Exercise and No Gallbladder
Someone asked me what did I do right after my gallstone/gallbladder surgery through Lap Chole (Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy)? Did I exercise? What exercise did I execute? Did I go to gym?
NO GYM
My surgeon paid his last visit before I was discharged from Cebu Doctors University Hospital and one of his questions was that if I go to gym and workout. I plainly said no. He then said that it was good because if I do body workout, I need to stop and go back later – a month or two. No strenuous activities.
From what I understand, it might prolong the healing process because of intense muscle movement. I might get stressed. My body might not able to sustain any intense muscle work. It might open up the wounds. And it might be premature to conclude that the wounds are totally and visually healed yet the internal cut is not yet healed. Not only the 3 cuts (the cuts that I have) from the Lap Chole operation but also the cut through the common bile duct that separated the gallbladder from my body.
Thus, after my gallstone/gallbladder operation I did refrain from any strenuous activities. No extreme body activities.
EXERCISE
But I exercise! My first complain when I was in the recovery room was the pain in my 3 cuts and I felt bloated. The attending doctor gave me another pain reliever through intravenous. It was injected through the tube of the dextrose at the entry point in my hand. Then he explained that the stomach bloat that I felt was due to the air that were pumped in my stomach during the operation.
When I got back to my hospital room, my surgeon, my internists, and the resident doctors told me to do my first exercise – WALKING. As suggested, it will help eliminate the feeling of stomach discomfort – bloated stomach. I walked in my room. I walked on the hospital hallway, from one end to the nurse station then to the other end.
When I was discharged and arrived home, I did continue walking around the neighborhood every afternoon.
As what they say – WALKING is the best form of exercise!
11 persons responded to this post
Your website is very very useful.
I had my gallbladder removed in January. The surgery was successful but I’m not prepared for the life after the removal. I’ve been gaining weight eversince eventhough I had a proper diet and exercise regularly.
I am not taking an enzyme supplements and it helps to reduce my bloated stomach.
Your website helps me to understand which are the food I should avoid.
I will constantly visit your site to see your updates.
Thank you.
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Thanks for dropping by.
We have same sentiments after gallbladder removal. At first I thought that it will leave me staring my favorite foods. In a way, but not for long. For a month I had soft diet. Then I gradually tested some foods to see how my digestive system would react. Slowly I managed to eat my favorite foods.
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Hi Ken!
I did the same…walked about 1 mile each day and after about 3 weeks started doing push ups and some weight training.
I wouldn’t recommend anyone trying to do situps like in the Rocky film for a good 4 or 5 weeks!
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Good for you, Chris…
Are you into gym for your weight training?
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I had my gall bladder out three weeks ago and started walking two days later. I am an avid exerciser so just walking was killing me!
I started back at my classes two weeks post op but no ab exercises at all.
However, my abdomen is still bloated/swollen and I have gained weight also. I am a very healthy eater and resumed normal eating right away. Nothing I eat bothers me so I’m wondering when this bloating goes down?
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Hi, Marie…
My bloated stomach lasted less than a month. I ate cereals and oats that time and I think it helped – those fiber-rich foods. I also had a soft diet and no fried foods – no fatty foods.
Btw, have you tried probiotics drinks? I took 2 bottles of Yakult everyday right after my gallbladder surgery for about a month. Then continued it to 1 bottle every after breakfast. For now, I have not drink it everyday. But there are a few times in a month because my stock in the fridge easily gets depleted as my son drinks it as well.
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i had my gall bladder removed end of july 2011. Till now still feeling some discomfort below the right ribs. sometimes when you move up the right hand, you will feel something rubbing against the ribs (mine was on lapa surgery) and understand that for whole life there are four metal clips for the duct in our body ??
Diet no problem. Most of the meals are of soft meals. Breakfast usually blend grape+green apple+cucumbe+pcs of dragon fruit+some protein abt 1litrs then after one hr will go for cip of milo with some organic biscuits.
So far have yet to try any fast food , deep fried and oily food.
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i had my gall bladder remove on 11/11/2010. its been over a year and i still experience some discomfort. but its better than actually having those stones inside me.
when i found out i had gallstones i was four months pregnant with my son. wow that was extremely painful, my baby was also stress out when the pain use to come on. you could actually see him move more than normal during these times.
i use to have family members rub my chest & back. but it never really got rid of the pain but i felt good. lots of vomiting and nausea. the hospital saw me almost every week from the fifth month of pregnancy. during this time i went from being 140 pounds in pregnancy,& after a 110 pounds. now i have gain a few pounds but i am trying to lose it.
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I had emergency lap chole jan 17/2012. I am a 63 male with no other major health complications. The blotted feeling, pain and discomfort have subsided, yet I still have internal discomfort specially after eating. During this 30 day period I have lost 16 lbs, eating smaller amounts of food more frequently. Before the surgery my favorite breakfast was egg whites, turkey ham and bread, but post surgery my system doesn’t tolerate this combo as well. I now enjoy a low fat yogurt and fruit smoothie -strawberry & banana – with a slice of bread. As for exercise, I have tried to work my upper body with light 15 lbs dumb bells but on a several occasions I have felt a twitch in the old gallbladder spot. I intend to continue working mainly my arms and chest muscle very slowly and carefully as to avoid any setbacks. I am targeting my 60 days anniversary to restart my morning walking routine.
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I had laporoscopic surgery w/ only one incision (above navel). I felt great by the next day minus the pain from the gas. Since I was feeling so well I got back on the treadmill 3 days post-op. Within a week I was doing sit-ups. Long story, short…I recently developed a hardening around my navel and including it. When I saw the surgeon for this, he told me I have a hernia and may quite possibly need surgery…especially if I keep overexerting myself. At this point, he stated he normally doesn’t recommend stomach exercises for four months! Same w/ squats. He said jogging should be OK. I’m having a really hard time following his orders so I’m looking for a safer alternative to situps.
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I also had a lap chole 3 weeks ago. I’m so glad I found your blog post. My surgeon told me that I can resume my gym activities after a month. I was determined to re-enroll until yesterday, my friend told me that her uncle died from overexertion and that was 7 months after his operation. Now, I’m worried that something might happen if I’ll resume strenuous activities after a month.
I asked my cousin for advice. She told me that I can keep my aero exercises but limits myself from abs. Can I still use weights?
So far, I have no problems pertaining to diet.
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Hi there, I discovered your website by the use of Google while searching for a similar subject, your website came up, it appears great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
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