2005-06-30 | 10:33 p.m. | Rocky
	So i've been having some stomach troubles for the past two years now. I got a lot of "it's a virus, you'll have to suffer through 'til it's over." and "well, eat better and you'll be fine." That business never sat right with me, but when I've got limited funds and can get a new doctor only once a month, fifteenth opinions are hard to come by. Basically, a couple hours after eating, my whole upper abdomen had me screaming for help. I felt like I was going to implode and explode at the same time. Death seemed not only possible, but eminent. There was no way for me to sit, stand or lean that made the pain go away, and I could take nothing to stop it. Eventually I did find that an evacuation, either by Linda Blairing or poopin', helped alleviate my pain and made it go away faster. Sometimes the pain would happen day after day for a couple of weeks, and sometimes it would happen once after a few months of not happening at all. It was strange. And the pain lasted anywhere from a half hour to four hours. I figured it was some malfunction of my stomach because the pain seemed to go away after some digestion. My new GP felt the same way, pinning it on misfired signals from the stomach to the brain or vice versa. I have no idea why they would misfire to each other, and what they were talking about that would cause such a ruckus. But the doc gave me some pills that apparently told my upper digestive tract not to freak out as much and helped alleviate pain. I was allowed to take it as needed. Y'see, I don't like being reliant on drugs. Taking them for the sake of taking them has never been my thing. I think it's because there are so few pills that I can take that I try not to immunize myself to them. (stop digressing) So I was taking these pills when I could feel the pain coming on, and everything was kosher. In fact, the pains happened less frequently with time. But Sunday changed all that business. Sunday night at ten my upper abdominal pain came on instantly and without warning. It was more severe than any other attack I had in the past. I threw up everything I had eaten in the past three hours (which was a cup of soup, half a cup of coffee, and one-fourth of a dilly bar) violently, and this did not help with the pain. I was in so much pain that I screamed for my husband to call an ambulance (I was told later that this recurring pain is officially ten times worse than childbirth). They didn't do more than take me to the hospital fast, and by the time I got there I was fine. Oh, and I was in my nightgown ready for bed. Wearing my nappy undies because it was laundry day. And sweaty as all get-out. This fine-by-the-time-we-get-to-the-hospital business was not unusual. This had happend several times before, but Marty was driving (not Mr. Ambulance) and we just turned around and went home. I could kick myself for that. Sunday night, the people in the ER decided to perform a full abdominal sonogram. They were slow, y'see, and they wanted to make the most of their midnight. Plus, they didn't want to be accused of not doing everything they could, so why not? They found a one-inch stone in my gall bladder. I have named him Rocky. He's not obstructing anything, or stuck in a tube. My gall bladder's not infected, just stoned. It's too big to fish out of there, and they could just blow it up sonically and flush it out, but Mr. GP says that would be a waste. According to Mr. Doctor man, once you develop a stone, you have a 100% chance of developing more in the future. I should remove my gall bladder now electively rather than remove Rocky, and possibly develop another smaller stone that could get stuck in one of the tubes and cause serious problems...problems that would have me cut from ass to appetite in five seconds to get it out. I'm hopin' to get it removed in August during my High School reunion. It supposedly isn't a big deal anymore, just minor surgery, one day in the hospital, a week recovery at home. I hope they're right. I do have some questions, though. Like if your gall bladder isn't necessary to have, then do you digest fats as efficiently? What happens to your poop? What will change once they take my gall bladder? And yes, I am still profoundly sad at the prospect of losing one of my organs. I grew it special, you know. ~Miss Mari	Last Next Older Rings Profile Calendar Email me The Land of Diaries

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