#gallbladder

[genderqueerdykes]

that's a very good question! i'm making a post about this because i've gotten this question a lot and i feel it may help some people!

i was experiencing a lot of different GI symptoms at the time and trying to figure out what was wrong. i started struggling with food- i lost my ability to digest meat, dairy, and eggs. i started vomiting and having diarrhea often. i lost my ability to digest leafy greens, vegetables with thick skins, and other veggies and fruits. i would feel nauseated and bloated after just a few bites of food. i was experiencing a ton of pain as well

i had an endoscopy at the beginning of the year that showed some inflammation and other problems, as well as a hiatal hernia at the time. i had to pester that hospital to get a follow up appointment and when i met with their provider they ordered a ton of tests to rule out whatever we could. i was ordered a gastric emptying study, endoscopy, colonoscopy, and a CT scan. they did find issues in the colonoscopy (diverticulosis, inflammation without infection), but what became a priority was that they discovered stones in my gallbladder on the CT scan. the thing that helped the most was the CT scan, for sure.

that became the top priority to focus on. at the time i was used to the pain so it was hard to describe. now in retrospect i can. what i was feeling was a very sharp, aching pain under my right breast. it was always there but would get worse during those periods of digestive upset. i could barely keep down food. it was getting harder and harder to eat no matter what i tried. eventually i had to progress to liquids only, then i became lightheaded and it was hard to breathe or stand upright, and that is when i went to the ER and got my emergency surgery

when i was in that much pain it was radiating into other areas of my body like my groin and back. it was so intense it was all i could think about. it feels like a pain in the ribs, but it's not. i was convinced i just had something going on with my ribs or it was a result of bad posture. now that it's removed i can remember the pain quite clearly and i can definitely say that's all gone now.

hopefully this can be of help to someone. if people have more questions i'm happy to answer!

[one-time-i-dreamt]

Someone asked me if I was the guy whose gallbladder was in his hand.

[smolsammichowo]

I dont think Ive explained my gallbladder situation on here but yea, long story short my pear shaped organ turned evil on me and its FULL of stones and Im getting it removed soon.

I made the doctor laugh today though saying I was a maraca though lmao . ( feel free to use that joke of being a maraca if y'all ever go through evil-pear-syndrome aka Gallstones as it made a bummer situation funny )

[tinierpurplefishes]

Heading off to operation: Fuck You, Gallbladder. The roads are a bit icy, but a friend of my mom's who's from Maine volunteered to drive, so it should all be fine. This one is an outpatient surgery, so I'll be back this afternoon.

[bonefall]

How would the cats get rid of the bile to prepare a prey item for food? The liver is one of the best items to use for gravy--my family uses our roasted Turkey's liver as a gravy base every year and to have to throw it out cause someone fucked up while on kitchen duty would suck.

Not all animals will actually have gallbladders, but removing one from the liver is as easy as just chopping it off when you get to the processing part. It'll be down on the bottom of the liver, usually pear-shaped, and a dark greenish color. Sorreltail, a sapient cat with her great sense of smell, could tell it apart from the surrounding meat with her eyes closed.

I do have to stress, though, you CAN eat bile. You don't have to have the cats toss that, that is a thing they can eat. Again it's not nail polish remover like the Erins think it is. It's bitter, but it's used in human food. You just balance out the bitterness with spice and sweetness.

This is papaitan, from the Philippines, made with tripe and bile,

Bile is also said to have anti-inflammatory effects and be a generally healthy food, too. I can see ShadowClan in particular really liking to cook with this, especially for a sick cat. They like bitter and spicy tastes a lot more than other Clans. Their version of chicken noodle soup.

Also; a lot of animals do not have gallbladders. Here's a short list of common prey animals and their gallbladder status;

Rabbits = No

Rats = No

Mouse = Yes

Shrew = Yes

Deer = No

Pigeon = No

Quail = Yes

Carp = Yes BUT DO NOT EAT THESE CARP GALL BLADDERS CAUSE FOOD POISONING. ALL species, everywhere. This includes goldfish. Your cat will live if they swallow a goldfish or eat a gallbladder once or twice, but it will make them sick. Process this fish before a Clan cat eats it.

