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| Or in my case, just foods that cause stones... |
When your ultrasound technician says these words to you as she's gliding her gel slathered wand across your abdomen, trust me when I tell you, it's not cause for celebration. As a matter of fact, as I learned just this morning, it's simply a precursor for shitty news.
I barely had time to spew out a severely condensed version of My Indigestion Nightmares, Volume I before the tech confirmed why she had asked such a loaded question. "Your gallbladder is packed with stones," she said somewhat emphatically. Almost like she was happy about it. I didn't even know lab technicians were allowed to divulge this kind of information during a procedure, but mine just came right out with it, with no regard to how I might take the news. Personally, I can't say I was thrilled. I don't really know what kind of news I was hoping for, but I'm pretty sure this wasn't it.
Yes, I wanted answers. And this revelation via ultrasound certainly explains a whole heck of a lot in terms of my devil-on-the-inside symptoms. Of course, I still need to wait on the official diagnosis from my doctor. But I'm guessing, in order to resolve this little ole' problem of mine, there's something unpleasant I'll have to do in my near future. I'm no clairvoyant, but I'm guessing I'll need surgery based on the tech's description of how "packed" my gallbladder is with these intrusive stones. Packed. Ugh...it's hard not to picture a can of sardines. Hopefully, I'll be offered a solution with a more holistic approach first. Seriously - I'll do whatever it takes not to go under the knife. Confession: I'm terrified of the prospect of surgery. I've made it 43 years without ever having anesthesia and I'd be perfectly fine with going another 43.
In the meantime, I'm going to try not to think about it too much until I speak with my doctor. I still have the endoscopy scheduled for April 17 which, Lord only knows, could provide even more, a-hem, "good" news.
Naturally, after I left the hospital today, I couldn't help but Google the crap out of 'gallstones' and 'what causes gallstones'. The fact that I'm female doesn't help, and as much as I'd like to believe that genetics play a major roll, I know that's only partially true. At the end of the day, my fat-laced/candy/baked good/rich and savory diet over the last umpteen years is the true culprit. Ok - so maybe I am somewhat pre-wired to have this condition. My grandmother did. My mom did. I can't escape my family medical history. But, knowing what I knew, I certainly didn't help myself avoid the situation, either. My life leading up to this point has been one big love affair with all the wrong foods. Like my inflated weight, this condition didn't happen overnight. As a matter of fact, according to WebMD, these stones have probably been hanging out in gallbladder de Rochelle for quite sometime, unbeknownst to me, of course. It's only after the stones increase in number and have prolonged habitation in the gallbladder that the "host", aka, me, begins to experience symptoms. Gallstones are not an uncommon condition in overweight people, especially women. Yay me. Not.
If you are truly curious, or just like looking up really nasty stuff on the internet, do a search for gallstone images online. Guaranteed, you won't eat dinner afterwards. Hey - perhaps this is the diet solution I have been searching for all along?!?! Why didn't I think of this sooner? Ha!
Anyway.....Here's the good news. I'm not dying!
The bad news is, my food issues are catching up with me in more ways than one. The better news is, I'm finally wising up and doing something about it.
Even if it's too late for my gallbladder, it's not too late for the rest of me.
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