Has anyone else developed hives or any sort of rash post-op? I woke up this morning (Day 5 Post-Op) with little red bumps along my right side of my abdomen. They are tiny, no itching or burning. I’m nervous about them but I’m unaware of what it could be.
On Monday I had laparoscopic cholecystectomy following a ~5 month battle with what was diagnosed as biliary dyskinesia with a 2% EF. I had lost ~50lbs since the start of my issues due to an extremely limited diet, and the moment that we got my HIDA scan results, I was scheduled for surgery 3 days later.
Immediately following the surgery I was in a fair amount of pain, but an injection of Fentanyl and a Codeine pill before discharge has that under control. Since getting home, the pain has been manageable to the point that I haven’t used the opioids at all, only ibuprofen and acetaminophen.
My main incision on the navel leaked a fair amount of blood the first 8 hours post-op, but has since dried and has no issues outside of tenderness. All of the other incisions have remained dry and mostly pain free since the start. I occasionally feel a slight tenderness inside my right abdomen but it’s more of a discomfort than a pain.
The shoulder pain from trapped CO2 was very much a real thing, but as I’ve tried moving around the past two days, it has greatly diminished.
Each night, I develop a low-grade fever that sits between 99.5-100.5, but during the day that fever dissipates. I have inquired about this to my surgeon, but he says that it is likely a trauma response to the surgery & having a distended abdomen that can cause shallower breathing than normal. His main concern was that I’m passing gas and stool (more on that later). He said to not worry about it as long as I’m not nauseous, vomiting, experiencing high temperatures etc.
My first three days post-op were full of limited foods, and a lot of bloating and gas pain. I ate a lot of chicken noodle soup, some nuts, a bit of bread, chicken & rice stir fry (that one was a mistake), and a couple protein bars & shakes. Tried a decaf coffee, but that was a bit early too and caused some upset. Tons of water.
I passed gas a lot those first couple of days, which would bring bouts of relief. Every time I would stand up from lying down, I would let out some crazy farts. I was able to pass stool once each of those days but each time they were hard to pass and very little.
Today being day 4, I woke up, passed what was essentially a full, normal stool, and have since then had diarrhea that has been very yellow/oily multiple times. The surgeon believes that with my bowels fully waking up and starting to adjust, the bloating in my abdomen along with the occasional fevers should start to subside within a couple of days.
I get weak occasionally too, especially after walking around for a bit, and I end up laying down and napping. I was told it’s bet important to listen to your body throughout this, so when the exhaustion hits, I give in.
Sorry for such a long post, but I wanted to give as much info as I could for those looking to have the surgery, and also to compare experiences with those that have already had this surgery and to see if my experience has differed others in any way. Any questions or comments, let them fly. I’ve got a lot of time to kill lol