Beware the Rocks!!!

[s/v 'Faith']

As a Sailor, I have a great aversion to going up on the rocks... This post is about a different kind of rock... More precisely stones.

I have heard it said that there are 3 things people present to the ER with that are considered the most significant pain events...


The ladies may disagree, but apparently child birth does not make the cut (which immediately suggests that the list was compiled by a man)...


1. Heart attack.


2. Kidney stones (I have passed a bunch of these, but #3 is far worse).!


3. Gall stones (gall bladder attack).


Well, thankfully I know nothing of #1, but numbers one and two have been companions of mine for some time.


I have had several gall bladder attacks. That is uncommon, because they are exceedingly painful and most folks have the sense to think they are going to die and go into the emergency room....


... Fortunately I am not burdened by this sense like most people so I had the opportunity to experience this one time, or two times, but a total of eight times..


(None too smart this one).....




These stones can kill you. As it turns out, mine nearly did.


The first few times it happened I thought it might clear up on its own. Then I was on a boat in the Bahamas, and it was not a good time...


Ok, so what I am getting at is this. When you have something like this you need to get it taken care of. This is a routine surgery... That is it is supposed to be anyway.


If you let it go too long, it can kill you.


I have some pictures, they are very graphic. My gall bladder was completely filled with stones, so much so that the surgeon who has done thousands of these operations was parading the remains of it around the post-surgical unit...


When you have something like this, get it taken care of.


The surgery was much more complicated because the tissue of my gall bladder was dieing, and it was packed full of stones and "necrotic"... The stage before Gangrene sets in....

[s/v 'Faith']

Anyone else here had an experience with gall stones?

[tbodine88]

Yes I did, ashore. I have a Jewish wife who worries about me and made me see the Doctor, a month later no gall bladder no more problem.

But I was ashore, and had insurance.

your mileage may vary.

[zeehag]

i have experienced pain of gall bladder but i quit eating so many oily smoked oysters and it went away.
childbirth was worse.

[sailorboy1]

Well I've had 2 of the #1 - heart attack. It didn't hurt all the much and I could easily ignored it, but the third may have been different. Eight times to ignore stones though sounds a little ****** (you fill it in).

[crazyoldboatguy]

Had my gallbladder removed in 1991 - lucky it was after the laproscopic procedure was becoming more common. Zip-zap - out she came. My sister (it runs in the family - our Gramma had hers removed decades ago) had hers removed a year before - 5" scar on her tummy. Single event led me to the ER. VERY painful. Doc said it was so bad I had to have been having pain for years - but I had had none. Can't compare it to childbirth. However, my wife just had hers removed a few years ago. She didn't complain of much pain - just felt like death warmed over. She also didn't complain of pain when she gave birth to our son in 1992. Tough broad.

I don't miss it.

[zeehag]

oh yeah i experienced discomfort of cardiac ischemia associated with a 2:1 atrial flutter after work one evening, but no way in hell was i gonna be treated by my alleged peers, so i walked the half mile to my car, sat in the recaro seat, comfy, i slugged down a quart(entire) of COLD water, causing vagus nerve stimulation resulting in my arrhythmia ceasing and discomfort being instantly relieved.
definitely helps to have beeen a specialty nurse in an investigational cardiology center in a posh and influential hospital for a while.....
i have also experienced the horrific slug in the guts that both ischemic colitis and divertivulitis cause. similar, only with diverticulitis you also feel a referred pain in your lower back. sometimes only just the back pain. do not ignore that.. isnt back pain it is gut pain.. gods have sense of humor and play practical jokes.
(i have reynaud's disease, which is an inflammatory collagen disease affecting arterial blood flow, which is the cause and or cure of the symptoms experienced. i do not have phenomenon nor syndrome, i have disease, big difference. started age 7, 1955. same year i began sailing)

childbirth is worse..prolly due to the reynauds disease.

[Talbot]

Had my gall bladder removed after passing a stone.

Pain was not good, but does not compare to a major attack of gout!

[a64pilot]

I've had the diverticulitis, but my back has been screwed up for years so I didn't go to the Doc until it got bad.
Since then I've decided no little seeds or nuts in the boat when I do start cruising.
What causes Gall stones?

[crazyoldboatguy]

Gallstones are comprised of cholesterol. The liver produces it and some ends up in the gall bladder which concentrates it, along w/bile (helps with digestion of fats). This is secreted during food intake, particularly fat intake, to facilitate digestion of same. In some individuals (it seems to run in families) the cholesterol precipitates into larger and larger particles that accrete into the stones. Many many folks are found to have gall stones at autopsy but who never complain about any pain, etc. Sometimes a stone will move and block the exit duct but frequently a smaller stone enters the bile duct which drains the gall bladder into the duodenum and blocks the flow of bile. The resultant back up causes inflammation and lots of pain. Sometimes the stone passes (or the larger stone shifts) allowing bile to flow freely. A diseased gall bladder will cause adhesions to other organs which can actually create fistulas which act like channels that communicate with the other organs. Long standing disease can lead to gangrene and death.

The surgery is so simple - 4 small incisions allow for instruments, a camera and the grabber thingie to be inserted into an inflated abdomen. The organ is tied off, snipped off and removed. Many folks are back to work within a week. Long standing disease can cause many adhesions which result in open laparotomy. Long scar and long recovery.

Frankly, I believe the diseased gall bladder has delusions of grandeur and believes it is an oyster and gets down to making some pearls. Just my opinion, of course.

[a64pilot]

Great, I've had high cholesterol for many years, even when I was young and skinny

[crazyoldboatguy]

Strangely, a64pilot, the 2 issues are unrelated, so relax. I come from a family with genetically low cholesterol levels in the blood - that Gramma I mentioned lived to be 102 y/o. It's a different cholesterol we are talking about. This type is made in the liver, not the type you get from eating those double cheeseburgers.

Now, if you have any close relatives who have had gall bladder surgery - THAT I would worry about.

[DeepFrz]

The surgery was much more complicated because the tissue of my gall bladder was dieing, and it was packed full of stones and "necrotic"... The stage before Gangrene sets in....

Yes, been there done that. Actually ended up with more than a 5 inch scar. I've had both #2 and #3. Not sure which was most painful. My last kidney stone attack had me projectile vomiting and dry heaves that got me to emergency. Oh, wait, that was what got me to emergency with my gall stones as well. On the road staying in a hotel. It was not a fun night. Some of us just don't want to cry uncle until we have to.

[Ex-Calif]

Anticipated an anchoring thread but apparently blundered into the "Old Sick People" thread.

I may have all that crap that you all have, or may have it coming but I prefer to keep my head in the sand.


So 'scuse me while I

[s/v 'Faith']

So what do you say, should I post the pictures here or not?