My Endangered Gallbladder

I had my ultrasound this morning. My spleen, my kidneys, and my liver didn’t betray me, but my gallbladder…

I’ve always prided myself on being all original parts and all in one piece, except for my wisdom teeth — I had no control over that. My parents were still in co-ownership of my person at that time.

Now, apparently I have gallstones. The tech told me that they’re caused by dairy, which doesn’t make sense to me since dairy is supposed to be one of those things nutritionists tell us we need more of. Granted, WebMD says the gallstones happen when “cholesterol and other substances in the bile form crystals that become hard stones” and cholesterol is a fatty substance found in meat and dairy products. So, the tech was kind of right, I guess.

Anyway, apparently, I have too many of these gallstones, but the good news is that they’ve not travelled anywhere. It’s plain to see that the ducts leading away from the gallbladder haven’t been “dialated” as the tech put it. He said once a stone has been through one, they can’t shrink back down and mine all look normal.

More than likely, my acid reflux and other GI problems are being caused by the irregular release of the bile from my gallbladder because of the stones hanging about in there. They’re just clogging things up. And apparently you can’t break them up once they’ve formed. The only way to get rid of gallstones is to remove the gallbladder.

Or course, my concern was: “Don’t I need my gallbladder?” I mean, God put it there for a reason, didn’t he? I’m always a little wary when anyone starts talking about removing organs because it seems to me that they serve a purpose that I might need if they’re gone.

Apparently, your liver just takes over the functionality — though there are some dietary changes you have to make — or rather, as I recall with Red, there are some you’re supposed to make. With her, there was a lot of “I’m not supposed to eat this, you know!”

And I just know that my mother is dying to tell me “I told you so!” For a month she’s been going on and on about how much simpler gallbladder surgery is now than it was when Red had it, like she’s wishing it on me or something. Damn her. Well, she better be prepared to come take care of me and fetch me comfort food and feed my animals and clean the litter boxes. hehehehehe

Anyway, nothing’s set in stone, so to speak. I still have to go back and discuss it all with my GP, who probably hasn’t even seen the ultrasound pictures yet herself.

tags: acid reflux, gallstones, gallbladder surgery

One comment

1. on July 18, 2006 at 1:54 pm

   Tamara said:

   Well, at least there’s an explanation. And one that is fairly easy to remedy. I always try to look on the bright side!

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