Well, this is Friday, and this past Monday I went into a surgical center where I was wheeled into an operating room and had my my gallbladder removed. I had an appetite right away - unfortunately for me. So, I ate - and how I wish I hadn't.

Yesterday, I decided that I was going to "force" a bowel movement because I felt so awful - not even a cramp all week. Not the best idea I ever had. I don't know what the rest of you have experienced, but the surgical group I went to came highly recommended - lots of experience, yada yada yada. But there were a couple of things they did and did not do that made no sense to me. First of all, there was no preliminary blood work. And second, I was not "prepped" in any way for this surgery. I had read about someone having to be on a liquid diet for a week before surgery. I didn't even take a laxative.

Well, it all caught up with me yesterday. Basically, what happened was that I ended up with impacted bowels caught in my rectum, and I had to sit there and scream and cry until my husband could rush to the drugstore and buy liquid glycerin suppositories. I had to (this is gross) actually stick the tip of the bottle through that rock in my rectum to soften it so that it would come out of my body. This has been a horrible experience. I have been reeling with worries about my gut and what has happened to it and whether or not I am going to pass rocks the rest of my life or wear some kind of bag on my body. Needless to say, I'm now afraid to eat.

I guess I would like to know if any of the rest of you have had such a bad experience with your bowels after this surgery. And, if so, how did you resolve it?
I have done everything I know to do - prunes, prune juice, lots of water, milk of magnesia, enemas. What is causing this - is it the anesthesia? The odd thing about it is that everything else has sort of "shut down" till today. My blood pressure has stayed down all week (I'm hypertensive) without medication, and my temperature has been a bit low.

I think some of the feeling is "coming back" because I am having some digestive issues this evening. Does this get better? I know it's only been a few days, but I'm telling you, yesterday was a nightmare with the impacted bowels. They were so hard I was afraid they would perforate my colon.

If anybody has anything to tell me about this, I sure would appreciate it. The ass who did this surgery will not even come to the phone. I have been handed off to a "medical assistant" who doesn't have a clue - she really doesn't.

Thanks so much. This forum has been an invaluable aid to me in my "quest" for relief. The surgeon told my husband that my gallbladder was in horrible shape, had a lot of scar tissue and was not even functioning. He also said I had a huge stone that was blocking the duct.

Well, I'm feeling realy weak - this is only the second time on my computer since my surgery. Gotta go - any help or advice would be appreciated.

Faye