Where do I begin? I’m currently on extreme rations while trying to understand what is going on with intense, upper-right abdomen cramps yesterday. I ended up in Urgent Care, had a long, long wait, but received lovely care, treatment, blood and wee tests, and a referral by the surgical team for an Ultrasound scan. Oh, and they gave me strong drugs (codeine phosphate) in case I had another attack.
All is absolutely fine, and the hospital feels it is likely to be a post-gallbladder removal syndrome where there can be spasms of the sphincter or a change in concentration of bile salts (among other things), even several years after having your gallbladder removed. This makes sense to me as it feels so similar to the pain and cramps I had in 2019 and little cramps and tension I’ve had since then over the years too.
To cut a long story short, I’m going to avoid massive stews with lots of beans and lentils, keep to smaller meals and make sure that they are fairly low in fat, keep a food diary for a week and see if I get any further pain and cramps after eating, and take notes!
Yesterday I barely ate at all, apart from several dextrose tablets borrowed from my daughter’s handbag while we spent several long hours waiting in urgent care. Today has been a little better, with 50g of oat bran for breakfast, then half a small baked potato for lunch, followed by half of a low-fat pasty I made yesterday using wartime economical pastry, filled with a meat substitute, leeks, and potatoes that I’d prepared the day before.
Here is the recipe I used for the “economical pastry”.
- 1 oz fat
- 4 oz flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (or none if using self-raising flour)
- milk to bind
Makes enough pastry for 4 pasties.
And here is my daughter giving me a pep talk when we got in late last night. Honestly, she really looked after me and is a treasure.
C xxxx
Oh no, prayers for you to get better quickly and not be in pain anymore. I love these daily posts and YouTube shorts you post. You are an amazing woman, kinka like the Energizer Bunny, you just keep going and going.
Thank you Debbi, it can take a lot of time even editing a simple long video so I do like doing quick updates on shorts with no editing. Thank you so much for your kind words xxxx C
You have such kind loving children Carolyn. That’s because they have been raised by a kind loving soul darling girl. Hope you feel better very soon. June💜
Jess is so lovely, she often thinks of others before herself though but I felt so lucky to have her with me yesterday. Thank you June xxxx C
Prayers you and the doctors figure out what is going on and you can heal from it. I have one of those daughters, too. She is such a blessing.
That is wonderful Judy, it’s such precious feeling to feel loved and cared for. xxxx
OUCH, I hope that gets sorted quickly Carolyn.
Thanks, felt so much better today, allowing oneself a day in bed instead of feeling guilty about it, really helps. xxx C
OUCH!, I hope you get things sorted quickly!
Oh no! I hope it clears up quickly and isnt anything serious!
Avoiding massive stews with beans/lentils sounds very hard as a vegan or vegetarian. 🙁 Hugs!
I’m very glad you were able to get seen in urgent care. And I really hope it didnt take 10 hours+!!
I’ve felt some bad stomach cramps before, and I wouldnt wish them on anyone. I really hope that the medication works, and things can go back to normal for you soon!
Thanks Lizzie, we were in urgent care for around 7 hours from about 4-11pm ish – it was very busy but we got great care and got seen so very grateful xxxx I know, I love big stews and a full stomach so not sure how I’m going to navigate this quite honestly!!! C xxxx
Hi C, this is when having lovely family comes into its own! So glad you have people there to make sure you’re well, you can tell Jess loves you so much! Xx
So sorry to hear this! Please be good to yourself. This is not the time to worry about rations, or veganism or diets. Please eat what the doctors tell you to eat. Once you are well, you can pick up from where you left off.
Please get well soon, I am hanging out for the book!
I would like to order a signed copy., please
What a lovely daughter you have Carolyn.
Fingers crossed you get your ultrasound quickly so you know what the problem is.
Take care of yourself and get lots of rest.