful.
Greetings, from a corner of the world and that you recover quickly!.
All the best my friend!
Good to hear your updates, get well soon.
My best wishes for you. I hope that the Dolores pass soon and that you recover quickly. God bless you today, tomorrow and forever
I had my gall bladder removed back in 1989, but unlike you I did not have it done laparoscopic. I had the "old" way with the 4-6 inch incision. Recovery was about three months. It sucked
Glad you are doing better.
Oof yeah, they said that worst case scenario if complications were to arise they'd have to do the big incision, can imagine that must've gotten boring to recover for such a long time. :(
Stay strong Man!!! I wish you a speed recovery :)
Get well soon, @acidyo... drink plenty of water, and relax ... we'll be here whenever you get back...
Wishing you a speedy recovery @acidyo. May you regain your health in it's optimal capacity.
Good to hear from you. Just get well in your own time and bollocks to everything else in life. its YOU time.
PS Just wait until the catheter comes out....its messy ;-)
lol tell me about it, I could hear Ash in the background going "Squirtle, use bubblebeam!"
LOL...its just slight momentary embarrassment! however, if you ever have a kidney problem and a stent pushed right up to your kidney, that's a whole new ball game! When they take it out, it has to pass through your prostate.....suddenly the embarrassment is surpassed by a not unpleasurable experience ;-)
Isn't it amazing how words can force terrible images into your mind? lol ;-) take care fella!
That sounds not so good. Hope you will get well soon.
My father in law just out of the hospital tonight (2nd time in two weeks) and now is really bad time to be there.
Hope for your speedy recovery. Thank God for anesthesia, can't imagine the pain without it. Cheers
Welcome to the Missing Gall Bladder Club my friend.
Amazing how quick and smart they can remove that troublesome little organ.
Lots of water drinking now in your future.
After the op I used to get a build up of much acid in my stomach and chest (heartburn) so if that happens to you, ask your doctor about Prazoloc, or Omeprazol, as I take one pill every day and no more acid.
You should hopefully be up and about again soon. Let's hope so!
That's a good suggestion. My sister had that same issue and they gave her a pill and she was much better.
Yeah, once the gall bladder is removed, there is nothing that can control the acid. I had to find that out the hard way as I had constant heart burn and an acid taste in mu mouth. My wife also told me that I had a weird metal smell.
Went to see a specialist and it was the end of my problems.
I still drink a lot of water, 8 glasses a day, but that pill is most definitely the answer.
I haven't had any heart burn or acid reflux, and been off pain meds for a few days already, the only issue is the jaundice is still there which should've been gone max 3 days ago but trying to take in more fluids now by force.
Strange that the jaundice lingers.
My acid only started a couple of months afterwards, but I suppose that everyone has different systems and maybe you will not get it at all.
Drinking a lot of water every day is also not my idea of fun, but it helps in a lot of ways.
Welcome back. Get well soon.
Welcome to your home, @acidyo! We hope that you will recover soon and that you will be in good health. Take care of yourself!
Great to hear from you mate and that you're starting to get through the infection. Keep looking after yourself and look forward to more regular posting from you when you're back to full health.
Take care of yourself 💪
Don't worry, you managed to put together a great team in OCD, things are going very well around here. Now the most important thing is that you recover 100% and stay healthy with us. From Venezuela, best wishes to my friend.
It's always a relief when something as a surgery goes well, now you'll slowly get back into posting with time, well cheers man, keep up the recovery process.
I wish you will get well soon.
Happy to hear little by little you are coming back to normality.
Just reading your long post gives me a sign you are recovering :)
Hope you go home soon!