Overwhelmed

Some of you know that I've been on a long path towards gall bladder removal. I had symptoms over the summer but spaced apart and I ignored them until Thanksgiving week when I was just plain sick. I went to the dr, had an ultrasound after it hurt so badly for him to poke my belly that I actually reached up and removed his hand, and was diagnosed with a bunch of gallstones. So my gall bladder needs to come out.

This should be so easy but because of my MAOI I'm limited in where I can safely have surgery. And that has made it take longer, especially since the first surgeon I saw couldn't do the surgery for months. He also was freaked out by mental illness. So I have another surgeon and surgery is in 17 days.

But I'm having more discomfort the last few days. I've been living with constant nausea for months but now that is worsening. And 17 days is a long time.

On top of that Saturday will be the one year anniversary of losing my 2nd cat in 2 months last year. I miss him (and the other one) so much. My kittens are great but they are still babies and just not the same. Not that it is going too be the same but well, I just miss them.

I'm tired but too uncomfortable to sleep. 17 days feels like it is so far away.

Seventeen days is a long time when in discomfort.
I am sorry you have been/are suffering.

I do understand about the loss and grieving for your cats. I have lost a dog and it's been 7 years now; I still grieve. No other animal can take her place.

I hope things quiet down and you can get some sleep tonight.

WC

It's understandable that you feel overwhelmed. It's hard to deal with the pain and discomfort in itself, add grief to the mix and I see why you're having a hard time.
I hope the next 17 days fly by for you and things settle down.

Big hugs!!

Lots of hugs...

My husband had gall bladder surgery just after we met. He felt much better but has to watch out for fatty and really spicy food.

I'm sorry you're overwhelmed. I don't mean to minimize your anxiety but, for what it's worth, I had my gall bladder removed in July. I can really relate to the nausea & pain, but the surgery itself was a piece of cake & the recovery time was almost instant since they just use a scope to do it. I'm sorry about the sad anniversary...

This is sheer whining: It hurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttttssssssssssssss. I feel like I need to burp and can't. So much pressure and then it hurts anyway in a more stabby way.

15 more days. I'm going to email my dr Monday to see if he has any ideas for the pressure thing. And while I've been eating low-fat except one error 3 days ago I think I need to back off to soup, crackers, and mashed potatoes again. It's like I'm not tolerating fat at all now.

I am so fed up. I just want this stupid thing out of me and yet I'm terrified that removing it won't help since I've been warned of that.

Stupid MAOI or it would've been done weeks ago.

Also, can't sleep with the pressure and pain combined so I'm also really tired to make it all worse.

And today was the anniversary of my 2nd cat's death. I miss him and the cat who died 9 weeks before him so much.

Oh and Monday I have 2.5 hours each way in the car to see my pdoc. That will be fun I'm sure.

sorry for whining. I'm just reaching the end of my rope and I have a long way to go yet.

I hope it, somehow, gets easier for you while you await surgery.


WC

I'm so sorry. I know how bad it hurts. I had mine removed too. What is MAOI? Why such a long wait?

MAOIs are a kind of antidepressant that aren't used much anymore. They interact with a lot of foods and drugs and the reaction can be fatal.

I need to have surgery at the hospital where I see my pdoc because they have a special protocol for patients on MAOIs. Otherwise you have to come off it for 2 weeks before surgery. Since this would make me suicidal I qualify but it means the surgery has to at the main campus and it seems that minor surgeries are mostly done at the smaller campuses that have outpatient surgery centers. My surgeon, for example, only does surgery one day/week. I probably will be admitted to be sure there is no sign of interaction so I need to be at the hospital for that too.

The MAOI works really well but can be a big pain when it comes down to things like this.

I gave in and took a zofran this morning and I feel so much better. My dr said to use cautiously because of a potential interaction with my AP and I haven't used it at all but this morning I couldn't take it any more. So I got to sleep some more and woke up feeling somewhat better for a few hours at least. I'm going to take another at bedtime if I feel so sick then tonight too. I just need some break from all of this.

I'm glad you are getting some relief.
You have endured a lot of discomfort while trying to find surgical help!
I admire your strength.

WC

Gallbladder issues suck. But it's amazing how much better you'll feel once the thing is out. When I had my GB removed, I felt so good I went to an all-day party two days post-op, and two days after that I was out in the yard pulling weeds. Of course, I wouldn't recommend you do such things right after surgery, and it would be irresponsible of me as a nurse to say it's OK just because I did it. I just felt SO much better that I wanted to get things done that I'd been putting off because I was in a lot of misery before I got the damned GB out of me.

Wishing you an easy surgery and a swift and uneventful recovery. Hugs.

Thanks for the explanation. I wish you well.