gallstones – marginalia and such

back home

Was released from the hospital yesterday. Still in pain, but starting to get a bit stronger. Apparently, my gallbladder was more of a cement bag than anything resembling a proper organ. Dr. thinks it was one of those rare cases of congenital gallbladder dysfunction and was surprised I had managed to live without pain for so long. It was a minimally invasive procedure, but the gallbladder was too large to go through my belly button as planned, so they had to open it up a bit more 😦

Here are a few things I miss:

Core strength. I can barely stand upright.
My tortellini bellybutton… it’s a much bigger innie now.
Energy.
The ability to lay back and get up without assistance.
Not having pain in my shoulders (that’s where all the gas they pumped into me is stuck).
Proper showers.
Being able to turn in my sleep.
Wearing underwear. Yep, I’m going commando. No way I can handle panties at the moment.

from my bed of pain

It’s official… sort of.. my gallbladder has to come out and I’m waiting on a visit from the surgeon. Have been in hospital since 3 am, when I was compelled by the pain. I didn’t want surgery, at least not emergency, unplanned surgery, but this pain is bad enough, I can’t see myself handling a fullblown attack. Merde.

denial, no more

The time has come to give in and see a surgeon about my options for gallstone treatment. Given my family history–not one of my immediate family members has a gallbladder–it’s more than likely I’m looking at surgery in the relatively near future. After dealing with (tmi alert) insane bouts of gas , pressure, sudden little jabs beneath my ribs, and discomfort, I have to admit it’s not indigestion or that I’ve been working out too much. This is definitely more than overindulgence or muscle aches (though I’m sure recent overindulgence exacerbated my latest attack). Now, I will whine and moan and wish I won’t have to go through with surgery, but I will likely have to regardless of all my raging against the situation. Worst part is this was probably brought on by weight-loss (yeah, apparently it’s a trigger for gallstones) and genetics–no help for it.