What To Eat After Gallbladder Surgery: The Gallbladder Removal Diet
For several days following your laparoscopic gallbladder surgery in Baltimore, you will be required to follow a clear liquid diet. Clear liquids include water, broth, and electrolyte beverages. The primary goal of this diet is to aid in the healing of your digestive system while enabling you to obtain the necessary fluids during this process.
You’ll be able to start incorporating additional foods into your diet after a few days. Your physician might suggest that you follow a BRAT diet, or something very similar, consisting of bread, rice, applesauce, and toast or crackers. To ensure that you can heal, you should consume simple, easy-to-digest foods that give you the essential carbohydrates.
Probably a few days will pass while you follow this diet after switching from clear liquids. You can then resume adding solid foods after this. The secret is to limit your intake of fattening foods and hold off on eating them until you’re able to resume eating normally.
Following your surgery you should gradually increase your dietary intake. Gradually transition from a bland diet, like chicken noodle soup, crackers, Gatorade, or tea, to a regular diet. There are no dietary restrictions after a cholecystectomy, although it is a good idea to stay away from extremely greasy or spicy foods for the first two weeks.
It’s crucial that you get up and move around your house as soon as you return from the hospital. Walking up stairs is acceptable. Any intense physical activity should be avoided during the first week. Walking short distances for exercise is acceptable. Do not drive for at least 3-5 days after surgery. If you have taken prescription pain medication within the last 24 hours, you should not drive. Most patients return to work within 4-7 days. You should keep walking during the second week, and you could even try some light jogging. Do not lift anything greater than 15-20 lbs. for at least two weeks. After these two weeks, you can progressively up your activity level while exercising common sense. However, you should refrain from engaging in any physical activity that could irritate your incision, such as moving furniture, lifting large objects, operating a lawnmower, etc. These activities should be avoided for four weeks following surgery. When you feel comfortable again, you can resume your regular sexual activities.
The day after surgery, any large white gauze dressings that may be covering your wounds may be taken off. Underneath will be small white steri-strips or dermabound. These should be left alone. After surgery, the steri-strips typically come off on their own in two weeks, and the dermabound will simply go away. Your dressing will have a date written on it if you had a SILS procedure, and you can take it off at that time. Wait to see the doctor again before attempting to take out any staples or sutures that are in place. It is not unusual to have firmness underneath the incision. This will gradually disappear in time. You may gently shower the day after surgery. Try not to remove the white steri-strips. You may take a tub bath 7 days after surgery.
After eating, some people may experience loose stools; however, this usually improves over time. Constipation is a common side effect for patients receiving narcotic painkillers after surgery. To treat this, you should gradually increase your level of activity and make sure you’re staying hydrated by drinking a regular amount of water. A diet high in fiber or dietary fiber supplements (e. g. : Metamucil, Fibercon, Konsyl, Citrucel) may help. Additionally, you can buy Fleet enemas or Ducolax suppositories at the pharmacy without a prescription, and you can use them once or twice a day. Alternatively, a dose of Milk of Magnesia may be used.
When you are discharged, please use the pain medication prescription that was given to you. Make sure you eat before taking narcotic pain relievers to avoid stomach distress. If you become nauseated during the recovery period, it is usually caused by the pain medication. You can treat this by stopping the pain medication and switching to over-the-counter pain relievers. If you are taking prescription pain medication, avoid driving.
What Is Gallbladder Removal Surgery?
The organ responsible for secreting and storing concentrated bile is your gallbladder. The liver produces bile to aid in the digestion of fats.
Cholecystectomy, or the removal of the gallbladder, is done for a number of reasons. Gallstones, however, are the most frequent cause. If left untreated, they can be dangerous and cause excruciating pain.
As previously said, living without a gallbladder is perfectly normal and healthy. But there are foods that you will need to avoid. Which foods should you avoid eating following surgery to remove your gallbladder?
