Isn't it Ironic...don't cha think?

Jan 10, 2010




Irony.  It's a weird word often confused with dewrinkling shirts.  But here I sit being the poster child for the word.

A little background - Dec. 9, 2009 (the hubs birthday) got a call from the surgery center scheduling my first appointment.  I was SOOOOO excited.  A week later there I was, filling out the patient history form.  All the standard stuff - some new questions focusing on gallbladder issues.  Completed the form and went on to the information seminar with the surgeons.  They give us a checklist and explain that a few things  will not apply to everyone.  Since I have not had any gallbladder issues (no ultrasound) and am not 40 (no mammogram) that means I am 2 steps closer to surgery in my eyes.  Several people in the seminar do have gallbladder concerns and the surgeon explains that they will probably need to have their gallbladders removed prior to their WLS.  Yeah!  I think - not me!!

I leave the 5 hour appointment floating!  In about a month I will be banded!!  I feel like I just found out I was pregnant for the first time!  Excited, scared, hopeful, special, proud, freaked - you know - every feeling you can have all at once.  I make a list of the things I need to do to prepare - quit smoking, quit soda (that's gonna suck worse than smoking!), overeat all the bad food I can before surgery, taste test protein drinks, yada yada yada.

Fast forward to Dec. 23.  Holiday craziness!  House is clean and ready for the inlaws to invade the next day.  Decide to order Pizza Hut for dinner.  This is one of my farewell foods.  So we all hunker down for an incredible fattening meal of Meat Lovers Pan pizza and Breadsticks - YUM!!  As I am enjoying this horrible grease fest I think to myself, I almopst wish I would get sick from this so I wouldn't crave it anymore.  Be careful what you wish for!

BAM!!  Out of nowhere I have the absolute WORST indigestion of my entire life!  Can't lay down - can't sit - can't stand - just feel like CRUD!  Pain, nausea, sweats, chills, horrendous gas for 10 hours!!  It was insane.  Finally I vomited at about 4 am, but it was just acid.  Made me feel a little better and finally able to sleep.

Christmas Eve - inlaws arrive and festivities begin.  Not feeling so hot from the night before and sore in the middle but figure that's from the vomiting.  Weird stabbing pain just under my ribs on the right side but chalk that up to gas.  Continues on Christmas Day and the 26th.  Christmas day I have white poo.  Never seen that before.  Time to hit the internet!  Feeling pretty crappy and tired and finally on the 27th decide to go to ER.

By this time, I'm pretty sure that I know the problem - gallbladder.  The draw blood, take urine, and hook me up to the machines.  Idiot doctor (we will call him Marble Mouth) comes in after a few hours and says I have a UTI and no gallbladder problems.  He says it would have shown up on my blood work.  He says my white cell count would be elevated.  Whatever.  Sends me home with 3 days of antibiotic and Nexium.  I'm not happy.

Dec 31 - finished with the antibiotic but still feeling crappy.  Go to urgent care and tell doc everything.  He says - it's gallbladder!  Duh!  So he orders an ultra sound and gives me some pain meds that don't work and tells me not fat or oils. There goes my farewell to food tour.  But at least he listens.  Unlike Marble Mouth.  

A few days later finally get in for the ultra sound.  The US Tech was incredible friendly and informative (not) and pushed around on me so hard I tought she was trying to kill me.  An hour later I'm done and head to the surgery center to fill out papers to get results sent to them since I have what is supposed to be my final appointment with the surgeon before band surgery the next day.

At this point I am unrealistically hoping that the Doc will take out the stupid gallbladder and do the band at the same time.  In my fairy land he will do this sooner than normal because the stupid gallbladder needs to come out ASAP.  This all works out beautifully in my head.  But no such luck.  Dr. Johnson won't do both at the same time  - so gallbladder out and then wait 6 weeks for band.   Even tho he hasn't got the ultra sound results back he is confident that the organ needs to come out and schedules surgery for Monday Jan 11.  I was so upset.  Defeated, sad, depressed, in pain, generally bummed.  At least he gave me Percocet.

So more running around to get the ultra sound results to Dr. Johnson.  Next day I get a call - guess what - no gallstones!  Now we need to do a HIDA scan on Monday instead of surgery.  Grrrr!

Reluctantly - I take the percocet.  It makes me loopy, helps the pain a little for a few hours but makes me constipated.  My hubby is the BEST and has been taking great care of me and the monsters. I have been keeping my fat intake down to 10 grams a day.  The pain is constant and SUCKS!  Cut way down on the soda and only have like 1-2 smokes a day.  I'm grumpy and well, GRUMPY! 

Tonight is the night before the Hida scan and the instructions say to eat a healthy but fatty dinner - Cracker Barrel here I come!  After eating almost nothing but cereal, grilled chicken salads and plain bagels I am so ready for some food with TASTE!!  I will probably be miserable tonight but gotta follow doctor's orders!    Have to get up at the crack of dawn and be at the hospital at 6:00am for blood draw and them my scan is at 8.  Good times.  Then I get to wait until Friday Jan 15 to see the surgeon - which stinks cuz school starts for me on Jan 20.  If I had been able to have surgery on Jan 11 then I would be been able to start school on time and not miss a bunch of class.  But NOW - I get to have 2 surgeries in one semester.  Oh well....I will get through it.  Last semester we had swine flu and some horrendous stomach virus.  Probably I missed as much class dealing with those as I will with the surgeries (fingers crossed).

There is my story so far.  Ironic isn't it.  No previous gallbladder probs - but then - due to the upcoming band surgery and my farewell tour I induce an extreme attack pushing my band surgery back at least 7 weeks.  The moral of this story is.....
PIZZA HUT IS THE DEVIL!!

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About Me
El Paso, TX
Location
33.1
BMI
Surgery
04/15/2010
Surgery Date
Nov 15, 2002
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