Gallstones And Sore Vageeners

I had an ultrasound yesterday morning to see if I have gallstones. I was told to fast for at least eight hours and I did (minus the sip of water I took while brushing my teeth). The results were inconclusive. Apparently, I have a flat gallbladder. The radiologist kept asking if I've had surgery on my GB or if I had eaten anything (two reasons for a flat GB). I kept saying, "No". So the radiologist was stumped and said he'd phone my doctor.

I had a prenatal appointment set for Tuesday and was willing to wait until then to get the results from my gestastional diabetes test, the Baby ultrasound from Wednesday and to hear what the radiologist had to say. That was, until I had another gallstone attack yesterday afternoon. I phoned my doc's office, explained the situation and they told me to come in at the end of the day (when the office had slowed down).

The results from all the tests? Well, my blood sugar was well below normal (woo-hoo!), everything was fine from the Baby ultrasound, but the radiologist hadn't contacted my doctor yet. Doc said that sometimes instead of gallstones, there can be sludge in the GB and that can cause more problems than stones. The answer? A no-fat diet. Not just a LOW fat diet, but a NO-fat diet. I pointed out that Thanksgiving was coming up and he wrote me a prescription for Tylenol 3 in case I should have another attack.

While it is fatty foods that cause the attacks, just because I eat fat doesn't automatically mean I will have an attack. It's sort of like Russian Roulette. I could eat McDonald's everyday for the next three months and have zero attacks. Or I could follow the no-fat diet and eat a single piece of cheese and be doubled over in pain the following hour. I really don't feel like chancing more attacks (imagine holding glass shards in the palm of your hand and repeatedly squeezing them without stopping for an hour...that's what it feels like my GB is doing), so I will do my best to follow this diet. On the upside, I may lose more weight :-)

The only other way to tell if I have gallstones is to do a catscan. Since the scan involves a radiation injection and I don't feel like giving birth to Spiderman, it will have to wait until after Baby is born. Honestly, between trips to the hospital, doctor's appointments and sessions with my counsellor and pyschiatrist, I feel like I am a Health Region employee and should just buy a permanent parking pass!

I also mentioned to my doctor the excruciating pain my pubic bone has been experiencing. He got a kick out of my comparison of it feeling like I've fallen off my bike onto the crossbars. He said while it's normal for everything to shift and move, a few unlucky women experience pain with every step they take, that it's normal and there's nothing that can be done. I am constantly complaining to Mike about my "geener" and how sore it is...as I was walking through stores yesterday, I just kept thinking "vageenervageenervageenervageenervageener". Not surprisingly, it didn't lessen the pain any. I'm only 6 1/2 months preggo, but when I've been walking for awhile, I end up with the waddle of a 9 monther. Let the good times roll...

Lastly, even though I have been referring to Baby as "she" for as long as I can remember, we were never 100% sure. It just felt natural to call her she. The results from our first ultrasound (6 weeks ago) showed an 80% chance of it being a girl. The ultrasound this past Wednesday said the same thing, so I'm more than confident I'm growing a daughter here :-) I know you can never be sure of these things until little one makes the appearance, but I am still taking the plunge and jumping in to the world of pink :-) Stay tuned for a post on all things pink...