I was attacked! By my gallbladder....

So yesterday was fun (yes that's sarcasm). If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen this picture:

My view in the emergency room

But to get the full picture though, let's go back in time a bit (warning TMI). Way back at the end of July I was at my in-laws for wedding #1, and late in the evening my back started bothering me. It was the middle of my back, which in itself is a weird spot to feel discomfort (as opposed to your lower back). But I thought maybe it was due to the way I had been sitting (poor posture, I know I'm terrible). But as the evening went on, I began feeling sick as well. I just chalked it up to eating junk food and since it didn't last very long I brushed it off and moved on.

Moving on to the weekend of wedding #2, my back acted up again, but without any of the upset stomach or vomiting. We had spent the night on a fold-out on a couch, not the most comfortable (you could feel every spring and the support bars), so I figured that was the cause of that pain.

Flash forward to our trip to North Carolina, our host (my husband's cousin and my maid of honor) let us sleep in her bed and first few nights we slept like rocks, no problems. Then the third night, my back started bothering me again. Now their bed was pretty comfortable, but a bit smaller than what we were used to, so it was a bit cramped for my husband and I (but we managed). I figured that this pain was just me trying to adjust to this smaller bed.

Then for a few weeks I was fine, no problems, until yesterday. I had just gotten home from my mom's house after doing some laundry. I was getting ready to go to bed when my back started hurting, so I took an Aleeve and settled on the couch (our couch is really soft and I find it more comfortable sometimes). Unfortunately I couldn't get comfortable, so I tossed and turned, I got up every couple of hours to go to the bathroom, even took another Aleeve, but nothing helped. I was in so much pain not only in my back but also the right side of my abdomen. I couldn't eat, even though I felt like I was starving I couldn't keep anything down. So when my husband finally got home yesterday evening he made the call to take me to the hospital (since yesterday was Labor Day and therefore a holiday so our regular doctor's office was closed).

Michael Scott from the Office Kill me right now


After waiting in the ER, they finally admitted me and put me in a bed in a room. I was given an IV to keep me hydrated, some painkillers, and an anti-nausea med. Once the drugs took effect, I was given an ultrasound as they suspected it was my gallbladder. Turns out they were right. I have gallstones (not sure how many or how big as I don't think that's something an ultrasound can tell them), but at the moment they aren't blocking the tubing and the gallbladder itself isn't infected. But, it still needs to come out.

So I have an appointment with a surgeon on Friday to fill out all the paperwork and then we'll schedule the surgery itself. They can remove it laproscopically, so it's essentially outpatient surgery, so I should be in and out in less than a day (barring any complications *knocks on wood*). Until then, I'm taking pain killers and am stuck eating bland foods (fat and grease are a major proponent of what makes the gallbladder act up like this). But everyone I know who's had the same procedure done say I'll feel 1000 times better after the gallbladder is removed, so here's hoping.

Comments

  1. If it's not one thing it's another. I hope the dental stuff is taken care of. Otherwise I don't know if you could handle both that and now this. I'm sure you'll be fine so I'll send pixie dust that everything works out and that you can get well in time for your vacation.

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    1. Well the dental stuff has been pushed back, as this is the priority and I'll need time to recover. The waiting for the appointment is the hardest part, but this surgeon is supposed to be good so hopefully it's worth the wait to have the procedure done right.

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    2. Oh I see. Well you definitely don't want to go "express" on serious things like this. Poor Rachel. You're falling apart on us!! ;)

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    3. Yeah no express, gallbladder, cruise, then teeth....I guess this will give us an idea of how I handle general anesthesia. Could make for some funny footage :-)

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