3 more weeks in Life in General

So I had my consultation this morning for my gallbladder surgery. It went well, the doctor seemed confident and knowledgeable which was reassuring.

My anxiety recently has been about my fatty liver problem. I keep reading all this information about how it leads to cirrhosis and can keep getting worse regardless of your diet and your weight. But the surgeon calmed my nerves and basically said “Listen, the genetic part of NAFLD is way overblown. Every patient I open up that’s overweight has some form of fatty liver, it’s super common. We don’t fully understand why it progresses in some people to liver failure, but that’s rare and most people can live with it or reverse it with weight loss.”

That was extremely reassuring. My best friend from high school died less than 6 months ago from liver cirrhosis (he also had liver cancer). When I heard about it, I called him and he sounded totally fine and didn’t seem worried. He mentioned how his doctor wasn’t super worried about it and they just wanted to monitor things to see what the next step was. It was nice to hear he was going to be okay…

… and then 5 weeks later he’s in hospice. He only made it a few more days.

Now his was likely caused by heavy drug/alcohol use combined with obesity but it’s just crazy to me to think that at 35 years old it can catch up with you that quickly. So of course I’m over here panicking thinking that could eventually happen to me. But hearing the surgeon talk like that felt okay.

I’ve been losing a lot of weight anyway though. In order to keep my symptoms manageable, I have to stay under like 10 grams of fat per day and that restriction has led to a lot fewer calories anyway. I’m currently at 219 and dropping like 4 lbs a week. I’d be worried that I’m not trying to lose weight, but I am on a diet so it’s not surprising.

Anyway, back to the surgeon. He let me yap about my entire story, going all the way back to January when the symptoms started. He agreed with my GI that a gallbladder removal is the best option and he plans to do it laparoscopically. I did ask about ERCP and he said that because my liver took the tracer and passed it freely to my small intestine, that ERCP likely isn’t going to be necessary because the blockage is clearly right near the gallbladder. He said removing it is just the best option and I trust that I just wanted to be informed of why that’s the best option.

Now for the worst part… it’s 3 weeks away.

I’m managing my symptoms okay right now, so that’s not the issue. The issue is that Jessica is due to give birth in less than 7 weeks, but it could technically happen anytime… especially if her perinatal doctors decide to induce early. I need to be totally healed by then. Also we’re getting ready to move at that exact same time. The surgeon mentioned that my soreness will likely go away after a week, but I’ll feel really fatigued for about 5 weeks. That’s not good timing.

So my plan is to get as much done now as humanely possible. Getting boxes down from the attic, packing everything that isn’t essential. Breaking down as much furniture as possible....etc. Hopefully that head start will be enough to make up for the lack of stuff I’ll be able to do after the surgery.

Anyway, that’s all for now I’ll update more later.

Last updated May 24, 2024