No Gall Stones!

I saw my PCP yesterday.  My appointment was at 12:45.  Through a major comedy of errors, I finally saw the doctor at about 4:00.  He was more than mildly annoyed with his staff regarding the turn of events.  I was so concerned about my belly and the prospect of another surgery that I think I would have stayed all night!

His initial thought was gall stones, although, I did not have all of the classic symptoms.  He, of course, needed an ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis.  Due to the lateness, I had to go back today for the scan.  It was fine.  They redeemed themselves today.  I waited a reasonable amount of time to be seen and I hadn't gotten home before the doctor called with the news.  No stones!

That is wonderful news, of course, but still leaves us wondering what happened Monday night.  I said all along that I hurt in the middle of my stomach not my right side.  In fact, it is still a little sore there.  That is my esophagus.  So, now the thought is, I had a major acid reflux episode. I've never had one before, so I have no idea what one felt like.    I have some medication to calm the acid and am free to eat as I please once again.

I've had precious little to eat since Monday night.  That kind of pain was a strong motivator!  My diet tends to be low carb, which translates to higher fat.  I do my best to eat the good fats, but when fat is the enemy it doesn't matter if it is good or bad.  So,  I had very little on hand that I could eat.  Being stranded at the doctor's office, kept me from eating.  Then, I could have nothing for eight hours prior to the ultrasound!

I left the doctor's office today with a screaming headache due to the lack of sustenance of any kind!  I wanted a Sonic cherry limeade.  As I sat in line, I contemplated ordering something else, but at that time, I still thought I might have gall stones and nothing at Sonic would have helped.  So, I decided to get a regular cherry limeade instead of diet.  After all, I needed calories, right?  Plus, I didn't know what sort of artificial sweetener was in there, and those things are almost like poison.  When it came my time to order my automatic request was diet.  So, I got a diet one after all and drank the poison liquid.

The doctor called with the news after I left Sonic .  I was glad for that timing or some more poison in the form of popcorn chicken may have come home with me.  Folks, I was beyond hungry.  Don't judge!

When I got home, I shared the good news with 65MD, and decided to eat something.  It was a hard decision because I really, really wanted to eat and I really, really didn't want to have another episode like Monday night.  I settled on a boiled egg.  It was good.  It had fat in it, but not much.  So far, there have been no repercussions.  

My theory now is, and remember I have an MBA, not an MD, I have irritated the lining in my esophagus with all the various pain medication I have been on for the last year+.  I know that some pain meds need to be taken with food to keep stomach upset away.  Although I tried to take the medication as prescribed, I could have erred in my addled state.  Even if I didn't and took everything as prescribed, it is hard for me to believe that taking that amount of medication for that long would not have some sort of impact on the digestive system.  My MBA and I think that now that I'm off the meds, in time my esophagus will heal and that will be the end of the matter.  (I have not suggested this to my doctor.  If it happens again, I will.)

65MD suggested that we try a low acid diet, at least for a while.  We've both done a little research and it seems quite doable.  Although we are not catholic, I like the idea of saying that 65MD and I are giving up acid for Lent!