Gallbladder i had my gallbadder removed last week and was wondering of it is normal after surgery that i feel like i always need to catch my breath. it's better when i lie down and worse when i am standing up.

After : After having your gallbladder removed, some chest pains, especially to the right shoulder, may be normal fro a few days after surgery. But at one week after surgery, if your surgery was accomplished laparoscopically, you should not really be having any significant chest discomfort. I would recommend discussing your symptoms with your surgeon today. Your surgeon is the one who best knows how your surgery went and what to expect in your specific post operative period.

After : After surgery where general anesthesia is involved, it is a frequent complaint of patients that they cannot fully expand their lungs or that they have trouble catching their breath with exertion. This is why doctors and nurses emphasize deep breathing and coughing immediately after surgery and for the first week. This is because small parts of the lung (alveloli) collapse as the anesthesia gas is absorbed into the blood stream. The coughing and deep breathing helps re-expand those collapsed areas. Those feelings should subside over the next week. I assume you had a laparoscopic removal of the gallbladder. Laparoscopy itself can have complications such as residual gas (carbon dioxide) within the abdomen that can give you discomfort both in the abdomen and with breathing. Residual gas in the abdomen may explain your changes in breathing with postural changes (standing versus lying). The gas is rapidly absorbed, however, and should be completely gone in a few days. If the symptoms persist, you should see your physician. Complications such as blood clots, pulmonary emboli (blood clots to the lungs), and pulmonary infections (pneumonia) do occur and your physician should be made aware of them. Special tests may need to be run to make the diagnosis.