My Gallbladder & Family Phoning
I saw my hematologist Dr.Winegarden Wednesday. My platelets are holding very well. He says I should continue to get blood test every six (6) weeks instead of every week and come see him again in three(3) months ( or sooner if I show signs of low platelets; excessive bruising, bleeding, petichial rash etc.) He also had the results of the X-ray and ultrasound I had done this week it appears I have acute cholecystitis which is a severe inflammation or infection of the gall bladder and I have gall stones.
Thursday I discussed those results with my primary doctor’s office, I am being sent for further testing to check on the severity of this illness and once these results are in Dr. Nemeth will discuss treatment and possible surgery.
Gallstones form when liquid (called bile) stored in the gallbladder hardens into pieces of stone-like material. Bile contains water, cholesterol, fats, bile salts, proteins, and bilirubin. Bile salts break up fat, and bilirubin gives bile and stool a yellowish color. If the liquid bile contains too much cholesterol, bile salts, or bilirubin, under certain conditions it can harden into stones. The two types of gallstones are cholesterol stones and pigment stones. Cholesterol stones are usually yellow-green and are made primarily of hardened cholesterol. They account for about 80 percent of gallstones. Pigment stones are small, dark stones made of bilirubin. Gallstones can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. The gallbladder can develop just one large stone, hundreds of tiny stones, or almost any combination.
Tuesday I am having a hepatobiliary scan (HIDA scan).
A hepatobiliary scan is done to evaluate the function of the liver in making and excreting bile, the drainage system (bile ducts) and gallbladder for possible blockage or malfunction. This will frequently be done together with gallbladder ultrasound for a more complete evaluation.
You will lie flat on your back on the imaging table. You will receive an injection of a radioactive substance in a vein in your arm. This material travels through the bloodstream, and is eventually cleared from the bloodstream by the liver. You will not feel anything from this injection.
During the scans the camera will be positioned over you. Images will be recorded for up to one hour, or rarely, longer. For some patients, a second injection through the same single needle stick will be done later during the test. This can be done to either help the gallbladder show up better (using morphine), or to trigger it to empty (using CCK/cholecystokinin).
Today Thursday I called Amber in North Carolina to check how she is settling in, the military moving van service still has not brought there “stuff”, twice the moving company have given them dates of delivery then called off, not showed. The movers now say they will be there next Wednesday. She’s been there couple weeks now, if they hadn’t bought a new bed they be sleeping on the floor.
Poor Aaron had to go to the hospital today he has another double ear infection and tonsillitis. He’s not even 3 yet he’s had like 6 or more ear infection most the time they are in both ears.
Not very long after I got off the Phone with Amber, Mom called on her cell phone. She and Dad are stopping in Virginia today to visit an old school friend of Mom’s, Friday they plan to visit Hershey Pennsylvania and then Saturday head back toward Michigan.
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