I would just like to say that I appreciate this community very much and I feel like I've been posting too much so I will do this final (hopefully) post here and just update it daily.

Things to know beforehand: I am a 6'2 265 pound male. 28 years old. I would say I was around 290 when my attacks started. THIS WILL BE A LONG POST THAT IS UPDATED DAILY.

Pre Op: My first attacks happened probably around July of this year. At first I thought it was just my stomach telling me to chill after a night of drinking and eating fast food but this pain and feeling was unlike anything I felt before. The pain would start upper mid/urq and then it would spread out across my entire stomach and lower back. The attacks would last between 15 minutes - an hour. This would happen once a week at first and then every couple of days until 1 particular weekend. Oct 14th I had my first major attack that lasted hours on end. Funny enough I was going to a clinic near the hospital for a H Pylori test and I barely made it through the test and dragged my way to the hospital in insane pain and discomfort. It got to the point where I felt I was going to black out while I waited for pain meds in the ER. The Dr. said that because my blood and urine came back clean there was nothing they could do. Oct 17th was my next major attack, I was supposed to have an ultrasound the next day but the attack sent me to the ER again. Those 2 days in-between attacks I was having brown urine and pale stool so I suspected I had a stone stuck. My liver levels from my blood test showed I was probably right and they did scans (mri and us) and surprise surprise a stone was stuck and my gallbladder showed stones, sludge, and debris. I was admitted to the hospital that day and would stay for 6 days total. The next day was just waiting, the next day was my ERCP to clear my stone (I had a complication with my apnea and they had to stop the procedure halfway through. I think I got a sphincterotomy done because the Dr. said he made an incision so things could flow out and clear out)

Surgery: I was happy to finally have this thing out. I was never nervous about the operation, I knew my recovery and anxiety would probably be worse (I was right). Went in to the room and just remember laying down and then blacking out. I woke up in way more pain than I had with my appendectomy, to the point where I kept asking for pain meds until they told me it was the last dose they could give me and I finally felt some relief and would be in and out of sleep for a bit. I remember they asked me if I could move into a wheelchair and I said no. My abdomen was pretty sore and painful and just switching beds to the one in my room was an ordeal.

Post op:

(Day 1) 10-21: Couldn't move much in bed without pain. Hospital gave me solid low fat food right away. They told me I might have to have another ercp if the mri I got came back saying my ducts still had stuff in them.

10-22: Could move around bed more. Appetite was still okay but I wasn't eating much because I didn't want to be too backed up since I had not had a BM yet. They told me my liver levels were coming down nicely and that the mri came back clear. I could go home tomorrow.

10-23: They made sure I could walk around with a walker and an abdominal binder and sent me on my way home. I didn't mind my time at the hospital and it was nice to not be in charge of my own well being for a while. Watching tv and having visitors was nice and I want to thank the amazing staff and nurses who took care of me. Once I got home I set up pillows in a reclined state on my couch and just rested for most of the day.

10-24 and 10-25 were just a lot of laying down and walking around on my walker. I unfortunately pushed the walking too much on the 25th and had pain on the top of my foot that has not gone away to this day. Had my first bm during one of these days.

10-26: Was worried about the antibiotics I took affecting me (levofloxacin) and decided not to take the last pill I had. I would like to note I was on antibiotics every day in the hospital. This is when I started worrying more about stomach cramps and my diarrhea.

(Day 7) 10-27: Chest pains started hitting (99.99% likely it's anxiety) and was dealing with random shocks along my body, a tight back, diarrhea after first bm, and major stomach cramps.

10-28: Saw my surgeon for a check up. She said my incisions look good and pretty much dismissed the rest of my concerns (spasms and diarrhea) to still recovering from surgery since I was barely 8 days out, although there was a small chance it could be permanent or last a few years while my body adjusted. She said my internal healing won't be done for months and that 6 weeks is the first point where my body might slow down the healing a bit and then again at 6 months. She recommended I stick to a low fat diet for at least another months and slowly bring in fat here and there to see how I react to it. This is the last day I took pain meds and stool softeners btw.

10-29: Woke up to my stomach a bit uneasy but I slept well. It usually is uneasy in the am because the am is when I have my bm and also because it wants food ig. Had muscle spasms all day this day and this is when I noticed my tendons/nerves bothering me more probably because of anxiety.

10-30: Woke up after 4 hours with my stomach LOUD AF. Had to eat at a banana and crackers at 5 am in order to get more sleep. Bms still the same, cramps have gone down thankfully, having stab pains in my abdomen and back this day that were concerning but I chalked it up to nerves and muscles healing.

10-31: BMs the same. Abdomen stitch/shock pains on both sides this day were the main symptoms. Minimal cramping.

