Surgery

[AbigailD]

I've been having some very painful attacks for a few months, and was just recently diagnosed with gall stones I'm 30 years old, weigh 170lbs and have never been above 205, and my cholesterol level is just 111! I exercise frequently-three or four times a week. I so don't fit the normal profile, but my mother has a bad gall bladder too so it seems she decided to share

I have surgery on the 10th and as a single mother will then be looking after a three year old about four hours after they sew me up. I haven't a clue how I am going to cope with recovery and a three year old when I'll likely be in bed for a couple of days.

Sigh. Just needed to vent a little.

[dramaqueen]

I am really sorry that you have to deal with this right now. Hopefully, you have a neighbor or a friend who can watch your 3 year old a couple hours in the morning and then again in the afternoon.
Otherwise, I'd say get ready for a kids movie marathon. What else can you do? As much as mom's don't like to have their kids in front of the tv all day sometimes there is no other choice.

[mandarinpeel]

good luck with everything!

[fidget]

Aw, that's terrible! I understand from friends that gall bladder surgery is usually fairly straight forward, so I hope your recovery is quick and easy. I always feel so loopy for a couple days after being under, so yeah, kid's movie marathon is probably in order. Good luck, Abigail.

[CopyCat]

Gallstones are hereditary, but your diet plays a big part in whether you will have them or not...
I'm guessing that your doctor has all ready told you that a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet
may help prevent gallstones... I know your not eating fatty foods right now because it will
cause the gallbladder to contract and expel bile if you do, and that hurts like hell...
But after the surgery you will be able to eat all the fatty foods you want without pain...
I do hope you will reframe from doing this... You said that you now weight 170 lbs,
unless you are a very large framed women of 5' 10" or more, you are already overweight...
Being overweight carries with it a hold smorgasbord of potential illnesses... I suggust that
you exercise more and eat less girl and just maybe by doing so you will not always be a single mother...

[AbigailD]

Way to go with the bedside manner Dr Cat!

Dude, I have just dropped 30lbs in the three months from February. I am well aware that I am still overweight, but my efforts to change that have been halted in their tracks since I am now on a terribly restricted diet. Till things got really bad that is-I'm losing about a pound a day right now because I can eat so little without an attack 800-1000 calories a day is about it.

I was vegan for 9 out of the last 15 years. My diet has always been low fat and low cholesterol (hence having a good serum cholesterol level) because of digestive issues (which it turns out was probably gall bladder related for the last 15 years but that presented like IBS that prevented me eating fatty foods), I just ate too much. It was never that my diet was bad, but that my portion control wasn't good.

I am well aware of what causes most stones-and other than being overweight (and let's face it, 170lbs in this nation isn't a lot-when I hit 205lbs I was pregnant) my risk factors were low. It's only recently that my mother presented with problems-she is almost 60, I am half that.

Last but not least-I am single by CHOICE. Not because I can't get a fella. After 13 years of being messed around by blokes, and now going through a messy divorce (yes, not even legally available to date), I have decided that I do not want to be put through that again. If you had to be size 12 or less to get a man then this world would have a whole lot more single women than it does.

Since that obviously isn't the case, I will take your concerns as to my dating status with a pinch of salt

[CopyCat]

I hate to hear that you seem to have given up on men AbigailD...
A good loving relationship is a wonderful thing to have... And its worth it even if
you have to go threw some bad relationships along the way... As for my bed side manner,
your not paying me so I don't see any need to candy coat things for you... I had already
read between the lines and diagnosed you as having a over eating problem... If you noticed
I said eat less, not eat less fatty foods which is most overweight people problem...
I am concerned that after you have your gallbladder removed you will start eating fatty foods...
Your already off to a very good start to getting to your ideal weight even if it was not all voluntary...
I'm sure that you are much more pleased with what you see in the mirror now than before...
It would be such a shame to see you throw it away... I'm sorry if I come across as a
hard ass, but I do have your best interest at heart... I'd love to start calling you AlittlegailD...

[AbigailD]

But it WAS voluntary! I have been working-hard-to lose weight, for months! In three months, I managed 30lbs, THEN I got sick. And as I said in my first post, I work out three or four times a week..... Never had a high fat, or high cholesterol diet-that is not a cause of the stones. More likely is the rapid the weight loss which I have learned can cause problems-it's one of the prime causes of gall stones. See the irony-I could have stayed fat and happy and instead, in getting fit, I got kicked in the butt

I'm pretty fit. Have to be, have to stay that way as its the only way to keep my asthma at bay and not needing meds. As for going on a high fat diet-why start now? I haven't been on one all my life thus far, why would I start just because I lost a bit of my body? Yes I will start eating healthy fats again because right now I can't even do that and that's not good for a body.

So did I take it personally? Yes I did. It sucks that this happens when I am well into a fitness plan. It sucks that this happens when truly, I don't fit the normal risks or patterns. I am too young, not nearly as fat as most gall stone sufferers, and my cholesterol level is WAY low compared to most stone sufferers.

I have now lost more weight, am losing still, because I am scared to eat anything. So, 30lbs from February to May. Got sick. Weight loss halted as the beans and so on that I was eating are known triggers. Disease gets worse, fear sets in, I have now lost 5.4lbs since Wednesday. Four days, five pounds. But that is on top of the weight that I already had worked hard to lose.

Ok, so I am not sitting here getting fat. I did not eat my way to stones-my peak weight at 205lbs was during pregnancy when you need to gain weight. I am not going to suddenly change to a high fat diet after so much hard work, because my life style had already been changed before I got sick.

Sheesh. Cleared up now?

Oh and men-nah, really don't need them. Sure a good relationship might be nice, but I'm 30 and have only been abused so far. Not worth more hurt especially when I have a kid to protect from the kind of idiot I tend to be attracted to.

[CopyCat]

Ok I did think that part of your weight loss was from gallbladder problems...
Sorry to have down played all your hard work... But I'm still concerned that you loss all
that weight that fast... Speaking statistically people that lose weight fast are more apt
to gain it back, so you'll have to really watch it... And I'm glad that you know about the good fats...
An easy way to improve the quality of your fat intake is to switch to a canola or vegetable oil
when baking and use olive oil for stove-top cooking... These oils are both high in healthful
mono-and poly- unsaturated fats... Nuts and Avocados are also good, and fish fats are really
essential because it has stuff [fatty acids] in it that your body can't make on its own...
To help keep your weight down I suggest a intense schedule of heathy activities that
don't involve eating... And lose any fatty friends that might tempt you back into your old eating habits...
Good luck girl...

[Tyrfingr]

Originally Posted by AbigailD

the kind of idiot I tend to be attracted to.

With that honest admittance. I would say that if you know how to spot an idiot, then all you need to do to get a real man is go for the opposite kind. If they don't qualify, then staying single forever is probably the best thing for the kid and yourself.