They don't make 'em like they used to!

Surprise surprise!

I can't eat like I used to...

Not that it's a bad thing, by any means!

Its probably a good thing that I had to spend half of the Mariners game in the bathroom because I ate 10 garlic fries. And I wish it was just diarrhea or something I knew how to control...

I'm about 95% sure that I have gallstones. I know I'm totally a self-diagnoser, but I've been doing some research and it's all pointing to the same thing. I've had six "episodes" in the last six months. Initially I thought it was just really bad gas from being lactose intolerant. But how do you research "cramps" and "gas"? Those are symptoms for just about anything that's fun!

Then I stumbled upon an article on gallstones.

(they're so cute in their little dish)

Here's how wikipedia describes the attacks:

A main symptom of gallstones is commonly referred to as a gallstone "attack", also known as binary colic, in which a person will experience intense pain in the upper abdominal region that steadily increases for approximately thirty minutes to several hours. A victim may also encounter pain in the back, ordinarily between the shoulder blades, or pain under the right shoulder. In some cases, the pain develops in the lower region of the abdomen, nearer to the pelvis, but this is less common. Nausea and vomiting may occur.

Sounds pleasant, right?

I totally freaked Matt out when I had a terrible attack at the Las Vegas airport while we were in line to get our tickets. I started getting the pain in my stomach, and I knew what was about to happen. I started feeling really woozy and light headed. Then all the blood in my body rushed up to my head, I was barely awake standing up and I had the chills, yet I was dripping in sweat.

Matt took care of our bags so I could go to the restroom where I curled up into a ball and just waited it out. That's really all I can do. I was fine an hour later.

I blame the box of cheez-its I ate a half an hour before.

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There was no way I could have gallstones, right? I mean I eat really really healthy most of the time. WTF? I'm supposed to have less health problems, not new ones!

I was on a walk with my friend, Holly, and she had mentioned that she came across an article saying that people who lose weight too quickly run the risk of getting gallstones.

So I immediately looked for the article.

It has been confirmed, I've developed gallstones from losing weight too quickly. I have lost 85 pounds in 9 months. Basically all that crap I ate before I decided to get healthy is still in my body. My poor gallbladder couldn't process it fast enough to keep up with my digestion. It probably doesn't help that I haven't been very good about getting my healthy oils in (which lubricate the process... get more of that *ish out of my system).

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So what have I done about it?

Nothing.

I keep putting off making a doctors appointment. I'm not scared to go. I really want to! I'm just a complete slacker about making appointments. I don't like using my phone for personal conversations in my office with 10 people and no walls. And I don't want to do it on my lunch break because I'm usually with co-workers.

I'm blogging about it, so anyone who reads this will harass me until I make an appointment. I already did research and picked out a doctor, I saved the number in my phone... no excuses.

Also, I guess this is sort of a public service announcement. Just raising awareness :)

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Luckily, I only get these attacks when I eat absolute crap disguised as food. I know to avoid super greasy and really high fat foods. Because, frankly, none of that crap is worth the amount of pain it causes.

So now I'm stuck in this healthy world I've created for myself. Whether I like it or not :)


Let's go have some veggies dipped in hummus!