Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Gallstones??????

I got my ultrasound result and it came back normal. The good news is that there's nothing seriously wrong with me. The bad news is I'm still clueless as to what the hell that 4 days of agonizing pain for?

I still think it's gallstones. I had all the symptoms - excruciating pain in the upper abdomen, pain comes in waves and travels all over, nausea, low-grade fever etc. Plus, this is the third time it happened. The first time was in December 2003 and the second time was last year around April. Both times happened while it was my TOM so I attributed it to just really bad cramps. But now that I think of it, all three episodes had similar symptoms and the feelings were the same.

Here's another thing...for the recent incident, the first onset of pain happened 2 Saturdays ago at night and it lasted until Wednesday. By the time I woke up Wednesday morning after my night in the emergency room, the pain was gone except for some soreness. The earliest appointment I could get for an ultrasound was Friday morning. Well, that's 2 whole days pain-free already! I'm sure by that time, the gallstones have passed through my system already. I have to call my doctor and schedule a follow-up appointment and see if she has other theories.

I did some research on this and it appears that typically, it's common among obese people, particularly those that have experienced fast weight lost. It could also run in the family. I'm not obese and never has been, but according to my mom (much to my surprise), there are people in her side of the family that have this condition. And apparently, it comes & goes and is often triggered by eating fatty meals. I was at my parents house that Saturday and eating extremely fatty food, so that was probably what triggered it.

There are some things one can do to avoid an incident (although not guaranteed):

- Avoid food with high fat content
- Increase fiber intake
- Plenty of water
- Caffeine
- Exercise

Basically, gallstones are a mixture of bile from the liver & cholesterol, so it's obvious that the items above would help. I'm doing most of it already, but I guess I have to be more diligent, especially with the fatty food & water. I have to admit, I'm not too good with water intake. I sometimes get caught up with work that I forget to drink my water except during meals and workout. Also, I'm thinking of doing some fiber therapy such as Metamucil or Citrucel. It couldn't hurt. And how about this for extra motivation to avoid fatty food? ;)

One thing though, next time this happens, I'm not even going to think twice. I'm going straight to the emergency room and this sucker's coming out!

I went back to working out the BFL way this week. Finally! It's like coming home!!! However, all the shoveling I did last Sunday messed me up BIG TIME!!! My whole body was sore! My siatic nerves (both sides) were acting up. My left side was actually shooting some tingling sensation to my knee! Not too bad, but I stretched the hell out of it just so it doesn't get worst. My left knee was a little bit sore. And I could go on and on....

My running has been compromised. I think the combination of last week's abdominal pain, topped off by the snow shoveling this Sunday just took a toll on my body. Monday for my running HIIT, I could only do up to 15 minutes before I gota stitch on my right side (around where the gallbladder is - ANOTHER SIGN!!!). I guess you could say, that was when I felt my 10 (LOL). I had to slow down to walking on an incline. However, I did a total of 30 minutes of cardio, mostly just due to sheer will.

Yesterday, I did UBWO, which wasn't too bad. For my cardio, I walked 5 minutes, then ran 20 minutes at 5.2 mph max! That's pretty pathetic considering I normally go 5.7 - 6.0 mph steady state. I had to stop running coz I started feeling some sensations on my left knee. I cooled down 5 minutes at the end. Basically, no 3-milers for me yesterday :(

Today, I was able to do a full 20 minutes HIIT on the elliptical before I started feeling a stitch on my right side (guess where!!!). I then did moderate steady-state intensity for 10 minutes. I also did some abs, which is the first time this week.

I'm going to continue working out this week. I'm going to take it easy and hope I last until Saturday. I have to remember to WALK for my extra cardio session and not run. I get over-exuberant when it comes to running. Anyways, once I get through to Saturday, I plan to do absolutely NOTHING on Sunday to give my body a much needed break. Hope it doesn't snow....

3 comments:

KatieFeldmom said...

My sister had gallstones and eventually had her gallbladder removed. She now watches her fat and fiber intake. Water is very important! In fact, you should be drinking a glass right now!!!!!!

Take care of yourself!

Rachel said...

Just take it easy for a week or so, guzzle the water, avoid fatty foods and hopefully this will clear up and you won't have another episode. Let us know what the doc says at the follow up. It's gotta be frustrating not knowing for certain what could cause such excruciating pain.

Take care!
Rachel

Alex Trenoweth said...

Buddy!! OMG!! I've been having gallstone problems too! (check out my blog). You have my deepest sympathies!!

I'm a lot better but I also suspected lack of water, losing weight and extra caffeine as the main culprits. I don't touch deep fried foods anyway. . .

I have a scan in April and I really want to avoid surgery.

I felt like shit for a week but I'm so much better now.

I hope you feel better.

Love,

Pers