To say the least, I have had a rough couple of years. It all started last May when I began having flank pain. My doctor thought it was a kidney infection and kept treating me with antibiotics until I finally went to a Urologist in August. After some tests and an ultrasound, they discovered a giant gallstone. Yay. I couldn't afford the surgery right then, so I changed my diet and dealt with the discomfort. The beginning of January the pain once again became unbearable.
On February 9th, 2012 I had my gallbladder removed. The surgery went seemingly well, even though the morphine they gave me did not work. So moving from the gurney to my hospital bed was excruciatingly painful. I cried. A lot. I made them give me a different kind of pain medication after that so the pain was significantly reduced. I was able to go home around 6:30pm. Over the next couple of days I was still really doped up on pain meds so I felt pretty dang good for just having surgery. But after I stopped taking so many meds, I discovered something wasn't right. I'm not sure what they did to my back, it could have been how I was laying on the operating table, or they could have wrenched my back funny when moving me onto or off of the table... I don't know. But for the next month I was unable to sit up for more than an hour, and I couldn't walk very well because of the pain.
I had weekly doctor visits and tried to go back to work... with no luck. After nearly two months I was finally released to work no more than 4 hours per day. But... Since I had missed so much work, my place of employment gave me two options. Either have no missed days, days off, or any sort of attendance issues for the rest of the year... Or resign and take a severance package. I feel like I was backed into a corner, because despite doctors notes I was being penalized for missing work. Way to rub salt into a wound.
After that my back slowly healed, but I was experiencing other health issues and we were concerned that I had a form of diabetes. Off I went to have more tests run, and they all came back negative. All except a test that we weren't even originally considering. The results lead to a full abdominal ultrasound where they discovered that I have fatty liver disease. Now that I have no job, I also have no insurance. Which means, despite my new diagnosis... I can't go to a specialist because I can't afford it. I just hope that the research I have done, and the changes I have made will be enough to make a difference until I can meet with a professional.
I am writing this blog post as a reminder to myself of what I have gone through, and what I am facing in the future. Liver disease is a serious thing, and it could lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer. The good news is that the condition is reversible. And I hope that I am able to stay strong and make the changes necessary to stay healthy and stay alive.
I am planning to blog new recipes that I have found with healthy changes, as well as updates as to how my diet and exercise regimen are going.
I welcome any comments or recipe suggestions.
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