My husband is going in for gallbladder surgery tomorrow, he just found out that it is only 25 percent functional. I was wondering if anyone else here has had it and how soon you recovered? Any drastic diet changes you had to make?

Hi Angela-Sorry I can't answer you questions, but my prayers are with you both. cat

We are really hoping that he feels better becuase he has missed several weeks of work already this year. It took forever for the doctors to figure out what was wrong.

Best to you guys and a wish for a speedy recovery for your husband.  I'd inject some insight if I had any, but I don't know anyone who's gone through this.  It sounds like a routine operation by the comments and my hopes and prayers are it is!   I'm firmly convinced of finding a natural remedy for things, before resorting to conventional doctors, but I think this is one of those things that is requiring of an operation irregardless of any natural alternatives.
 
 
Again, wish you all the best and stay strong as you have all of your GCU family pulling for you!  
 

I live in NJ and I know A LOT of people who have had their gall bladders out!  Hm.  Perhaps we should move?!  
 
My husband had his out April 2010 and they made an incision about 6 inches long.  His gall bladder had many stones, had blocked the duct and had also caused his pancreas to swell.  He had to stay in the hospital for 5 days with nothing to eat or drink to allow his pancreas to calm down.  After surgery, he stayed in the hospital three more days.  The hospital bill would have been $83,000.00 if we didn't have insurance!!  Anyway, he was in bed on pain meds for two weeks, then seemed to recovery pretty quickly.  By the end of May, he was hiking up a small mountain with me while on vacation.  He can eat just about anything, but greasy food really makes him ill.
 
I had MY gall bladder out December 2010.  I didn't have much inflamation, but I had two very large stones (about an inch big, each).  I had laparoscopic surgery done with four, one-inch incisions.  Immediately after leaving the recovery room, I began to vomit bile.  The Percocet they gave me made it much worse.  I switched to Vicodin and it didn't make me sick to my stomach and helped with the pain better.  Go figure -- Percocet is twice as strong!  Both my husband and I didn't have much of an appetite for the first month after surgery.  Soup was a mainstay.
 
Anyway, I expected to get better really quickly.  After all, my husband did and he had that big incision.  HOWEVER . . . when you have laparoscopic surgery, they pump your abdomen full of gas in order for the surgeon to see.  That gas took a whole week to get out of my system and caused a great deal of pain in my chest, back and right shoulder.  I have a high tolerance for pain, but could not lay flat in bed.  I spent exactly 30 days in the downstairs guestroom where I slept sitting up with four pillows behind me.  After I graduated to my own bed and a flat position, it hurt a great deal whenever I would roll over in bed.  Basically, I never expected to have this much trouble.  The only foods that bother me are greasy ones.  
 
My sister's 70 year old neighbor had his gall bladder out and went horse back riding the next day!  My friend's 30 year old daughter had laparoscopic and took a month to recover.  It would appear the recovery is very individualized.  I would suggest being ready for the worst and then you'll be happy if it doesn't happen.  Make sure your husband does NOT lift anything for a few months or he will get adhesions and they are very painful.
 
I hope that helped a little.  Best wishes for a speedy recovery and a smooth surgery!  

When I had mine the doctor told me that you don't really need to change your diet. That was the old way of thinking but then that too could be an individual thing.
 
Cheryl