- Thursday marked three weeks of waiting for the ultrasound results.
- Thanks to a cancellation, the ultrasound happened five weeks after my second round of blood work.
- The first blood test, a week before, had showed that I had very high levels of bilirubin in my blood. Apparently having between 9 and 21 is considered high. I was at 35 and according to the doctor, should have been as yellow as a poster on his wall. Psychologically, its amazing how being told that makes you feel suddenly so . . . yellow! For the past two months, I've wanted to avoid a mirror. Ick. And admittedly, I have look jaundiced (and just plain tired) but I've tried to suck up the sun rays like a newborn when the opportunity's come.
- Blood tests happened a week after my original appointment early January. Since November, I'd known something was up, as I'd have pain in my back after I ate or through the night. Having had enough friends with gall bladder issues, I was pretty sure that was what was happening (and in the chaos of the move, I'd put off checking it out). I've been fortunate not to have had an acute attack. But that said, it's been months of growing discomfort and a week of such constant pain that more than three hours of sleep didn't happen four nights in a row. Times like that, I can't say how much I miss being close to my family! The pain I could handle far more than the overwhelming fatigue and the struggle to just take care of my kids well, with patience and kindness!
So, Friday afternoon I was in with the doctor and was told, "You have a gall bladder full of both large and small stones." He didn't like my response of "Oh - that's great! It's 'just' gall stones!" He sternly lectured me with, "Look, we're not just talking about strep throat or something minor like that. Gall stones still involve a major diet change, surgery, recovery . . . ." But he couldn't dampen my spirit, as it could have been liver disease or numerous other things which cause elevated bilirubin levels. (It's easy to imagine the worst after many nights of being awake at 3 am!) What a relief! So I'm in the queue now for a specialist appointment, but will try and also see a naturopath for a cleanse now that I know what the problem is. In the meantime, I'm enjoying a visit with my sister and will wait till after she leaves till I get very serious about that diet of no cheese, no chocolate, no fats. Today, I'm still in celebration mode!
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| A regular spot hang-out spot. Celebrating that life gets to go on as normal! |
2 comments:
Sorry to hear about your rock collection! Glad it is nothing worse though. The acute attacks are really bad - I say that not to scare you unnecessarily, just to encourage you with the low fat diet. It's worth it! My MD warned me not to do any cleanses because they try to make the stones pass, but if the stones get caught in your bile duct, you are in some serious pain and further complications. The surgery itself isn't too terrible. Call me or I can call you sometime (I think I can call you for free?) if you want more info. It would be fun to Skype sometime soon and see those sweet nieces and nephew too!
Yes - I've thought of your experience here and there, recognizing I hadn't had the big awful attack (and praying I wouldn't, as so often S was away and with no family around to call for support, it could have been pretty tough). I'm very thankful for that. Poor you.
I'm being a little facetious about the diet. I've been doing no or very little dairy for the past month(s?), not too much meat, more water, more nutrias overall. But we were out at the Forks market on Sunday and they had "ChocolateFest." I indulged a little. My main fats which were likely my down fall in the first place are dark chocolate & cheese (like you, I didn't have a high-fat diet to begin with). So after Susan goes, the party ends :).
We'll have to chat next week (it's too crazy with the kids around for chats right now). I'd love to hear your experience. I have friends who've gone the surgery route and others who've lived with their gall bladder after drinking different solutions. So I won't do anything till I see the specialist and just keep working at eating more nutritiously, etc. Not the journey I'd like to be on, but certainly so much better than other options! I look forward to chatting :).
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