You've Got Some Gall!

So something weird happened to me this past week. I had been having sharp pains in the my 'right quadrant', right under my rib cage, sometimes in my lower back. It occurred to me that it might be my gallbladder getting angry at me. Another voice (most likely the voice of Satan) chimed in to remind me that I was probably getting autoimmune hepatitis and would die shortly.

Once I had successfully told the Voice of Crazy to go f*** itself, I realized several factors that made it likely my gallbladder was the culprit:

*The pain was always after I ate and was worse after I ate something yummy, AKA something fatty.

*It got worse until it eventually gave me the Big D and nausea. Nausea is my worst enemy.

*My mother, my grandmother, and both my grandmother's sisters have all had gallbladder problems. Subsequently, they no longer have gallbladders. I don't know any more specifics (gallstones, blocked ducts, dysfunctional gallbladder, so many options...), except that my grandmother's gallstones were shaped like dice and she was glad to be rid of it.

*My mom and my grandma both warned me it would happen to me eventually.

http://iheartguts.com/gall-bladder

Anyway, I had been having these sharp pains on that side of my ribcage for....let's say four days or so. Then one fateful night, I decided to have avocado. For those of you who know things, you know that avocados are all fat. A healthy fat, but all fat nonetheless. Your gallbladder doesn't differentiate between healthy fat and bad fat. The pain got more and more frequent until, in the middle of a grocery store, I felt simultaneously like going to the bathroom and puking. Pleasant combo. Anyway, I booked it home. All I felt like doing was curling up in a ball on the bathroom floor. Eventually I started to feel better and I did myself some Googling.

Here is the most relevant info to myself:

"Chronic gallbladder disease (chronic cholecystitis) involves gallstones and mild inflammation. In such cases the gallbladder may become scarred and stiff. Symptoms of chronic gallbladder disease include the following:

        *Complaints of gas, nausea, and abdominal discomfort after meals; these are the most common symptoms, but they may be vague and difficult to distinguish from similar complaints in people who do not have gallbladder disease.
         *Chronic diarrhea (4 - 10 bowel movements every day for at least 3 months)."

I wish that someone had told me that gallbladder problems can cause chronic diarrhea. Maybe these last two years would have been a little easier if I had mentioned that to one of the many doctors I have seen. It also might explain why there were four incidences around when my daughter was born that I was inexplicably sick, with similar symptoms. I'm ashamed to admit this, but one time it was right after I binged on Cheetos and Oreos, both of which are chock-full of yummy fatty goodness. :)

Anecdotally, I have been testing this theory and there's no pain when I don't eat any fat. My good friend says my body has successfully taken all the fun out of eating. BUT I STILL HAVE SUGAR!

I go to the Doc today to see if I'm just a crazy hypochondriac or if I should go get an ultrasound. Sigh. Any personal, similar experiences with gallbladder issues would be appreciated.