The inconvienance of stones

Just after my son Logan was born I developed problems with my Gallbladder. We found this out after a couple of visits to the doctors complaining of severe back pain. At first it felt like an asthma attack, and as I hadn't had a very bad one of those in a couple of years it was very difficult to tell the difference.

So the Doc started by giving me stronger pain relief that i could still take whilst breastfeeding my then 2month old son. Then just a week or so later i was woken at 2am with the same back pains... only this time it didn't stop. Not after pain relief or a hot shower which in previous instances had soothed it all. One such instance my Mother had been there, having had her Gallbladder removed a few years before she raised suspicions that it may be the cause of my pain.

So by 3am i was starting to panic as the pain had been getting steadily worse. I shook my fiance awake and we called the ambulance. As soon as we mentioned to the paramedics our suspicions of gallstones, they decided it was a trip to Wellington hospital time. While the paramedics called ahead to see if i could be adminstered morphine (i was still exclusively breastfeeding), my partner had to get our son from his cot and into the car seat. A task our son was most unhappy about.

Finally we arrived, I'd had morphine but could still feel the pain, more of a dull ache now though. Yes gallstones are that painfull! The docs kept me and bubs in for a couple of days to monitior the stones. I was put on a fat free diet (when they finally let me have food at about 6pm). A fat free diet in hospital is utterly rank. Never again, please.

After months of fat free eating (no chocolate allowed :( ) and an ERCP to check I didn't have any stones stuck in my bile ducts, I finally had a date for the surgery. So back in october my wonderfull doctor MR Aljanabi removed my gallblader via laprascopic cholesectomy (keyhole) and sent me home the next day with a small pot containing my stones. 19. yes 19 little stones. Evil little blighters that they are.

Then began the recovery, 4weeks without heavy lifting. sounds easy right? Not when you have a 6month old son who weighs more than your 5kg lifting limit. I spent the first week with fiance helping me do all the little things, like changing nappies or clothes even breastfeeding. We visited family in Napier for some much needed R&R. The next 3weeks were spent getting up early and going to either my mums, father in laws or a friends house, so they could help me look after my son.

Needless to say i did not cope very well emotionally with not being able to look after him alone. Yes i knew the recovery of my abdominal wall was of utmost importance or i'd risk ripping stitches etc, but nothing prepared me for how horrible i felt not being able to carry my baby around the room when he was crying. For those few weeks I was frustrated and inseccure about my abillity to be a good mum to him. It was hard.

Two months later, the Doc has given me the all clear. Gallbladder upheaval is over. Never to be a problem again. Here's to a low fat diet for the rest of my life. :D On the plus side to the whole situation, the fat free diet whilst still exclusively breastfeeding my son did lead to loosing 9kgs. All baby weight gone...another 10kgs to go to get to my ideal weight. I can do this...i think.

post the first

Ok, so I have decided to keep a blog. We shall see how this goes. I'm one of those people who says they'll write a diary but never remembers to write anything in it. Seriously i have notebooks all over the house with maybe a couple of days worth of diary jotted down then i forget and oh crap.... its months later and my notebook is filled with nothing but blank pages.

Usually those blank pages end up getting used for various snippits of the novel that isnt. The novel is fully formed in my head, its just the getting it down on paper or into the computer thats hard!! So notebooks certainly aren't wasted.

My most recent page filled notebook is sitting open on the table at a page titled "12 by 2012" the idea was inspired by a blog post my good friend showed me. http://www.ohhellofriendblog.com/2011/10/twelve-by-2012.html
Afterwards my friend http://thornecreations.blogspot.com/2011/11/where-to-start.html and i dedcided we'd give it a go together. so here we are. I'll be keeping track of the progress of my list here.

wish us luck!!