My gall bladder and I are at odds

Well because summer has just been so normal, we had to throw something into it to make it more exciting. I guess since we had no plans to go away...

A week ago Saturday I had horrible pain mid morning all from my chest into my back, and down into my abdomen. I thought at first it was really bad gas at first, but it didn't go away. For the next few days I had these attacks again, sometimes lasting a long time, and then I realized it might be my gall bladder. I remembered my Mom saying that anything with fat in it would set her off before she had hers out.

I made an appt to see the doctor on Saturday morning. On Wednesday night/early Thursday morning I had a really bad attack lasting about 2.5 hours. I was waiting until the family was up so Bill could bring me to the hospital. Well I decided to shower 1st, and it totally went away while I was showering. So I went to work. Then I got sick. Then I came home again.

Knowing it was likely my gall bladder I Googled it for some tips on how to manage it for a bit. So Friday I was fine. Saturday morning I went to my weigh in (down 25 lbs!!) and then to the doctor. He confirmed that yes it is likely my gall bladder and sent me for some blood work an an ultrasound.

I have managed to avoid any attacks again as of today, although I can certainly feel it. It sort of fells like someone is constantly punching me in the back.

Small amounts of fat can set it off so I am eating almost an entirely fat free diet. Yesterday I had some 2% milk in my tea and even that caused some pain. I can eat boneless skinless chicken breasts, fat free plain yoghurt, and fish for protein. I was already eating oatmeal and salads for lunch, so no big change in my diet there. Night time is the hardest. No alcohol (hard on the liver), no coffee (boo hoo!).

Today I got a call from the doctor that my liver levels are high, so the ultrasound has been bumped up to this Thursday morning. We might have surgery soon after that - we'll see. Unless I have an attack before that, in which case I'll be there even sooner!

Kind of crazy, but if we get this done with the laparoscopic surgery I should be good to go within a week or two again.

And that's it from our corner of the world!