Life Without A Gallbladder (part 3 of 3)

I remember waking up in the recovery room of the surgical center, feeling like I had been run over by a semi truck. I really just wanted to perk up so I could see my husband, but my eyes were just too heavy and I kept drifting in and out of sleep. Eventually, they were able to wheel me out to go home. Anesthesia and I are not friends, and honestly coming out of that was the worst part of the entire surgery for me.

My husband was headed out of town for a few weeks to Jackson Hole, so it would just be me and my little 22 month old at the house during that time. Things went pretty well. I was sore, but my chronic back pain had dissipated and overall I felt surprisingly good. A week after surgery I decided to take the trip back up to Jackson with my husband, since both my daughter and I were going a little stir crazy being cooped up. On the way we made a pit stop and grabbed a few treats for the rest of the trip. I don't remember exactly what I had, but I believe it was a flavored water and some kettle corn. Well, as we were in the car about 30 minutes later, the sulfur burps started and I began to panic. We were able to make it to the condo, but I spent the next few days in and out of the bathroom as my body did what it had been doing for months. How could this be happening? Here I had this major surgery and within a week I had another episode. I was so devastated, and being up in gloomy Jackson Hole sure did not help make me feel any better. I wanted to be home. I think that's still why I'm not too fond of that place!

Well we hoped and prayed and luckily that was the last episode I experienced for a while. Over the next year we were able to get pregnant with our second daughter, and for the most part I felt okay. Her pregnancy was really rough, but I was just so grateful to be granted the gift of having another baby. My body and I were at odds a lot, but somehow it managed to carry these huge babies to term, which still astounds me.

(My second sweet squishy daughter, born October 2012, 8 pounds 10 oz.)

After the birth of my second daughter, I had a lot harder time bouncing back than I did with my first. I figured that was normal with your second, since you go into it being exhausted! Well, I kept waiting to feel better, but I just continued to not feel like myself. We had good days and bad days, but I was much more emotional and depressed than I ever had been. I kept telling my husband I felt like something was wrong with me, but I couldn't put my finger on what was going on, I just felt like I was in a fog most of the time. I would get a full 8 hours of sleep and by noon I would have a hard time staying awake. Again the guilt set in. We were spending too much time in front of the TV while I slept on the couch, an all too familiar story.


Well my youngest is now 19 months old, and about 6 weeks ago I had another episode; the first one in almost 2 years. At first I thought it was maybe a fluke, but  3 weeks later I had another one which confirmed to me that it was probably not a coincidence. My stomach has had its issues since my surgery, but its these few days of stomach flu like symptoms that are really challenging for me to deal with. Both physically and emotionally. I personally feel like all the symptoms I have been experiencing are connected; the fatigue, the fog, and the stomach problems.

So...that's where I am right now.

I have to say I am scared, because I don't want to go through what I went through last time. It was so difficult on my body, and I worry about what will happen if I get that sick again. But, fear often prompts change and that's what I am trying to do, find the root of what is making me feel sick and hopefully avoid what happened to me before.

I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to know so much about health and nutrition and not be able to "fix" myself. I tend to follow a little more of the Eastern medicine route, so I really believe there is something in my diet that my body just does not know how to handle or that my gut is just too sick and leaky to process much at all. I am a very moderate and healthy eater in general, but apparently that isn't enough any more.

I wanted to start writing to document my journey, track my progress and share my story with others who also may be struggling. Its so overwhelming to try and figure out what the issue is, when there are about 1,000 things that it could be. But I do have hope. Hope that with the help of professionals and a lot of prayer I will be able to live the best life that I can and find the answers I yearn for. I am incredibly lucky to have the life that I have, and even if this is something I have to deal with forever, I know others have it far worse than I do. Everyone has something, don't they?

On Thursday I will be updating you about what my treatment plan is at this point and how things are going so far. Thanks for all your kind words and messages of support! I cannot tell you how much they mean to me.