Attack of the (suspected) Gallstone!
8:23PM, April 20, 2004 - [ Permalink]
So, sorry about the lengthy period of time that you all had to suffer while I got around to posting again. Its been an strange trip to be on.
Here's a rough time line:
April 6: I don't sleep through the night because of pain in my upper right side, just below my rib cage. Spent the day in bed, resting mainly because sitting at my computer hurts.
April 7: The pain returns this evening again, more intense than before, resulting in another sleepless night and my calling Telehealth to see what they thought (see your doctor right away, they say). Again, resting in bed, no food. Tracey comments that I'm looking yellowish. My urine is very dark yellow. Strangeness abounds! I'm turning into a banana!
April 8: Tracey's DVD is finished, and we approve the master.
I go see my doctor to see what he thinks. He orders blood tests and an ultrasound, luckily, because I haven't been eating I can have the blood work done right away. He suspects gallstones. I go over to the Bio-Test facility and get about a gallon (okay, 5 vials) of blood taken, and a fortunate cancellation allows me to get my ultrasound in about 10 minutes. Sometimes the universe likes me.
April 9: Had a business meeting, spent the day resting.
April 10: Resting, the out for Tracey's mum's birthday party in Renfrew, and spent some time with her brother Joe.
April 11: Usual brunch (with a seriously restricted meal for me), a nice walk, and then more rest. My urine starts to improve in colour.
April 12: We went for a lengthy walk around Ottawa along the some bikepaths and side streets, and returned home. Should have gone to the Yuri night event, but I'm still sore and tired, so we stay in and watch Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers instead.
April 13: Tracey's DVDs are ready for pick up, so we pick them up (like, duh).
April 14: Got a call from my doctor's office saying that they wanted to see me the next day. I stop eating food again to make sure my blood is clear (on the guess that he'll order more blood tests).
April 15: I head over to the clinic but it turns out that they haven't heard from the specialist who had to look at the ultrasounds. We discuss the blood test results, and marvel at my really low cholesterol count. "The desirable LDL level is considered to be 75-130 mg/dl (1.9-3.3 mmol/L), and a ratio of total cholesterol to HDL—arguably the most useful measure—of less than 5:1 is thought to be healthy." Whereas my current count is 1.64. Even when I was at my heaviest (~270 pounds / 122kg) my LDL level was 3.1 (had him look it up). Of course, this leads to the question of how did the (suspected) gallstones form if I have such low cholesterol? I'll be sure to ask the specialist if/when I talk to them. He sends me off for more blood tests, so off I go. Overall, I felt it was a bit of a waste of time, mainly because we didn't have any results from the ultrasound specialist.
April 16: Had lunch with some old friends we haven't seen in some time, rested, and didn't eat too much (salad for lunch).
April 17: I spent the day resting, and then shot the Natalie Label show at Centrepointe theatre for Jalila, the event organizer.
April 18: Light brunch, a walk, resting and bean salad for supper, which lead up to another attack, and a night of difficulty sleeping.
April 19: Slept & rested most of the day.
April 20: Feeling pretty good today, but still leary of food. I've had a real craving for a bacon cheeseburger and poutine for a while now, but I'm sure that would probably kill me. Well, not really kill me, but I bet it would hurt something awful.
I haven't heard back from the doctor who said that he would call me when he heard back from the specialist - but that was 12 days ago. He did however say that it probably was a gallstone, and the only real solution was to remove it, which I admit I'm not really crazy about. I have managed to get this far in life without having any holes poked in me (other than needles, that is), and I'd like to keep it that way.
I have to say that everyone has been terrific - Tracey has been working like crazy AND keeping me fed with food that I can eat, Denis has been picking up my slack for emergency work-related stuff, my friends supportive, and my clients have been very supportive.