(Side note: It's actually kind of funny how carp keeps coming up as The "Fuck You" Animal in all of these. They're full of seizure-causing anti-nutrients, their gallbladders are poison, what am I going to find next?)

The gallbladder in fish is really easy to find btw, they're usually massive, round, and dark green. If you gut fish regularly it's like... right in the "chest." Also you can poke it open and soak little paper squares in it and then they spin around in water, it's very cool

Bile is for the breakdown of fats, and a gallbladder is for the storage and concentration of bile. Generally, herbivores are more likely to lack gallbladders, because their liver just dumps the weak bile they have directly into their intestines. The mystery of why rats don't have gallbladders has actually vexxed scientists for like 100 years, btw.

Some herbivores (deer especially) have a very tiny "pouch" for bile called a diverticulum. But unlike the gallbladder, it doesn't concentrate it, just stores a little extra. Some hunters will nick this and think they tore open a gallbladder, but they did not.

[buckysgrace]

Aha so anyone have any tips or suggestions for pain relief when your gallbladder is having a flare up? The past three days have been pretty bad on and off from it. so hopefully fingers crossed I’m over it today but nothing seems to work in the moment 😭

[homocatphenomena]

I wish that if you pissed off your gallbladder bad enough that it would just die and fall out your ass. I should be able to go get a milkshake from In-N-Out and then go home and endure 6 hours of pain and at the end my gallbladder should just fall out and land on the floor so I can throw it away in the trash where it belongs. But no. If I get a milkshake it will just make me pray for death for 6 hours and then nothing will happen. If I eat even a little too much peanut butter it will also torture me. Or if I get too hungry, or lay on my right side, or think about it too much. Bullshit organ

[theclockworkjudas]

Going in for my gallbladder ultrasound tomorrow, wish me luck.

[genderqueerdykes]

re: gallbladder stuff i'm sorry you're dealing with all that, I know you already know it's all BS, but i just wanted to share my experience with gallbladder surgery that really emphasizes how BS it is: -my surgeon didn't ask me to lose weight in order to operate even though i was also over 300lbs at the time -they treated it as an urgent surgery even though i had to get it done during COVID lockdowns -the doctor told me that it was almost certainly genetics that caused me to have gallstones, there was nothing i could have done to cause it -the doctor told me i should stick to a plain diet leading up to the surgery to reduce the chances of passing another gallstone, but told me that once you pass one stone it's not a matter of if but when you'll pass another. the only way to stop it completely is to remove the organ your doctors are treating you terribly for actually no reason and i'm sorry they're doing that to you. i wish there was a way to hold healthcare workers accountable for these things.

thank you SO much for this ask, holy shit

i'm so glad they didn't ask you to lose weight and treated it like an emergency, which it was. i'm really glad they actually treated you. nobody should have to put up with having a diseased organ stay in their body because of someone else's prejudice. i've been considering asking fatphobic doctors why they are even in the medical field to begin with if they can't wrap their heads around the fact that fat people need medical help as well, whether it's related to their fatness or not doesn't matter. many fat people WILL need some form of medical attention in their lives. why would anyone who actually cares about helping others go into medicine if they knew they couldn't handle a little bit of cellulose

also thank you for confirming that there's a genetic factor and that if it happens once, it'll happen again. that's what i was showing in my research. i mean it makes sense, it's not going to do that just once, and i have multiple stones in my gallbladder. i don't understand why multiple stones isn't cause for concern. my mother had to have her gallbladder removed as well. and i've also shown in my research that there's very little to nothing a person can do to cause themselves to develop gallstones, unlike kidney stones which can be caused by severe and repeated dehydration

thank you so much, i've felt absolutely horrible in the wake of this. it made me feel as though my pain was somehow my fault, as if it wasn't worth looking into. i don't think anyone should have to feel like that, especially when they have a diseased organ that needs removed. it was like she didn't even see it as a matter of disease and illness, but rather something completely caused by me. i could tell she thought it was my fault due to eating a "high fat diet" and not because there's a genetic factor.

