My gall bladder has revolted and must come out in 2 weeks. The surgeon is planning a laparoscopy and quick recovery, but I would feel more comfortable hearing from a T,1 who has actually gone through it.
The surgeon is ok with my pump and cgm, just asked me to move to non-abdomen sites prior to surgery. The pump set I’ll move to my thigh, but I’m not sure about my Dexcom 5g. Can you wear that on your arm or upper hip?
Also, what foods did you have to avoid afterwards? I’m a big fan of broccoli, steamed and raw, but heard it can cause problems.
Had mine out years ago as part of a different abdominal surgery, so my experience (13" incision, offloaded intestines, yuck) is different from the standard laparoscopic procedure, but my wife had the laparoscopic version and was completely recovered within a few days.
As for diet: no difference. That’s what my doc told me and it has never been a problem. Said the organ evolved when eating a lot of bones and marrow were common and it served a purpose back then but mostly is redundant now.
Re CGM placement: Upper arm is a great CGM site—I use it more often than abdomen anyway. If you haven’t before, give it a try. A lot of people prefer it both for accuracy and saving other territory for infusion sets.
I do not have TD1, but I do have celiac disease. My gallbladder was removed because it was not functioning (0% on HIDA scan) and was infected. Had my celiac disease been caught sooner, I might still have my gallbladder.
TD1 and celiac disease are strongly linked. Celiac disease is systemic and can impact many organs like the gallbladder. You should consider getting screened using a complete panel.
BTW, I can eat most anything (am on a LCHF gluten free diet). Some people have issues digesting fats once their gallbladder’s are removed.
Thanks all. I really appreciate your perspectives. I feel more comfortable going in to the surgery now. I will move my cgm to my upper arm before surgery
Depending on your CGM the difficulty can vary. With a Medtronic, the taping is the hardest part, while a G5 can require a bit of contortion to get the inserter to release—spousal assistance, if you have it, can help, especially the first few times. And there are plenty of Youtube how-tos showing people doing it completely solo. With a G6, the new inserter makes it super easy to put it just about anywhere you can reach.
My husband had his gallbladder removed 8 months before he was diagnosed with LADA . He had a pancreatitis attack 26 days prior to the removal. It was laparoscopic. His recovery was kind of slow. We don’t know if he had T1 at the time or if it presented afterwards. Not sure how helpful this is but we found that just adding things in slowly at first seemed to help. We did a lot of chicken and mashed potatoes (again before we knew he was T1) After about 4-5 months he was able to go back to a normal diet. Fingers crossed that your surgery will go well and you will have peace as you approach it!
I’m going to have someone help me place my g5 on my upper arm for the duration.
I was thinking baked/grilled chicken would be the main protein source for a while, adding veggies one at a time over a period of time.