11-1: My back was killing me this day. Felt my nerves and stuff all over my back and below my abdomen all tense and would get shooting pains occasionally. Minimal cramping.

11-2: Had a bad hypnic jerk that woke me up early and had me anxious. Was getting shocks of pain randomly throughout my body and phantom GB pains. Had pain below my abdomen again later in the night. Minimal cramping.

(Day 14) 11-3: Woke up with a tense back again, nothing new at this point. First bm of the day and dealt with my first bout of constipation. It felt rough coming out and I THINK (hope) all I did was flare up a hemorrhoid because I had a lot of bright red blood when I wiped and some leftover blood when wiping the next 2 bms. I think I didn't drink enough water and had too much fiber the day before but idk. I believe freaking out about the constipation and blood led me to be super stressed and anxious this day which led to flare ups. I dealt with some gnarly stomach cramps in the afternoon. They're not painful but they can be INTENSE and always stop me in my tracks when they happen, super hard to ignore.

11-4: Woke up today and had some INTENSE cramps right before I had to have my first BM. Good news is today I wasn't constipated. Still getting some cramps here and there but other than that and a tense back I'm good. Day 15 overall update I would like to note that my core strength seems to be returning, I definitely have more range of movement and don't feel as sore. I don't think my cramps are muscular because my stomach is uneasy a lot and loud and I feel it has more to do with digestion. Well I thought I had a good day but as I'm trying to sleep rn I had a HORRIBLE stomach cramp that made me say "WOAH" out loud. They don't necessarily hurt but they freak me out man. It is now almost 3 am and I can't sleep due to my uneasy stomach and cramps.

11-5: Slept fine once I was able to. Day was the same as usual. Uneasy stomach throughout and occasional cramps but otherwise fine. I'm trying to go to bed now though and my stomach seems uneasy and like it's ready to spasm/cramp on me.

11-6: Uneasy morning, had 2 semi solid bms. A few cramps. Stomach discomfort and slight pain in my stomach.

11-7: Had rib/side/back pain early in the day but it mostly went away. Uneasy stomach throughout the day. A few spasms but none too bad, getting a few more in bed before sleep.

11-8: Drove to an ultrasound, first day back driving and it went smoothly. Have had an upset stomach and some spasms throughout the day, a few more than usual.

11-9: Mainly uneasy stomach and spasms.

Hydroxyzine worked it's magic again. Spent the day streaming and it was nice to do something and try and take my mind off my anxiety a little. It was still in the back of my mind tho and I got a few spasms during the day.

Wasn't fun getting acute pain in my ribs but it was ok. Spasms still suck more and make me more anxious. Trying out meds that can hopefully help me sleep and help my anxiety.

Had a decent day but as usual the night sucks. Idk if I ate dinner too quickly but my stomach didn't like it (food was grilled chicken, rice, and veggies)

Daily Routine: Wake up and have some fruit. An hour later have a banana. Have my first bm later in the morning (usually somewhat solid). The rest of the day I eat a meal every 4 hours and snack every 2 hours. My bms usually stop after the morning but sometimes they can happen later idk. I eat low fat which is mainly fruit, veggies, bread, crackers, chicken, soups, and rice. Oh and I drink at least 1 tea a day, usually 2. I walk at least a thousand steps a day and get some sunlight when I can. If I am laying down or sitting up at my desk I make sure to get up and walk after around 15-30 min.

Supplements: I take magnesium glycinate in the morning and at night. I take probiotics in the afternoon on an empty stomach. Tylenol at night before bed.

Daily Symptoms: Insane amount of health anxiety. Uneasy stomach that can be VERY LOUD in the morning (all day lately). Cramps a little above and ever so slightly to my right of my belly button. Very rarely will have BMs past the afternoon. Diarrhea after first bm if I have more than one on the day. Tense back, ribs, and abdomen that could possibly be leading to pain in other areas such as my testicles and chest (anxiety most likely affecting/causing this).

Questions for you guys:

• Did you guys deal with cramps and general uneasiness? Idc about the rest of my issues if I can deal with this. What could be causing such intense cramps?
• How long is the "surgery recovery" period? I just want to know when these issues can be classified as something more than just my body recovering from surgery.
• Any advice? Supplements, things to do, anything.
• How long were you anxious after surgery? It's been really rough. It took me months to recover after my last surgery.
  

TLDR: Had issues for a month or 2. Stone got stuck and had 2 attacks in 1 weekend that got me scanned and led to my gb getting out. Surgery was a breeze but woke up in a lot of pain. Recovery was slow at first but once I started walking more it definitely helped. Appetite and eating is somewhat normal, leading a low fat diet. Having a lot of symptoms and trouble getting back to 100%. Main symptoms include intense abdominal (digestive?) cramps, upset stomach/diarrhea, health anxiety, and tendon/nerve issues.