To be fair to myself, I haven't been well. I've had a lot of pain and my sleep pattern became a roulette game. I'd sleep for four hrs and wake up. Then, I'd try to fall back asleep but couldn't. Or I'd get up and be up for a couple of hours and have to go back to bed. One day I slept for 12 hours! I was still tired. It was awful and the sleep disorder probably contributed to my pain levels, for which I had no solution.
I prayed, read my Bible, and sat in my chair watching videos for days because I was too tired to do anything else. Well, one day I did wash clothes and put them in the spare room. Yeah, some are still there. Another day, I vacuumed the den. Another day, I swept the kitchen.
So, I emailed my doctor, and she told me to come in.
We talked and finagled with my meds a bit, and I have an ultrasound on the 12th to see if my gall bladder needs to be taken out. I suspect it does because I've been having some unusual pain for over a year that no one could explain. About a month ago, I finally looked it up, and it sounded like gall bladder problems. The doctor sent me for lab work.
I got a note to say the lab work all looked normal. However, I'm not one to take things at face value. Four or five tests were out of the normal range. I always research my blood work if something is out of the normal range. What does it test and what does the number signify? Turns out they could show a gall bladder problem or kidney problem. There were long explanations, but I won't go into all that. I understood the assignment. It required further study. Apparently, both organs can affect one another. More interesting was that a gallbladder problem can cause fatty liver.
That's interesting because a couple of years ago they found I have fatty liver disease. That shocked the technician because at the last scan, my liver was fine. They told me whatever caused it was sudden, not something that happens with fatty liver.
Hmmm.
No, I'm not a doctor or a nurse. I just read ridiculous amounts of material and research everything. I learned the hard way that I have to do this with my medical issues. Believe it or not, doctors can't know everything and even if they do, they can't recall it all. They can also overlook the obvious. So, I just save them the trouble. If I see a concern, I call their attention to it. They don't argue with me, either.
I told my doctor about my suspicions when I saw her and why. My mother, aunt, both my sisters, and a brother all had their gallbladder removed. The doctor said that sometimes this happens in families.
"I don't want to have my gallbladder removed. I have enough going on without adding something else."
She said, "It doesn't take long, and it's only a few days' recovery time."
😶
I didn't say it. But I'm immunosuppressed and will need to be off meds for at least two weeks. The lack of medication will cause a higher level of unmanageable pain. I can't take opioids. Oh well.
😒
