My surgery was on 8/26/11, which puts me at 4 years and just about 4 months since my surgery. First and foremost, I am still here, so that is a great sign.
Painful Gallbladder Attacks Since Removal: 0
Complications: 0
Doubt always creeps in. We think everything is going fine, but then one day you start to feel some abdominal pain, and you always flashback to your gallbladder removal and wonder if it is time to finally pay the piper.
A few months ago, I began having terrible abdominal cramps (in the intestines area). It felt like ulcers, or something, on my lower right side. I was worried ... was this a result of my surgery? Was this something worse, like diverticulitis, Crohn's Disease, or colon cancer? The pain persisted for a week and I began to wonder if it was appendicitis based on the radiating pain from the lower right abdominal area. Doc had me do an MRI to check for appendicitis, and they saw nothing wrong. They also said other organs looked normal (no large grapefruit tumors or anything).
So now what? The pain persisted for another week so I went to my gastroenterologist (the same one who helped me resolve the gallbladder issue) and we set up the dreaded colonoscopy. I should put together a whole other blog for that experience ... hah ... but another time perhaps. The colonoscopy had me fast for essentially 2 days while "cleansing", and then the procedure. I felt better the day after the procedure, and within 2 days I was entirely cured. So what was it?
Apparently, I had been taking a men's super multivitamin that my wife had picked out for me, that included a bunch of other things I wasn't aware of. Saw palmetto, probiotics, and so forth. How am I sure this was the culprit? Because I had stopped taking these just before the surgery, and the pain went away. A month later I started taking them again, and within a few days those same abdominal pains started to return! It had to be the MV, not sure which ingredient, maybe just the probiotics?
In either case, that is now resolved, and as I am not in my early 40's (I was only 37 when my GB was removed), I am wading through one minor health issue after another, whether it be a bone bruise in my foot from trying to start up running again, or being checked for Sleep Apnea. But the one thing I do not worry about on a daily basis now is my gallbladder.
My diet is much better now than it was then. I still eat cookies or bad foods, but very much in moderation. I follow a somewhat Paleo type diet. I'm not a believer that Paleo means you have a green light to eat bacon and steak all day (the WHO recently claimed that processed meats were carcinogenic, and even non-processed red meats probably were as well), but I do try to minimize the refined carbs (breads, chips, etc.) and go heavy on vegetables instead. I also try to stick more often to poultry or fish than steak and bacon. Other things I try to avoid: Added sugars and other preservatives.
Signing off for now, thanks for following and reading, and for those of you who have had the surgery or are planning to have it, good luck and best wishes! Hopefully I am updating this blog with happy news for the next 40 years =)
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Friday, March 27, 2015
3.5 Years After Surgery
It is about time for an update ... Been a few years. I am happy to say that 3.5 years later, I am still doing well. I will mention a few things down below but overall it was still what appears to be a good decision.
Painful Gallbladder Attacks Since Removal: 0
I have mentioned in the past that I wish I could go back in time and erase the decade of terrible eating they I feel was the culprit to a number of my health "challenges". I was a processed food junkie. Are plenty of sugar (bbq sauce, candy, General Tsos chicken), and fried foods (chicken tenders in honey, donuts, General Tsos Chicken), microwave meals, pizza, burgers, Taco Bell ... And did I mention my main man General Tso?
I would also eat healthy quite often. I was equal opportunity ... Problem was I did not say no to many things, healthy or otherwise. Why not? I was young and healthy and invincible. Alcohol? I wasn't by any means an alcoholic - but more of a social binge drinker. No alcohol for a week or two, then 14 beers on a Saturday, or a bunch of pints of Vodka and cran. I'm sure it didn't help ... This was my 20's.
It was in my 30s that the problems came. Serious weight gain, fatigue, pale skin, and gallbladder pains and attacks. I cleaned up my diet and lost weight. Still, over the years the GB attacks recurred. I'm sure the damage was already done.
Now I am down 1 gallbladder. This means there is a slow and steady drip into my intestines from my bile duct. What does that mean? Well it means you don't like to go too long on an empty stomach. Bile is coming in with or without food, and without food over time that can make you have a tad of diarrhea. Not terrible but it is what it is.
On the flip side, when you really go overboard and opt for onion rings and a burger, or fried dough, or fried chicken, there isn't enough bile being produced to take care of it. What you end up with is aches, pains or discomfort in the intestine area at times when you eat like this. Feels like it takes a long time for your body to break down the food. It may. It break down comprehensively either.
For the most part - if I eat whole foods and healthy choices more often than not, I fee just fine.
Other issues? There is a permanent weakness in my abdominals where the incisions were made. I did 18 months of CrossFit without a gallbladder and got into the best shape of my life, but there are times where if I am doing something with the abs I suddenly get a very painful ab muscle cramp. It actually feels like it pops inside out and its searing pain ... But I squirm around until it suddenly fixes itself and goes away. This has only been for the last few years. It's right where the main incision was over the GB. I feel minor aches and tugs in the spots where there is scar tissue at times. More discomfort than pain - but most times discomfort away entirely.
Not too long ago one morning I suddenly got colic type pain in that area. It lasted about 10 minutes and I broke into an icy cold sweat but I kneeled on my bathroom floor (head down, a technique I was taught to deal with vasal vagus syncope symptoms that I get once in a while when very ill, and it subsided and never returned. What was it? No idea, but if I had to guess I would say maybe it was a small gallstone passing from the bile duct?
