Just got off the phone with my sister. (Yeah...the one who, once upon a time was a floating piece of poo...) and found out that she has more in common with me that we thought.
She had called me earlier today to ask me what a gall bladder attack felt like. Let me back up here a little bit.
The week I was going to graduate from high school I began feeling very sick. And it wasn't just ANY sick either...it was like knife-in-the-gut pain, along with miserable nausea. I thought it was just in my head so I kept doing normal things: going on the Lagoon trip, doing the graduation practice stuff, hanging out with my friends, working... But on the day of graduation it was TOO much! My mom had me in the hospital for hours of tests!! They gave me an ulcer test (NASTY!), did an ultrasound on my gall bladder to see if I had stones, then they put me in a machine for an hour while they watched my gall bladder function. After all of these tests they came to the conclusion that I have a "misfiring gall bladder." Don't ask me exactly what that means, all I know, for my own sake, is that every once in a while I'll have an attack that will lay me up in bed for at least 12 hours. I'll moan, whine, and even cry while waiting for the pain to leave. I can't really eat, because I feel like I'm going to be sick...all I can eat is Popsicles. That's it. It's not a fun thing to go through.
ANYWAY, my sister called to see how pleasant these things can be. I told her how I normally feel, and where the pain is...how it can move, and that it's usually aggravated when I eat extremely fatty foods or go without eating for many hours. She said she felt the same way, and asked what she could do. I told her she should call a nurse, maybe see a doctor, because if she has stones they'd need to take care of it immediately. So she closed the call, and told me she'd call back later.
A few hours ago she called me with the news that she may have the SAME thing going on with her gall bladder. They did an ultrasound and found no stones, so they assumed that she has the same thing that I have. It's really weird too, no one else in our family has these problems. No one!! I always thought that I got these weird gall bladder things from taking Phen Fen when I was 17, but now we know!
We compared things we have in common, and the only other thing, really, is our uber-PMS symptoms. When we're going through that, NO ONE should be in our way. My sister is almost my complete opposite, she's skinny and gorgeous, I'm more round and not as pretty as she is. She's into the details, I'm all about keeping things simple! Now we KNOW, we ARE sisters...gall bladders and all!
7 comments:
It's all in the blood. :) Maybe others have it and just hold their pain better? I hav eno more gall bladder- had one attack and emergency surgery 2 hours later. It's my only missing body part. ;)
So glad my gall bladder is gone!
Its nice to have something in common with a sibling like that, even if it is painful!
It must be nice to have found something in common with your sis! Even if it isn't the most pleasant of similarities! As I have no sister...I will NEVER have a darn thing in common with one! My gall bladder is no more...probably dried up in a hazardous waste dump somewhere...or maybe even incinnerated...wherever it is...I suppose I am a better me without it.
I hope once in awhile means every few years and not every few months. How horrible!
That's nice that you can be empathetic with each other when you get attacks. There's nothing worse then trying to explain to a hubby about cramps and he just doesn't understand. (Well, he tries, but let's face it, he'll never know what it feels like!)
:( That sounds not fun.
This is the "floating piece of poop" sister... don't believe what she says about our physical differences, she over-exaggerates how pretty I am and she cuts herself way short! >:( But thanks for talking me through it. I don't know if I would've gone to the doctor otherwise. Love you sis! :)
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