So long, gall bladder.

I've had a pretty clean bill of health my entire life. I've only been to the ER three times [once because I was in a car accident and had this huge bump on my head; the other two times were due to overnight issues when a doctor wasn't readily available], had asthma that I grew out of, and I've had one surgery [left knee, unless you count getting all four wisdom teeth pulled...then i've had two]. Even my pregnancy was pretty uneventful, except for the high blood pressure at the end that kept me pregnant for only 39w5d instead of 40+ weeks. I've been very fortunate, and I still am.

But lately, I've been having issues with my lovely, lovely tummy. It started during Memorial Day weekend, when I got sick after eating our yearly family BBQ. When that same sickness occurred three times in five weeks - and none of the people that were eating the same foods were getting sick - I knew something was up. It took some coaxing from my parents [i hate going to the doctor], but I finally saw my family physician. Besides my pregnancy check-ups, this was the first time I'd gone to the doctor since sophomore year of college - and that was five years ago. Don't give me that look - I already established I hate going to the doctor. :)

Anyway, he said it sounded like my gall bladder was going bad, so a series of tests were done. The ultrasound came up negative, but the HIDA scan - which sucked big monkey toes towards the end - came back abnormal. So, I get to see a general surgeon tomorrow to schedule a time to get it removed. At this point, I'm just ready for it to be taken out. The upside to this whole thing is that it's forced me to eat healthier because I'm afraid that foods with too much fat will make me sick - so I've cut down on the fatty foods and even on sugar and soda. I've had at least 28 oz. of water every day the past few days [without adding any artificial flavoring, which is a surprise for me], and I've been watching my portions as well. But, the area where my gall bladder is hurts, and I've started getting tummy aches after every meal. I'm hoping removing the thing will help alleviate all my issues and get me back to feeling normal again.

On another upside, this will hopefully all be resolved before the big Vegas trip in two weeks. Hopefully, I can eat, drink and be merry while I'm out there without having to worry about getting sick afterwards. From what I understand, this surgery can be done with minimal cutting and sewing, which is nice, and I won't have any dietary restriction once the procedure is done. I still plan on watching what I eat though - I've started to feel much better after cutting out the crap and going with the good.

Adios gall bladder. It's been a good 25 years, but I think it's time to we part.