Worst last few months of my life..

[Kaybean]

So starting back in November, I began getting sick to my stomach and feeling nauseous for no apparent reason. It would just come out of nowhere and would sometimes last for 3-4 hours at a time. I would feel like I was going to throw up and just keep feeling sick. Then it started happening more and more often and I finally went to the doctor and they thought I had a stomach ulcer and prescribed me meds for it. Well I took the meds for 2 weeks and not only was I not getting better, I was feeling worse and worse. I had all kinds of tests run, including an Endoscopy where they put a camera down your throat and look into your stomach. They couldn't find anything wrong with me and I was starting to think it was all in my head. We had to have my dad come stay with us because I was so sick, I couldn't even take care of my boys some days. Some days, I would spend almost the entire day in bed feeling nauseous. Finally I went back into the gastro intestinal doctor and he decided to run 2 more tests..an uper GI x-ray to test for acid reflux, and another test called a HIDA scan to check the function of my Gallbladder. Well it turns out I DO have acid reflux (only minor though..not bad enough to be making me so sick to my stomach) and on top of it, MY GALLBLADDER WAS FUNCTIONING AT 0%!!! They finally found out my Gallbladder was no longer functioning and that's what was making me sooo sick for the past 2 months. I had literally become depressed because I was so sick that I couldn't even take care of my boys or go out and do anything anymore, let alone even being able to eat. I had lost 13 pounds (I only weight 92 pounds right now). Some days I would eat no more than a few saltine crackers or a piece of plain toast and I would eat that little for days at a time. Well on Jan 6th, I had my surgery to take my Gallbladder out. I was insanely nauseous after my surgery from the gas they fill your abdomen with. I went home feeling super sick still and continued to feel nauseated for the next 3 days and layed in bed feeling depressed thinking there was still something wrong. Well here I am today exactly 2 weeks after my surgery and Thank God (literally) I'm starting to feel like myself again! My recovery has been on the slow side as far as eating again, but its getting better. I still get nauseated, but its much less frequent and much less severe than it was before. The surgeon said it should continue to get better and better as my body adjusts to not having a Gallbladder again. I'm able to eat cereal, cereal bars, light pastas, soup, pudding, yogurt, bananas, and other light things like that. I'm still not totally normal again yet, but I sure am way better than I was just 2 weeks ago. I'm so blad to have my life back again. My dad had to stay with us for 5 weeks! I'm happy to be able to get up in the morning again and see my kids, go grocery shopping, give them baths and I'm even thankful to be well enough to clean again! I can't believe how sick a Gallbladder can make someone. The pathology report said my Gallbladder was inflamed so it was making me very sick. I've heard some people take a full year to get completely back to normal with their appetite and digestion, and other people bounce back right away. I think I'm one of the ones that will take a little more time to get back to normal, but I'm just thankful to be getting better and better. You don't realize how many things you have to be thankful for until you become very sick. I can't believe all the simple things I took for granted before I got sick. I'm thankful now just to be able to wake up and take care of my boys and live my life again! =)

[tinadf7]

Jan. 20, 2009 at 10:37 AM

Wow - I'm glad you're feeling better. I had never heard of that before

[divinity80921]

Jan. 20, 2009 at 11:05 AM

Although my own gallbladder story is different from yours, I was sick for about a year and a half before I was finally diagnosed correctly. That part isn't worth the long telling. But I understand the depression because of the pain and sickness and being unable to do your daily life things that you want and need to be doing. I went through that, too. My daughter was born near the beginning of the saga, and there were times the only thing I could do for her was take her to bed with me. (She certainly became a snuggle-baby.) Adding to my depression, I felt like a bad mother because I was unable to enjoy my baby, only be relieved when she was good. Even just the ongoing physical pain will cause depression, and that depression is as bad as the physical ailments.

My own story also went differently at the end because I had been in so much pain for so long that I was discharged from the hospital two days after surgery (I had the old-style surgery where they cut a 10-inch incision) because I no longer needed pain drugs. That's how much less pain I was in, that I could handle it without medication because I'd been handling more pain than that without any medication for over a year. My surgeon was stunned that I was doing so well after surgery.

 It took about a year or so to get back to being able to eat everything I wanted to eat without digestive problems. But avoiding certain foods helped a lot. Greasy stuff, fried stuff, raw onions, these gave me an upset stomach. Slowly you can add them back to your diet. The thing that took the longest for me was raw onion. That literally took a few years, but other than that, the other things went back into the diet fairly quickly.

Like you, the experience brought me a new appreciation of being able to do the everyday activities of life. It was the sweetest feeling I've ever known.

[theosmom23]

Jan. 20, 2009 at 11:27 AM

i'm so glad they figured out what was wrong and could fix it.  and i'm glad that your surgery went well.  sounds like you are on the road to recovery...take it easy and i'm so glad you're doing better!!!  i know what you mean about feeling depressed about not being able to do things for your boys.  it's totally different and not at all as bad as having my gallbladder taken out, but i've been on bed rest for the past 2 weeks to prevent premature labor, and i feel the same way sometimes.  my sister has come to take care of my son, which i'm thankful for, but i'll be even more thankful when i can get up and do things for myself again!!  i'm glad you are on the mend.  thoughts and prayers are with you :)

[EZsmom422]

Jan. 20, 2009 at 12:28 PM

I hear ya!! God is good isnt he!!

[Brandy.B]

Mar. 5, 2009 at 1:08 AM

wow! so sorry that happened to you! when I was 16 i was diagnosed with multiple ulcers and a hiatal hernia. two years later I had another egd and they said the ulcers had healed. now i'm 20 and have had two babies and my stomach has been so nauseous almost all the time and i don't know what is wrong but i don't have insurance to figure it out!

[Natashath09]

Jun. 3, 2009 at 5:25 PM i had my gall bladder out too!

[livewell]

May. 20, 2010 at 12:50 PM

I wonder why it is not diagnosed sooner? It sounds terrible!

Get well soon!