OT: finally, i think my health problems have been fixed

[alicia1506]

i know this is a little off topic, but as most of you know i have been battling some dreadful pain/gall bladder issues/etc. work were really getting in my face about all the time i'd had off, and i've been in and out of hospital for the last 2 months with tests and scans and whatnot. the last time i was in hospital, they decided they wanted to try and rehabilitate my gall bladder. see the problem is that i don't have gall stones. i have sludge. and i have pain, and i have a massive inflammation/infection. but no stones. so they were hopeful that it could be shrunk back to normal and the infection cleared out. so after a 3 day stay where they pumped me full of antibiotics and send me home with another 2 week supply, the prognosis was looking good.

until saturday. saturday night i got really sick. pain, vomiting, fever, the whole works. sunday i was in low grade pain all day long, and fever, chills etc. monday i went into work cause the pain had backed off and then wham. around 10am, omg blinding agony. work offered to let me go home to see a doc, and i was all like... no. you're dialling 000. so they did. and my bosses got to see what being in pain was like for me and they were so upset and sympathetic to what i was going through. ambulance took me to the RBH in brisbane (as opposed to the private hospital i had used for my last 2 stays) and they were wonderful. i was admitted around 11am on monday, and by 11am tuesday, i was in surgery. i remember nothing of the experience, but when i woke up around 3pm on tuesday, i was minus a gall bladder, minus the pain and just in some really nice post-operative pain due to the major abdominal surgery.

so.. 2 weeks bed rest for me (1 full week which is fully paid for by work as a goodwill gesture, as i used up my sick leave some months back) and a lot of post-op pain and bruising and discomfort, and thank god for my lovely carlo who is home with me helping me survive... but i can now achieve some level of normality with my health and get back to living a relatively normal life, albeit with a few dietary changes.

i have to really commend everyone at the RBH in brisbane. they were fabulous to me and made me feel wonderful. so now... i'm off to do some juggling of the finances. all this sick leave has meant very little income on my side of the table, so i think we'll end up flying economy rather than PE, and maybe not doing as many tours/adventures as we had originally planned. i will start my ptr soon so that i can lay it all out...

but good news. in 2 weeks or so, i will be relatively healthy again. and i cannot wait

 

[5ofus]

Alicia, that is fantastic news! Well, not great that you had to have surgery and you went through another horrific week, but I'm so glad it seems to be the end of it all for you.

And on getting on with organising your trip!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Alicia - keep well and I wish you a speedy recovery. Thanks for the update.

 

[aussietravellers]

Golly Gosh Alicia!

I've been wondering where you were as I haven't seen you around for a little while .

SO glad it's finally sorted, so glad the surgery went well. Now you will be able to have a holiday free of pain and not having to worry that you may have an attack whilst away as that would have been horrible.

to the gall bladderless club.
Now once you've (and your body) healed, you will have to find what foods are no longer gall bladder friendly (mine is eggs , oh the pain). But you may find some fatty food do it too. For me, it's really just the first meal of the morning, lunch and dinner are usually fine. It will take some time for you to work out what your new body likes you to eat and what it no longer wants you to eat

 

[Feej]

Man, I had my Gall Bladder removed last year, so I know the pain you went through. I thought I was having a heart attack!

Best thing I ever did was getting rid of that sucker!

 

[WAMUMOF4]

I hope you recover very quickly

Thats fantastic news that the problem has been fixed and very nice of your work to still pay you a week flying economy is so worth it for you to be healed and pain free.
I was wondering why there was no posts from you recently glad to know your ok

 

[hjd0411]

Good to hear you are on the road to recovery! Get well soon - just think - 2 weeks of (uninterrupted by work) planning!!!
And here's to a pain free holiday!

 

[Aust]

I hope you're feeling much better very sdoon - at least the problem has been dealt with and you don't have to worry about it spoiling your trip.

 

[dabecs]

Glad to here you opened the box and Schrodingers cat is alive! Happy to hear the health issues are on the mend

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

That is absolutely wonderful news. I am so pleased for you. What a shame it took so long to get to this point but it's all up hill from now on my girl.

Woohoo.

