This is galling

[malada]

Gallstones to be specific.

Two bouts of severe GI distress sent to to the walk in clinic with GI distress and black stools. Since I drank some Pepto earlier in the week to soothe things that may be why the stools were black.

They ordered blood work and an Ultra sound. The blood test came back good - no blood loss, no signs of cancer, but the ultra sound found a polyp inside my gall bladder and some gall stones. Since I was still walking and talking they deemed it benign for the moment - no rush to surgery - and put me on a BRAT diet. (Bananas, rice, applesauce, toast.)

My middle hurts like I had a boxer do me in from the inside. I'll be working remotely: the bathroom is closer and if I want to take a nap in the afternoon no one is going to mind.

I see the gastro gal next week.

=m

Comments

[warriorsavant]

I'd say hugs, but probably don't want your mid-section squished right now.

[acelightning73]

You're going to want to find ways to reduce the amount of fat in your diet. Steam, boil, roast, or microwave things. It's possible to stir-fry a wokful of ingredients with one teaspoonful of oil, if you stir fast enough. My grown son bought me a stainless steel stovetop steamer the day my gallbladder was removed. And he also recommended an air fryer. He gave me his old one - his landlord had had to give them a new stove, and it comes with a built-in air fryer. I just don't have space on my countertop, so I haven't tried it yet. Rice is your friend.

[malada]

What fat? I don't (and have rarely eaten) things that are deep fried. I boil, roast or microwave most of my meals. All the foods you should avoid not get gallstones I've never indulged in.

Exercise
Eat right
Don't drink or smoke
Get sick anyways.

Grrr.

[acelightning73]

Eating fatty foods does't cause gall bladder trouble directly. Too much fat will give you gallstones, and those will cause tremendous pain when the gallbladder tries to pump them into the small intestine in order to add fat-emulsifying enzymes to digest all the fat. The problems I had weren't with fried food or stuff like that - it was buttery flaky puff pastry, filled with a rich creamy filling. Or brioche dough made into cinnamon buns. Or my greatest downfall was BACON.

Eventually too many gallstones accumulated, and my gall bladder got infected (about a year ago)and needed to be removed. I've been tippytoeing around my limitations, and I can manage buttered toast without distress. And the steamer has been great. The two steamed dishes I found among my cookbooks that I wanted to try, I did try. One of them takes boiled chicken slices and submerges them in fermented glutinous rice wine. THe steaming process gives the chicken a subtle sweet and boozy flavor, And the one I like even better is the chicken steamed with Hunan sliced salted chilis. Not one molecule of fat in either dish! And the spicy one gives me a nice warm endorphin buzz.

Getting old is not for sissies.

[sandypawozbun]

Getting old is not for sissies is my new mantra. Thanks! :)

And you're right, its not just fried food. *Any* fat is problematic.

[sandypawozbun]

Gallstones are Not Funny and you have my sympathy. I found that things other than fat set off my gallbladder - particularly (and weirdly) sugar. And despite the fact that you don't have a lot of fried food, the fats in your food can set off an attack. I found chitosan caps helped. But don't take too many or you won't crap for a week.

Best of luck with the gastro gal.

*hugs*

[reynardo]

Ow. Ow. Ow. Icky. Ow. Sending hopes for a speedy and less painful resolution.