Gallbladder Issues...Again

They're ba-ack! I had a hunch they would crop up again, and sure enough! Saturday night, I had the worst gallbladder attack of my life, and I haven't been able to keep anything down since. It all started when we went to Steak n Shake for lunch while we were out running errands. Honestly, we weren't too thrilled with the food. Todd ordered the double cheeseburger, but he felt like he was only eating enough meat for a single. So he held his patties up, and we could see daylight through them! Mine wasn't any better. We ordered a s'more flavored shake to share, and it really did taste like fire-roasted marshmallows, but it wasn't my favorite flavor ever.

Evie barely touched her food, but she plastered herself with stickers, so I guess the trip was good for something.

I'd barely finished eating, when I felt some discomfort in my belly. I thought it was just indigestion brought on by whatever chemicals were used to make a shake taste like a campfire, so I ran to the restroom. Unfortunately, it didn't help, and mild pain kept roiling in my midsection. We went home, and I tried to relax, hoping the pain was just my back being sore from the busy day we'd had. I curled up behind Todd and went to sleep as normal. The baby woke up a couple of hours later wanting to be nursed, but when I was done and was putting her back in her cradle, I recognized all the signs of one of my more severe gallbladder attacks coming on, so I rolled my eyes, took a Percocet, and muttered to Todd that I was going up to the bathroom and would be back down soon. As soon as I got up to the bathroom and sat down, though, the pain flared up in earnest. Nothing helped it. Using the bathroom proved fruitless and so did throwing up. My body was racked with a worse agony than any I ever felt through two episodes of childbirth. It was so severe I couldn't even draw a deep breath. I managed to call for Todd, but then I was occupied with rocking back and forth, hunched over on the toilet in a seemingly futile attempt to hold myself together through the waves of agony. By some miracle, Todd heard my weak cry and came up to see what was the matter. He found me shaking uncontrollably from the pain and unable to breathe properly. It was the scariest moment of my life, because I was sure I was dying. He put his hand on my back, and I remember the warmth of that touch radiating through me, and giving me comfort. The pain didn't lessen, but I knew I wasn't alone and that somehow gave me enough strength to hold on for just a little longer. Todd brought me Tylenol and a glass of water, and he made me drink. I drank a little, then turned around and watched it all come back up. He made me drink a little more, and I threw up again. He kept this up and slowly, so slowly, the pain receded until, centuries later, I was able to take a deep breath and see past the red haze clouding my vision. Todd told me to keep sipping the water; he would be right back. When he came back for me, he guided me downstairs and towards the couch, where he had arranged a little nest for me. He had propped my pillow against the arm of the couch so I could remain vertical, which was the most comfortable position I could manage. He wrapped warm blankets around me, and placed the trash can on the floor at my feet. Lastly, he set my glass of water and bottle of Tylenol on the bookcase next to me, kissed my forehead, and went back to bed. I only got about 4 hours of sleep total, and so did Todd. He stayed up for hours with me and did his best to take care of me. He was amazing, and I don't know how I would have survived that night without him.
I had to get up early the next morning so I could attend the first meeting held for my new church calling. Todd asked if I was sure I wanted to go, but I felt much better and wanted to get ready for the day so I could see Evie off on her first day of Nursery. The hostess served us breakfast while we discussed our Relief Society activity plans for the next couple of months. She served us fresh fruit and quiche, which I'd never had. Only minutes after finishing my breakfast, I had to excuse myself to her bathroom so I could throw up all of the food she'd just given me. I felt terrible and was afraid of offending her, but she smiled and said she understood. She also gave me a small glass of Squirt to help calm my queasy belly. I had to leave the meeting a little early so I could go home and nurse the baby before church, but I told the ladies I'd see them later that morning. By the time I got to church at 11:30, my insides were decidedly achy. I could not get comfortable, no matter how I sat on the bench. I sent Evie to Nursery, then Todd and I sat out on the comfy couch in the foyer during Sunday School. I finally got up to go to Relief Society, and Todd took the baby with him to Priesthood meeting. We came home after church, and I lounged miserably on the couch. Nothing sounded good for dinner, and when Todd made me eat something so Elizabeth would get enough nutrients in her milk, it promptly came back up. Last night, I didn't have another attack, which I was half expecting, but I didn't sleep well either. Today, I ate a graham cracker square and a drink of water, and my insides immediately started hurting, and didn't stop for several hours until I can only assume it finally passed into the intestines past the reach of my gallbladder. I can't seem to keep anything down without excruciating pain except for water, so I called Todd at work and told him what was going on, and asked if I should make an appointment with a doctor. He said yes, so I'm going to see Dr. Knudtson tomorrow! We were already planning on getting this taken care of around January, once we had all of the medical bills paid off from having Ella. To that end, we'd told my OB/GYN about my gallbladder issues after Evie was born and mentioned that we were concerned they might recur once Ella was born, and he'd given us a card for a general surgeon that he recommended. That doctor was actually on leave when I called because his wife had just had a baby, but his colleague had an opening for 1:00 tomorrow afternoon. We have to drive to the other side of Denver for this appointment, but I left enough time that we should be able to get back by 6:00 in time for my first day back to work post-baby! Hopefully, we can figure out exactly what is going on, and can get this taken care of once and for all this week sometime (I'm hoping for tomorrow, but I'm not convinced it'll happen that soon). Wish me luck!