 

[australiankaren]

Good to hear you are on the road to recovery! Get well soon - just think - 2 weeks of (uninterrupted by work) planning!!!
And here's to a pain free holiday!

my thoughts exactly .....more time to search for that awesome PE fare...V aust have droped prices again ......

in every cloud there is a silver lining

 

[Caroline NZ]

Glad to hear that you are on the mend. Onwwards and upwards, and here's to happy holiday planning without the worry of ongoing pain & illness.

 

[Mum from oz]

That's great news Alicia! I'm glad to hear you're on the mend. I was actually thinking yesterday that I hadn't seen you around here lately.

 

[Kangarucci]

So glad that you are on the mend.

 

[alicia1506]

hey all,

thank you for missing me ... makes me feel loved

i woke up this morning and had bruises in places i didn't even know they touched... like the backs of my arms, the sides of my throat (i'm assuming from the intubation tube) and various other little marks.

half of my right arm is black and blue from bruising from the various needles/canulas etc they shoved in me during the procedure and my abdomen... my god the pain and discomfort and bloating. i look like i'm 6 mths pregnant and i'm walking like the hunchback of notre dame...

but i was able to eat some chicken & veges today and that used to be on my not acceptable list, so i am hopeful for a good recovery.

i plan on babying my system for the next 2 or three weeks and to just very, very slowly reintroduce foods into my system to see what it does/doesn't like... so far jelly and chicken and steamed veges are my staples.

i did a little planning today and will be planning a bit more in the next few weeks just to ensure that we still get the holiday we want... we might not be taking quite as much spending money... or we might rely a little heavier than i planned on the tax returns...we shall see. i did up a revised budget today & it only means we have to put away about $4 more per week than we were putting away before... so i'm glad that this illness hasn't cost me too much in terms of the holiday... but i did have to scrap the PE flights for the time being.. maybe i can add them in at a later stage if i can get some really awesome deals

thanks again for all the thoughts and well wishes & support you guys... it means a huge lot!!! huge!!!

 

[Toy Story]

Glad to hear that you are feeling better.

I also had to do some 'budget' manoeuvring a few months ago, but at a week out we are right on track. It is amazing how much 'found' money you can allocate to a trip when you look for it

 

[queenie82]

Wishing you a speedy recovery. Being emergency surgery would be my guess for the extra bruises. Moving you around as you weren't self mobile (but for reeling in pain)

I'm so sorry you went through so much before. And looking forward to you having a long bright future ahead!!

P.S. Understand the work situation...
Although that is a BIT dramatic to get sympathy
hmmmmmm.....

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Quickly adding my pleased to hear you are finally sorted and on the mend albeit black and blue and you have the perfect things to occupy your recuperation-no work for a bit getting in the way of that serious planning! and sounds like financially you are going be OK so good. Whilst I am not one, I have friends who are gall bladderless and they are so much better now they can't believe how long they felt so bad for-they had forgotten what it was like to feel "well".

 

[Sugarglider]

best wishes on a speedy recovery. your illness had gone on for a long time and is hopefully resolved.
Having my gall bladder out was one of the best things for me - now I can eat EVERYTHING - in vast quantities
For those first couple of months a bottle of gaviscon was kept close by though

 

[alicia1506]

P.S. Understand the work situation...
Although that is a BIT dramatic to get sympathy
hmmmmmm.....

ahh queenie... the things a girl has to do for a bit of sympathy at work, lol.

Whilst I am not one, I have friends who are gall bladderless and they are so much better now they can't believe how long they felt so bad for-they had forgotten what it was like to feel "well".

i know, right? that week or so i had where i had no pain while i thought the antibiotics were working... best week or so of the last several months... now the docs tell me i'll be fine although some foods might still set me off

Having my gall bladder out was one of the best things for me - now I can eat EVERYTHING - in vast quantities
For those first couple of months a bottle of gaviscon was kept close by though

i've had no pain or discomfort aside from you know.. the actual stitches and cuts and bruising etc, and muscle pain.. but i am looking forward to actually being able to go on this cruise and eat some of the delicious food and drink the yummy adult drinks and get that money's worth but i plan on taking it very, very, very slow for the next several months and only consuming food sparingly to make sure my body has the maximum possible time to recover before i subject it to anything a little more taxing than fruit & veges.