And when you're sitting back, NOT in their shoes, it's easy to come up with what you might do if you were. But for the first time, as it relates to health, I'm seeing how totally different what you think you would have done is from what you would actually do.
Are you lost?
Gallbladder.
Mine is mad. I'm not sure how mad though. I was too busy flooding my mind and body with positivity for the ultrasound and HIDA scan that I tried not to over-research it until I knew more...and that there was even anything to research.
Then, when the call came in from my doctors office, I was knee deep in nasty funk from the koi pond (we took a few days off work and cleaned up the disgusting home of our six koi fish), and only kind of understood it. I certainly didn't know enough about any of it to ask questions. I heard polyps, 22%, needs to come out, surgical consult on Monday.
Well...Alrighty then.
Decided to finish the koi pond then quickly jumped into the mode of "oh my goodness...I killed one of my organs!!"
Let the research commence.
I started with "okay...not too bad...not all that important anyway. Laparoscopic. Easy. Quick."
Entered the phase of "but it's a freaking organ...with a purpose! A true, biological purpose. I am a complete human being with my tonsils and appendix and everything. I don't want to lose an organ!!!"
Which quickly led to this epiphany: "I destroyed it with my terrible diet, lifetime of processed crap and soda and Starbucks and...oh my goodness...I'm raising my kids this way! I'm killing THEIR gallbladder (and more!) too!!!"
Which immediately resulted in "throw out all the bad things. No soda. No coffee. No eating out. No processed crap. Perimeter of the store only. Organic, Simple Truth brand, gluten free, fruits and veggies...healthy. Must not kill their gallbladders! Must try to save mine!!! I don't want surgery. I don't want general anesthesia. What if I don't wake up? What if I have my dads heart problems? What if the 30lbs I've lost have affected the function of my heart and I die? Can't have surgery! Not if I can help it!"
Which led to more research, with a little bit more of a level head. Level-headed enough to watch a YouTube video showing the gallbladder removal surgery. Vomit!
Must know more about polyps, sludge, blockages, 22% ejection rate...and more importantly how it all got there and what, if anything, I could do to reverse the effects of 30 years of crap!
So much fluff and junk out there. I tried to stick to medical journals, studies published with NIH and enjoyed readinf other people's experiences/blogs. One person (Save Galby), with the assistance of a naturopath and nutritionist avoided surgery and seems to have be "cured". A little extreme but hey...it could happen! ;)
I KNOW I have to make lifestyle changes. I've been slowly psyching myself up for it for years, making small changes in the right direction...only to relapse back to fast food and laziness. But this, being faced with losing an organ, it's enough.
But back to my original thought...what would you do (when it's not you)?
Standing outside looking in, I'd stop being such an idiot and have the broken thing removed, change the diet to avoid breaking something else and move on. I've heard all the stories from 90% of the people I know having had theirs removed and it being a piece of cake...how common it is...routine almost...no big deal...totally normal. But all that does not make it RIGHT! It in no way makes it normal! There is nothing NORMAL about having an organ malfunction to the point of needing to be removed!
So, questioning normalcy, I start looking at justifiable reasons to have the gallbladder removed...reasons *I* would be okay with.
Cancer. And I've done my research on polyps and GB cancer so if Mr. Surgeon tries to tell me some blanket line about gallbladder polyps potentially being cancerous and that's why GB has to come out, he's going to be inundated with questions because it is SO rare. But several details about the gallbladder and the polyps can indicate increased risk...in which case, I'll demand more tests to be sure of their accuracy before jumping into a surgical gown! Things aren't always what they seem in an ultrasound with polyps! ;)
Malfunctioning. Infected, poses risk to other organs, calcified, etc. Again, I want proof.
But so many things in life can be compared to the auto shop. Stay with me...
It's like being a girl at an auto shop...they think they can get one over on you because you're a girl and you couldn't possibly know any better. Radiologist/Doc/Surgeon says it needs out...they're trained...I'm not. And 99.999% of people blindly trust medical professionals (made that statistic up) when they're humans too and can't possibly know you as we'll as you do. I research. Show me my gallbladder ultrasound and I will know what to look for! Can't fool me. I am not naive. I do not jump because some trained professional told me to. I don't intend to imply I know anywhere near as much as trained professionals. I just make sure I know ENOUGH to protect myself & my family!
But I digress...
So...yeah. Tomorrows plan is to find out more about my specific issues, try to gather enough information to make an INFORMED decision, and go from there.
I really like the thought of getting it out and being done with the drama, not having to worry if its going to explode, or ultimately result in emergency surgery later, but I'm afraid that is the easy route. Gets everyone paid, doesn't force me to clean up my diet, leaves me right back were I started...but minus a gallbladder. Easy. Fast. Safe. But I'm just not convinced that it's RIGHT yet.
I will surely change my mind in a few hours. It's been a hellish week full of mind-changing. But hopefully tomorrow will prove super helpful in making my mind up once and for all. ;)
P.S. anyone know of a good (and fairly inexpensive) nutritionist locally? Insurance won't cover it...never mind I'd like to save them a super expensive surgery or anything. Just in case...(positive thinking!! Happy gallbladder!!) ;)
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