| alpayton | 01-29-2007 12:59 PM | Been there done that when Appendicitis AND Gallbladder. ICK! Gallbladder was the WORST! With the Appendix, I just felt icky, no appetite, no fever, no energy, continuous acky pain in the lower abdomen that radiated around towards my back. Went to the doctor because I thought it might have just been something I ate or something. They took my blood, did a WBC and it was high. Sent me to the hospital for an immediate MRI and I didn't leave the hospital until the next day after the appendectomy that very night.
The gallbladder was a totally different story. Had my son March 25 of 2000. 7 weeks later, I ate a Jr Bacon Cheeseburger from Wendy's that I thought was going to kill me. This time instead of the pain being an acky type pain, it was a sharp stabbing pain and instead of it being in the lower abdomen, it was in the upper abdomen almost in my chest on the right side, still radiating around towards my back. The only symptom I had was the pain...course it was severe enough I thought I was going to have another baby! I told the docs in the ER that night it was worse than childbirth because at least with childbirth you have between the contractions to get your breath and relax, with the pain I was having this time, it was constant. No time to breathe at all. Every breath I took, I hurt worse and worse. Just like a knife was being stuck in me. No matter which way I sat, laid, or stood on my head, it wouldn't go away or even lessen in intensity. Ultrasound confirmed I had gallstones and I went home with pain meds to get me through until I had the surgery to remove my gallbladder the next week, along with a strict order from the docs to not eat anything that had much grease or fat or green leafy vegetables until the surgery (which I still can't do since the surgery - unless I want to suffer the consequences for doing).
See, the way it was explained to me is this: when you're pregnant, your gallbladder basically shuts down, because whatever fatty foods you eat do not need to be digested totally, they need to be used for energy during pregnancy. So when I had my son, my gallbladder didn't start to work again normally (remember, my son was 7 weeks old when I had my attack). This happens to alot of women. So once their gallbladder or ducts have been blocked by gallstones and they eat something that triggers the gallbladder to release the bile that it has been storing, it can't. The stones try to go down the ducts that are blocked and causes the excruciating pain that we feel when we have those horrible attacks. |