Aftermath of a gallbladder removal surgery

As I mentioned here, I removed my gallbladder at Mt Alvernia around a week ago.


So very sad.

One less asset.

Reminds of the song, "Let it go" in the animated movie, "Frozen"


"Let it gooooooo.................Let it goooooo...............it(gallbladder) aint working anymoreeeeeee

Let it gooooooo...............Let it gooooooo................close my eyes and off it goessssssssss

And here I stand, with one thing less............

Let it gooooooo...............Let it gooooooo................The fats always bother me anywayyyyyy"


Sometimes in life is like this, if something ain't working anymore, and is in fact causing you pain, then it's better to let it go. If a relationship is bothering you the same way, oh yes, cut it off. I meant, break it off.

How it came about?
Oh well....it started as a series of abdominal pains and diarrhoea almost every single time after a meal. It's not super painful but it's REAL irritating. The diarrhoea can come as fast as 5minutes after a meal. I'm a faster eater as compared to hubby who eats damn slowly and I tell you sometimes when we're having dinner, I "shit" out already and he's still at his dessert. *faints* Thank god we're an old couple, else it's really super not romantic at 1st date.

And I'm not even eating super oily or spicy for that matter. Humph! Then once in a blue moon, intense and severe abdominal cramps will attack me. It's damn "exclusive". It only happens after 11pm where all the clinics are closed so I always have to go A&E. $%^&*(&^%$%^&*(  and be a drama queen.

How painful was it? Let's just say it's usually about 8 to 9 on a scale of 10. Tears will start to fall down my face and I looked like a pathetic whiner. Painkiller jabs always saves my day/night. It's not my 1st visit to the hospital already for such drama and all along(ok for the past 2 years) I knew that I had stones and polyps in my gallbladder.

My family GP said, "Nahz, thousands of people are walking around with stones in their gallbladder. It's nothing to worry until you have an infection."

Apparently, I had lor.

FYI, I'll describe the pain to be slightly off right from center, under your right breast. And it's more painful when being pressed. But the real funny thing is, an ultrasound scan will show that your gallbladder has stones or polyps but no scans/tests, not even a scope, can tell that your gallbladder has infection. It's always a GUESS. My last admission at Gleneagles, my specialist also had this guess, but he didnt sound confident after pressing my stomach, and so I just discharged after the pain subsided. But this time round, another specialist said he was quite sure(though he still dont dare to be 100% sure...I guess no specialist will). Moreover, constant pain and diarrhoea after meals is indicative of a nonfunctional gallbladder. And so I did the surgery to remove the gallbladder.

Of course I did asked all the essential questions, like,


Is it really necessary?
Yes, especially when the infection is causing pain. The removal of gallbladder is encouraged because it's probably not working anyway when it has gallstones inside AND it will remove the risk of pancreatitis as well as the risk of my polyps turning bigger and thus turning cancerous.

Cant I just remove the gallstones and the polyps ONLY? 
But the possibility of recurrence of gallstones is very high, it will most probably come back. So it's better to remove the gallbladder altogether. =(

HOW will it be done?
Via Keyhole surgery. Relatively a small surgery and downtime is not long.

WHAT will happen after that?
Basically...think of gallbladder as a storage sac. It's used to store bile which is produced by the liver while it drips, in order to break down fats more effectively for digestion. Guys, you can think of it as RAM of a computer. So when you dont have a storage sac, your body cant digest fats so efficiently especially after a heavy meal. And you might experience slight stomach pains or diarrhoea. In short....you have to eat healthier and less oily.

Sigh.................*head drooped down..........*

*And then head suddenly lifted up*


"DOES THAT MEAN I'LL GET FATTER EASIER SINCE I'M UNABLE TO DIGEST FATS AS WELL AS BEFORE???"

My specialist's reply, "Oh...no...when fats cant get digested, they'll be passed out from the body. When things cant be digested, it means it cant be absorbed by the body. So it's more like it's more difficult for you to get fatter." Then he smiled.


OH!!! WOW! That's wonderful news!


Oops....sorry for being such a bimbo...but I'm just making the best out of my situation!
It's no use crying over a lost gallbladder, whatttttttttt

But girls, please please dont go pestering any surgeon to remove your gallbladder OK just because you want to be slimmer. Zzz.

I just had my 4th diarrhoea tonight and it's not fun at all. =(

Why? I just had a swiss roll only. FML.

And I didnt lose any weight to date lor...despite my torturous 1st few nights at Mt A with the intense pains. Humph!



They did an autopsy of my gallbladder, which baffled me. I mean, it's removed from my body already, why would they bother? Hubby said maybe they just wanna check whether it has any cancer cells and worried that it spreads etc. Sounds logical. In any case, I received these HD hardcopy pictures from my surgeon and it's like...........WOW........gross! My gallbladder was swollen and indeed had inflammation or infection whatever and when they're being cut out, they looked like an ABALONE! Hahahaha!!

Okie, my wonderful family GP advised me, since I had removed my gallbladder, I need to eat less oily stuff...Okay noted....and also...I can take ENZYPLEX to aid in indigestion. I then realized it's actually the same green capsule which the hospital gave me during my stay. FYI, you dont have to bother to ask doc to prescribe you from the hospital because I think it's cheaper to get it from Watson. (I only saw 1 brand in both Watson/Guardian/Unity). And medical(H&S) insurance dont cover such supplements because they are not medically necessary. (Trust me, I'm in Insurance). These are cheap, like less than S$50 for 200 capsules(because they having 1 for 1 promo). I probably have to take them forever.

Bless you if it's cancer, the supplements are much more expensive, like maybe S$100 per capsule. Drop onto the floor also must eat. =P So getting some major illness or early stage illness policy ON TOP of hospitalization and surgery insurance shield plans dont harm at all~

I'm still recovering from the wounds....my tummy is oh-so-colourful now. Bruised. Sigh.....I prayed to god that it wont look like this forever else I will be super sad. I love my F21 bralettes, midriffs and bikinis. 

It has been maybe a week after my op. I just removed my stitches yesterday. But I still experienced pain when I vacuumed my floor just now. Vacuum! Not even mop. Sigh...........I just cant do any housework or sports or dance for now. I'm feeling so irritated.

Let it go from Frozen(movie) (Gallbladder edition)

"Let it gooooooo.................Let it goooooo...............it(gallbladder) aint working anymoreeeeeee

Let it gooooooo...............Let it gooooooo................close my eyes and off it goessssssssss

And here I stand, with one thing less............

Let it gooooooo...............Let it gooooooo................The fats always bother me anywayyyyyy"



Blessing you a healthier and robust 2014! Hope you've gained something out of this entry.