As per the vagus - I think I have had vagus issues from around that time. Could a GB surgery trigger vagus issues? Possibly - or it could just be an unrelated issue. Vasal vagus is an issue related to the vagus nerve, which runs from head to heart to stomach and controls quite a bit. A few times I have passed out when very ill. One time was during my sole kidney stone, a few other times when I had a bad intestinal virus. It's like a head rush ... But you get cold sweat and maybe a little nausea, But instead of recovering you just pass the heck out. Then you wake up and it all resets itself and you feel better. I had it once at age 12 before my GB surgery, and a few times since. Might just be me getting older!
I've conjured these symptoms a few times on nights of heavy alcohol and food. Like going to a baseball game with pals, getting beers and dogs and nachos and such and eating too much ... I will go to bed and wake up at 2 am and feel like I'm going to hurl - and I make way for the bathroom and I never do get sick, but sometimes the nausea has to pass and that can take a while.
Another mixed bag on the post surgery life is that my appetite is not as large. I still want to eat 3-5 times per day, but no longer can I consider 3 helpings on thanksgiving. I tend to feel full much sooner, and my hunger pangs have never been as strong as they were before surgery. I still get hungry and still eat bad at times - but the damage is limited.
That's about all I can think of. Sounds bad but these events are few and far between, and manageable. If I exercised and stretched more it would likely knock out the kinks and aches I sometimes feel. If I ate healthy all the time and minimized alcohol and sweets, might have no issues!
I hope anyone who has had the surgery that is reading this is doing well, and that anyone going through gallbladder pain or facing this surgery can get some comfort from this blog. See you soon!
Painful Gallbladder Attacks Since Removal: 0
I have mentioned in the past that I wish I could go back in time and erase the decade of terrible eating they I feel was the culprit to a number of my health "challenges". I was a processed food junkie. Are plenty of sugar (bbq sauce, candy, General Tsos chicken), and fried foods (chicken tenders in honey, donuts, General Tsos Chicken), microwave meals, pizza, burgers, Taco Bell ... And did I mention my main man General Tso?
I would also eat healthy quite often. I was equal opportunity ... Problem was I did not say no to many things, healthy or otherwise. Why not? I was young and healthy and invincible. Alcohol? I wasn't by any means an alcoholic - but more of a social binge drinker. No alcohol for a week or two, then 14 beers on a Saturday, or a bunch of pints of Vodka and cran. I'm sure it didn't help ... This was my 20's.
It was in my 30s that the problems came. Serious weight gain, fatigue, pale skin, and gallbladder pains and attacks. I cleaned up my diet and lost weight. Still, over the years the GB attacks recurred. I'm sure the damage was already done.
Now I am down 1 gallbladder. This means there is a slow and steady drip into my intestines from my bile duct. What does that mean? Well it means you don't like to go too long on an empty stomach. Bile is coming in with or without food, and without food over time that can make you have a tad of diarrhea. Not terrible but it is what it is.
On the flip side, when you really go overboard and opt for onion rings and a burger, or fried dough, or fried chicken, there isn't enough bile being produced to take care of it. What you end up with is aches, pains or discomfort in the intestine area at times when you eat like this. Feels like it takes a long time for your body to break down the food. It may. It break down comprehensively either.
For the most part - if I eat whole foods and healthy choices more often than not, I fee just fine.
Other issues? There is a permanent weakness in my abdominals where the incisions were made. I did 18 months of CrossFit without a gallbladder and got into the best shape of my life, but there are times where if I am doing something with the abs I suddenly get a very painful ab muscle cramp. It actually feels like it pops inside out and its searing pain ... But I squirm around until it suddenly fixes itself and goes away. This has only been for the last few years. It's right where the main incision was over the GB. I feel minor aches and tugs in the spots where there is scar tissue at times. More discomfort than pain - but most times discomfort away entirely.
Not too long ago one morning I suddenly got colic type pain in that area. It lasted about 10 minutes and I broke into an icy cold sweat but I kneeled on my bathroom floor (head down, a technique I was taught to deal with vasal vagus syncope symptoms that I get once in a while when very ill, and it subsided and never returned. What was it? No idea, but if I had to guess I would say maybe it was a small gallstone passing from the bile duct?
As per the vagus - I think I have had vagus issues from around that time. Could a GB surgery trigger vagus issues? Possibly - or it could just be an unrelated issue. Vasal vagus is an issue related to the vagus nerve, which runs from head to heart to stomach and controls quite a bit. A few times I have passed out when very ill. One time was during my sole kidney stone, a few other times when I had a bad intestinal virus. It's like a head rush ... But you get cold sweat and maybe a little nausea, But instead of recovering you just pass the heck out. Then you wake up and it all resets itself and you feel better. I had it once at age 12 before my GB surgery, and a few times since. Might just be me getting older!
I've conjured these symptoms a few times on nights of heavy alcohol and food. Like going to a baseball game with pals, getting beers and dogs and nachos and such and eating too much ... I will go to bed and wake up at 2 am and feel like I'm going to hurl - and I make way for the bathroom and I never do get sick, but sometimes the nausea has to pass and that can take a while.
Another mixed bag on the post surgery life is that my appetite is not as large. I still want to eat 3-5 times per day, but no longer can I consider 3 helpings on thanksgiving. I tend to feel full much sooner, and my hunger pangs have never been as strong as they were before surgery. I still get hungry and still eat bad at times - but the damage is limited.
That's about all I can think of. Sounds bad but these events are few and far between, and manageable. If I exercised and stretched more it would likely knock out the kinks and aches I sometimes feel. If I ate healthy all the time and minimized alcohol and sweets, might have no issues!
I hope anyone who has had the surgery that is reading this is doing well, and that anyone going through gallbladder pain or facing this surgery can get some comfort from this blog. See you soon!
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