Rough Week

I wasn’t going to do a blog post this week but here I am writing one. This is going to be a little different than most of my blogs on chronic illness. I usually try to write my blogs and schedule them a few days earlier. I haven’t been feeling good these past couple weeks so I kept putting it off thinking maybe tomorrow will be better.

As some of you know since about July I have been experiencing gallbladder issues. I have had 2 of these episodes before in 2014 and 2016 I believe. They usually only lasted a few weeks and the pain would go away. This time it didn’t.

The beginning of August was okay and by the middle my pain and bloating were getting much worse. Last week my pain changed. I have a very sharp pain right under my left shoulder blade that started. I have had pain since July where my gallbladder is and then my right shoulder which my doctor said is very common for gallbladder issues. So we started with an ultrasound and it came back clear (meaning no stones) just like it had the previous times. My doctor told me they would do a HIDA scan if this ultrasound came back negative. So next Thursday I will be getting that done.

Are you wondering what the HIDA test is? It stands for A Hepatobiliary Iminodiacetic Acid Scan. It’s used to check how your liver, gallbladder, bile ducts, and small intestine work. They inject a radioactive tracer into your arm and it stimulates the gallbladder to function to see how it works. I can’t eat or drink for 6 hours before the test. I need to check about if I can drink water. It will be 2 1/2 hours of testing and taking images.

I’m not nervous about this scan I’m nervous if this doesn’t provide any answers. My worst fear is that I will hear well this is just another diagnosis or symptom that goes with your other illnesses there isn’t much we can do. I don’t want surgery but if that’s what’s going to take the pain away in my belly right now – then sign me up.

My appetite has been really bad. I’m now really only eating foods that don’t set my gallbladder off since I am in pain 24/7 with it right now I don’t need to add to it. I’ve basically been eating salads and fruits and veggies and grilled cheese. (you can have grilled cheese if it’s whole wheat bread with low fat cheese and that doesn’t set me off)

My temperature has been going up some as this pain is getting worse which is to be expected since my body is in a flare-up and distressed. I think the worst part of this mentally I struggle with the bloating. In the past few years when I got diagnosed with IBS- I have days of bloating. This has been weeks and months. It’s embarrassing. I have been wearing looser shirts and clothes this week. I am so bloated it’s uncomfortable. It has at times become so bloated that I get embarrassed which is silly because it is a health issue many people face. I have been using this cbd cream* every day on my gallbladder and where the pain radiates. (please talk to your doctor first this is not medical advice) my doctor said it was ok because at this point whatever can help is worth it. While it doesn’t relieve the pain it takes the intense pain off and lets me function a little bit. My doctor recommended taking gas x pills ( I know this is a bit silly to talk about). It was really helping at the beginning and then sort of stopped. I still take it because it helps the bloating a little bit.

I know this blog post is different than my usual blog posts but it was something I needed to write down and get it off my chest.

xoxo,

Abby