I can tell you from personal experience that gallstones attacks are the closest to giving birth. The pain scores a 10 on a 1-10 pain scale. There is also pain after eating certain foods such as high fat, hard to digest foods. Wine suppose to be good for preventing gallstones.
I had 3 serious attacks that required 911 calls before I decided to have the gallbladder removed. Different people will experience living with gallstones differently.
A doctor back in 1990 told me that I did not match the perfect profile for having gallstones. In medicine circles this profile is called the four "F"s (Fertile, Fat, in your Forties and Female). I met two of them back then: fertile and female. On the other hand, gallstones are also hereditary, my father had them, my older brother had them and my younger brother had kidney stones. So by genetic design we are a stone factory family. And probably when I was younger I was not as wise as I am today regarding healthy eating habits, proper hydration and nutritional supplementation.
My gallbladder was finally removed in 1990 when an ultrasound showed obstruction on the bile duct by a large stone. I had a total of 15 stones inside the gallbladder sack. The preceeding attacks felt like heart attacks, I did not know the first time what hit me, but thanks to an ultrasound in the hospital, I learned what was going on. The second and third ER trips were as bad but knowning it was not my heart, I felt more relaxed...
Nowadays there are medical options to treat gallstones without surgery. There is also a very simple surgical procedures to remove the gallbladder. It is done mostly as a same day surgery, it is called laparoscopic cholecystectomy. I had it done when it was still very experimental and only pigs had been the patients. I did fine and went to work the next day.
Despite the removal of my gallbladder, seven years later while stationed with the Navy in Washington DC, I was driving home and all of a sudden a terrible, familiar pain took my breath away, but I knew I had no gallbladder any more, so what was happening? Heart attack! I took a quick exit and ended up at a stranger's home asking for help. They called 911 and the ambulance took me to the nearest ER. It was determined that gallstones left behind from prior surgery had obstructed the bile duct near the pancreas, bile had built up causing acute pancreatitis. I could not believe it!!! After all those years, I was still making stones!
So, I have to live with my genes and I must check periodically pancreatic functions to ensure there are not more stones growing. Since I no longer have the gallbladder, the bile duct would be the place for stones to form and grow. I am also religious about eating foods that are easy to digest, I like raw veggi smoothies and cleanse my liver every six months.
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I can tell you from personal experience that gallstones attacks are the closest to giving birth. The pain scores a 10 on a 1-10 pain scale. There is also pain after eating certain foods such as high fat, hard to digest foods. Wine suppose to be good for preventing gallstones.
I had 3 serious attacks that required 911 calls before I decided to have the gallbladder removed. Different people will experience living with gallstones differently.
A doctor back in 1990 told me that I did not match the perfect profile for having gallstones. In medicine circles this profile is called the four "F"s (Fertile, Fat, in your Forties and Female). I met two of them back then: fertile and female. On the other hand, gallstones are also hereditary, my father had them, my older brother had them and my younger brother had kidney stones. So by genetic design we are a stone factory family. And probably when I was younger I was not as wise as I am today regarding healthy eating habits, proper hydration and nutritional supplementation.
My gallbladder was finally removed in 1990 when an ultrasound showed obstruction on the bile duct by a large stone. I had a total of 15 stones inside the gallbladder sack. The preceeding attacks felt like heart attacks, I did not know the first time what hit me, but thanks to an ultrasound in the hospital, I learned what was going on. The second and third ER trips were as bad but knowning it was not my heart, I felt more relaxed...
Nowadays there are medical options to treat gallstones without surgery. There is also a very simple surgical procedures to remove the gallbladder. It is done mostly as a same day surgery, it is called laparoscopic cholecystectomy. I had it done when it was still very experimental and only pigs had been the patients. I did fine and went to work the next day.
Despite the removal of my gallbladder, seven years later while stationed with the Navy in Washington DC, I was driving home and all of a sudden a terrible, familiar pain took my breath away, but I knew I had no gallbladder any more, so what was happening? Heart attack! I took a quick exit and ended up at a stranger's home asking for help. They called 911 and the ambulance took me to the nearest ER. It was determined that gallstones left behind from prior surgery had obstructed the bile duct near the pancreas, bile had built up causing acute pancreatitis. I could not believe it!!! After all those years, I was still making stones!
So, I have to live with my genes and I must check periodically pancreatic functions to ensure there are not more stones growing. Since I no longer have the gallbladder, the bile duct would be the place for stones to form and grow. I am also religious about eating foods that are easy to digest, I like raw veggi smoothies and cleanse my liver every six months.
December 3, 2008 - 9:38pmThis Comment
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