[QUOTE]Originally posted by magician

 

if gallstones are what i think they are - Chinese "Chi" masters can use Chi to breakdown the crystals without surgery. It's a venue you may want to explore.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by cyber_x

Actually, my girlfriend was in the ER overnight last weekend...she had some intense chest pains after we ate at a Chinese joint (great move huh), and the ultrasound revealed gallstones.

 

mingster,

I'll ask my folks about that and get back to you...they'll know what gallstones are called in Chinese. (I speak Chinese fairly fluently, but grew up in the USA, so my vocabulary is pretty limited outside of day-to-day words)

 

All the info on gallstones you could ever want.

I'm female and we tend to get stones the most--esp. if on the Pill for some reason. I had them several years ago and spent my first year in law school avoiding attacks. I had the lap surgery on a Thursday and drove myself to get staples removed the next Tuesday. It's an easy procedure with very little post-op discomfort--and when it comes to anything remotely painful, I'm a die hard wimp. I don't even pretend to be a "good little trooper."

I have absolutely no problems running around without a gallbladder and don't even have scars.

Tell her not to stress out about it (the attacks are much worse than surgery) and to avoid hamburger in the meantime. Should she want more information, you guys can email me.

Don't worry, she'll be fine.

Edit: Sorry, forgot to answer a few questions. Yes, she'll be able to eat what she wants after surgery and no, there are no lifetime precautions you have to take. Until then, she needs to lay off fatty foods since they will provoke an attack.

 

rworne,

Ironic you should mention that...sushi is one of the few things my girlfriend can currently eat without causing a gallbladder attack. Let's just say I've been drinking a lot of sake recently...

Now that I've read your wonderful anecdote involving squirts from both ends of the body, I'm off to lunch now...thanks for the great appetite!

And I've got my fingers crossed for you, your stomach, your gallbladder, and your companions tonight, haha.

 

jmc1971,

Thank you very much for the great link and for sharing your experience. I will pass both on to my girlfriend. She'll be comforted to hear that some of you guys here have gone through the same thing. I've been in and out of hospitals myself for chronic disorders, and it's odd but true that misery really does love company.

My girlfriend isn't too wimpy, and I'm sure she'll be fine. She doesn't act like she's concerned about it, but I am, and after being together for 5+ years, I can tell that she is a bit worried to some extent as well. I will definitely send you an e-mail should we need any additional advice, or maybe just reassurance, as the time gets closer. Thank you again. I can't tell you how grateful I am. You guys have all been an immense help.

And yep, we found out about avoiding hamburgers the hard way. A few days after the attacks started, we ate at In 'N Out, and she ended up in agony. Now we stick to sushi and salads.

 

You're welcome, and I do wish her the best. If I can get through it with no trouble, anyone can.

She's lucky to have you there with her. Keep us posted.

PS. Flowers and nice scenic rides in the S are said to help the recovery process.

 

First let me say, I'm not here to scare you, but let you know the extremes of what can happen.

When I was in 6th grade(about 12 i think, im 20 now) during school I had the worst stomach achs and it got so bad the school nurse said I needed to go see the doctor. I went in and at first the doctor thought it was a tumor in my liver. BTW I was born with a turmor in my liver. It is on the inside of the liver and cannot be removed. So the doctor thought there was nothing wrong and was just a bunch of stomach achs, first mistake. About a month later I go back because the pain is getting worse. Again run the tests, but this time he finds the gallstones.

We set up the surgery date for the first day of easter break, and it would be a one day surgery. WRONG. I was in the hospital for a week and a half. So I go into surgery, and the anestesialogist(sp?) doesn't not give me enough laughing gas and I wake up in the surgery. The see me awake and pump me full of drugs. Ok you think thats the worst. na. So I was getting the laproscopic(laser) surgery. The doctor was going in and and cutting around skin things inside in body(I forget what there called). Well one of those skin thigns had grown around a blood vesel. He cut it and I started bleeding everywhere. The doctor got scared and pulled out all the instruments, and while doing so he punctured my diaphram. I was not breathing for a while and the doctors finally revieved me.

So I get out of surgery and I could not eat or drink a thing and keep it down for more then 2 minutes. I was like this for about 4 days. For the next week after that I was in pain and had trouble eating alot. Now 8 years later or so, I still havve trouble eating some foods. I am not supposed to be eating spicey foods or highly acidic foods, but I still do. It doesn't really bother me to much, only hurts my stomach a little. Like I said at the beging, this is an extreme situation, and I'm just giving my example. If I had to go back and do it again, and go though all that I did, then I would. I find life much better now that I got it removed. If you have any other questions please fell free to ask me.


Kevin

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by rworne