I got to spend an hour laying underneath this funky contraption:
When I got there the really really nice technician started an IV and injected this dye into it. I had to lay on that thing for 30 minutes doing nothing but twiddling my thumbs - except not really twiddling because you have to lay *really* still. So I just laid there wishing I could twiddle my thumbs. We were waiting for the dye to become fully active - or something like that.
When the technician came back in he brought the computer screen over to where I could actually see it and showed me that my gallbladder was almost where they "wanted it". The screen looked similar to this:
That bright glowing thing is a gallbladder! Behind it is the liver and to the right side of it is the pancreas. (See all the cool things you can learn at a doctor appointment! haha!)
So, I guess when it was glowing "enough" or something like that he injected something similar to Bile into my IV - basically trying to make the gallbladder do it's thing so they could watch how well it was functioning. At that point I was supposed to tell the Tech how I was feeling - if I was feeling any pain, discomfort, nausea or nothing at all. Almost immediately my stomach started hurting. A few minutes later he gave me a second does and - Nausea! - I thought I was going to puke right there and ruin the whole test.
In order to get an accurate look at how the gallbladder is functioning I had to lay there another 30 minutes before I got to be done and go on with my day - waiting for a call from the doctor - or something - I wasn't really sure what was going to happen at that point.
A couple hours later the Urgent Care doctor I saw on Tuesday called me and said "Well, according to what we saw - your gallbladder didn't function at all and you're pain confirmed it! We'll get you set up with a surgical consult and get you on your way to feeling better."
I've got the surgical consult coming up in a couple weeks, not sure when, though, the actual surgery is going to happen yet. There are so many life variables going on right now.
Animas never got back to me about the process of getting a new pump. I'm assuming it's because it is so freaking hard to get a hold of any one that knows anything within our insurance company. - Or at least I'm hoping that's what it is, because Animas has always been so great to me. Heehee.
So, I feel a bit "validated" in a way - I haven't been feeling so terrible for nothing! I'm hearing of more and more people I know that have had their gallbladder out. I'm really not concerned about it at all. I'm looking forward to the minor surgery because then I'll be on my way to being a normal person again, considering this has been going on since before Rylee was born.
The question I've gotten from a few people that's surprised me (although I guess it shouldn't have) is if this is "related to my diabetes." Uh - No. People having their gallbladder out is far more "normal" than I knew before and definitely not anything to do with me being diabetic - just to clear that up!
No, my body just has a superiority complex and is deciding to allow all the non-essential organ fail me! Haha!
Okay, I'll leave you with that thought for the night.
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