the "high fat diet" affects my liver way more than my gallbladder, and even then: i do not routinely eat a high fat diet. my liver is the one who got upset when i ate a lot of high fat and processed foods while i was homeless. my gallbladder is not the one who's having a hard time with anything that i choose to do of my own volition. the organ itself is literally diseased and no amount of kale smoothies and celery could ever fix that

thank you, i really appreciate you. i'm glad you were able to get treated without pushback. i think what i'm going to do is call that office and ask to consult with one of their other surgeons to see if they all believe that, or if it's just the one surgeon i spoke to. i also want to report her for medical malpracitce because she's choosing to let me continue to get violently ill because of her own personal issues. she's allowing me to remain sick and potentially be subject to even worse things like you mentioned

again, i really appreciate the amount of support i've gotten over this. i didn't realize that i was being treated this poorly. i really appreciate you, i'm going to do whatever i can to advocate for myself so i can get this removed ASAP. i want to be able to eat regular meals again without pain or vomiting. i want to be able to sit and stand upright without severe stabbing pain in my abdomen. i want to live my life again. i appreciate you, take care of yourself, thank you for your kindness and reassurance

[aroaceblackhole]

I have decided gallbladders are my favourite organs.

Questions welcomes, gallbladder haters DNI(<-joke. This is a joke, tumblr)

[heavenly-garden]

Turns out I won't be getting my gallbladder surgery until August or September. Which is fine. I have meds incase I need them and I have faith things will work out. I'll keep you all posted on this journey. God bless. Much love to you all.

[this-is-me19]

Eating should not hurt. 😭

[chappydev]

I survived having my gallbladder removed!

[chronic-gastro-illness-culture]

[This is aimed at people i've met irl , not anyone on here. ]

I think some people really need to educate themselves on what makes a condition chronic and how it affects whoever has it .

I get people mean well , but the fucking ammount of people i've met that hear from my chronic stomach issues and inmediately say shit like

"erhmmmm i had the same issue that you have now back when i was like 17 actually uwu , except mine was temporal and got cured after a short while with treatment and it left no sequels or further complicatioms but i totally think its the same as your issues that you have had since 5 years old that have been going nonstop and have gotten doctor confirmation that cannot be cured , mhm yeah we are on the same boat , and since i have totally felt the same way you feel i think ur overexagerating :/ yeah you shouldn't use ur illness as an excuse to be "lazy" uwu, ur pain its all just on your head bc you are too negative ono"

Like. HUH ???? i do not wanna make it sound like im the poorest most suffering cresture ever , i know chronic illness varies from person to person but Jeez , doctors themselves have cut off people and straight up told them to not dimminish my experiences by equating them to their own bc AND I QUOTE MY DOCTOR "you seriously have no idea what kind of pain *name* is going thru right now , you can't even begin to visualize it or imagine it"

.

[honeycombhank]

Okay, update time!

On the night of the 24th into the early morning of the 25th I was in horrendous pain I woke up my love and we drove to the ER

Well, I no longer have a gallbladder. They had to take out my gallbladder! I was shocked! I did not expect that to be the outcome! But it was and so now i am in recovery at home.. this is so painful! Wow! I have never had surgery before.

Please think good thoughts for me!

[gentlepetparenting]

Last time I had abdominal surgery the mistake I was dating got possessive about the fact that the doctors had to Shae my public hair to make an incision.

I got my gallbladder out yesterday and between surgery and previous gallbladder attack my fiance has had to help my put on underwear multiple times with no motive other than keeping me from being in unnecessary pain or dirty underwear.

One of these is significantly sexier