They are not going to operate if they can avoid it (combination of age, leaky heart valve and other medical history), so she's on chemo and close monitoring...
Bro's work contract finally came to an end, so he's job-hunting again... As he said, he can't really complain, as a six month contract lasted for five years!
I go for a scan tomorrow to see if I have gall stones forming in my bile duct... It's unusual after a gall bladder removal, but as I've had a couple of bouts that felt EXACTLY like the gall bladder attacks, so.. Humph!
Kate, hugs and prayers coming your way. Sometimes it seems that life gangs up on us, putting so much on us at once that the load feels unbearable. All I can say is that the love and support of friends can give us strength to do more than we ever dreamed and to find peace and comfort in even the hardest of times.
Kate, since your post I've been trying to find what I'd read recently about gall bladder woes. Finally, I found it. From the Cooking Light cookbook about gall bladder troubles. It said that fasting or following a very low calorie diet for long periods of time may encourage the development of gall stones. ! What do you think about that? I'm thinking that means you need to be eating lots of lasagna and have whipped cream on your chocolate pudding. Now all of us can defend the fluff around our waists as taking care of our gall. Sounds good to me. Polly
My diet isn't very low calorie. It's very low fat, because if it isn't, I explode! I also have other gut problems, and walk a fine line between comfort and pain.
90% of people have gallstones. Most of them never know because they never cause any trouble. Sudden weight loss and a taumatic event like surgery or childbirth can trigger an attack. But it will depend on the type and size of gallstones that you have. Unfortunately, because of the other problems, my gallstone problems were masked for 10 years. This has had a permanent detrimental effect, and I no longer process fats effectively. You know of those pills that stop you digesting fat, so you have to stick to a very low fat diet or get the dreaded explosive runs, so you lose weight? My insides do that without the pills... They also do it for red meat, coffee, red wine, too much sugar, wheat, and several other things.
If the innards allowed, I's eat pasta and cheese all the time! And chocolate. And drink red wine, Turkish coffee, and hot chocolate... As it is, I get creative with fish, chicken and turkey, and spices. Luckily I have no adverse reactions to spices and herbs! I love cooking, so it's not real problem unless I go out to eat.
I had my gall bladder out a few years ago. I got not-quite-the-runs from it, enough to be annoying. Seems to be caused by the continuous flow of bile acid irritating my gut. The GI specialist at the local hospital put me on colestyramine for it - that's a resin that soaks up the bile. Easy to take, no side effects (you do have to time it right, or it can also soak up vitamins and any medications you may be taking). It's made a substantial difference. It's a very old and safe treatment that most GPs will know about.
If you're sensitive to wheat - well, just don't do that. It's not hard to manage a wheat-free diet (compared to some other kinds of dietary exclusion).
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