Oh, the Gall!

Last Sunday my insides ached. I made it through Cameron's Seminary Graduation, but I asked Dad and David to give me a blessing. Dad gave me a very nice, comforting blessing that made me feel emotionally better, if not physically - at least not at first.

During the blessing I got the feeling that I needed to go see Dr. Nelson the following day. I normally avoid doctors, so that was a switch for me!

I called the doctor's office first thing Monday morning and I got in that afternoon. David was surprised because it usually takes him days if not weeks to get in. Dr. Nelson asked me a bunch of questions, had me get my blood drawn and set up an ultrasound appointment for Tuesday morning - because I didn't want to go another 4 hours without eating.

After my doctor appointment, I felt the best I have in years. My guts didn't hurt even a little. I remember thinking to myself: "This must be what it's like to feel normal."

Thursday morning Dr. Nelson's MA called and said all my bloodwork was normal (even though she couldn't tell me what tests they were!) and that my gallbladder is full of stones. So, Dr. Nelson wanted me to set up an appointment with a general surgeon. I called the general surgeon's office and the soonest appointment they had was next Tuesday. But, oh, neither of the surgeons in the office take my insurance. So, I called my insurance and they said if I got a referral from Dr. Nelson, they'd pay for the specialist visit.

That would have been OK, but I'd been in a ton of pain since about 2:00 am Thursday morning. I'd eaten some salad dressing and some somewhat greasy meatloaf the night before - I'll explain more about that later. I didn't know if I could wait til next Tuesday to see a doctor. So, I decided on the way home to have David take me to the ER. I would have driven myself, but then David would have been stuck at home for who knows how long without a car. By that point I was in so much pain I didn't care if I got to keep my gall bladder or not.

Two hours after I got into the ER, most of my pain had subsided. I guess that's good? The IV stuck in my arm hurt worse than my guts by that point. The good news was that no gallstones were stuck anywhere (other than my gallbladder!) and I didn't have an infection or blockage. So, the ER Dr told me to go home and eat a no fat diet ("Basically, if it tastes good, don't eat it. Even 1/2 teaspoon of ice cream is too much fat!") and see a surgeon next week.

Apparently when you eat fat the stomach signals to the gallbladder to squeeze out some bile so you can digest the fat. That's all good unless your gallbladder is full of stones. In that case, it's painful!

So, I've been on a no fat diet and I've felt really good, until today when I had one slice of 98% fat free turkey. I guess that 1 gram of fat was too much. Woo hoo - back to my no fat diet. At least it's a holiday tomorrow and I don't have to go to work.

Unfortunately the gallbladder cleanse I did a couple of months ago was too little, too late. Plus, did you know if you have calcified gallstones (which some of mine are), you shouldn't do a liver/gallbladder cleanse? Sheri did muscle test, surprisingly, I thought, that getting my gallbladder surgically removed would be best at this point. After Thursday, I'm OK with that.

The good thing, though, is now I know what's making me feel so awful and I know what to do about it - don't eat any fat until I get my gallbladder out! And knowing what to do to feel better makes me happy. :)

NOTE TO SELF: Eat every 2-3 hours. Did you know that waiting too long to eat can cause gallstones? Also - once I have my gb out, I need to remember to eat HEALTHY fats. A low or no-fat diet or the wrong fats can cause gallstones, too - but probably not over a 2 week period... which is when I hope to have my surgery at the latest.

The School Year is Winding Down - and I'm Trying to as Well

I've been up half the night feeling bloated and icky. I think I need to start talking bitters or something. Or quit my job :) If only that were an option. My job is stressing me out. I told myself I was only going to do what I could do, then I was going to go home. Problem is, I'm pretty sure the work computer has a virus and it makes everything take 3 times longer than it should. Ack!

I think I'm going to tell Joe he either needs to get the computer fixed or I'm going to restore it to 3 months ago before we started having all these problems. And hope we don't lose any important files. It's getting riddikulus!

So... in happier news:

Cameron and Jarom had concerts on Tuesday night. I got to see Jarom's play with the band and jazz band. Mom and Dad even made it even though Cameron and Jarom only told them about it the night before. Right before the choirs started their concert, I had to leave to go to a class David and I are taking to try to figure out how to cut our food budget way back so we can afford to buy a minivan. David video recorded Cameron's songs, but I still haven't watched them yet.

Last night Jarom had another concert - the jazz band played two songs with the Madrigals. So, essentially, Jarom was in about ten minutes of an hour long concert. I liked "Lullaby of Broadway" and kept humming it after we got home. Jarom told me he hates playing that song because for the trumpets it's mostly just a bunch of random notes. Unfortunately the last twenty minutes of the concert was a Stephen Sondheim medley. Not a big fan. Probably because of a bad experience I had at Tandem doing a program for "Into the Woods." OK, not probably, totally.

At Jarom's concert, I was also successful in taking some of the world's worst photos ever. Sheri would be so proud.

David and Amber went to the spaghetti dinner fundraiser for YW Camp at the church yesterday while Jarom and I were at the concert. I donated a couple of plates of rice crispy treats (of course) and David and Amber came home with a bunch of gluteny things I couldn't eat - angel food cake, cinnamon rolls and brownies. Good thing I bought extra rice crispy treat stuff.

Today Amber is going to La Caille for dinner with her French class. She saved up $28 so she could go, which is pretty impressive for a twelve-year-old. We ended up paying half of it for her because we did the same thing for Cameron earlier this year, so Amber got to keep $14 to spend on something else.

Amber is doing her IP project presentation today. The school invited the parents to come, but Amber refuses to tell me what time her presentation is. Because she doesn't want me to go. Fine. She's probably afraid I'll make sure she does the power point with photos if I go. She's not very happy with me lately because I insist on her doing her homework and turning it in or she can't check out anything from the library. Poor Amber.

Meagan and I are both stressing out about the whole wedding thing. When is it going to happen and all that. I hope she puts it off until after she buys a car and we buy a minivan. I think I need some xanax...

Getting Good Deals on Holiday Items

I saw this in Your Weekly Guide to Savings & Entertainment, so I thought I'd blog about it so I don't have to save the paper and actually remember where I put it. (Like that's gonna happen!)

Everyone knows holiday items are less expensive AFTER a holiday, but what are the best days to buy after a holiday? According to the article by Melea Johnson (of freebies2deals.com) retailers use the "3-3-2 Rule." Basically, that means:
- the first 3 days after the holiday items are 50% off
- the next 3 days they're 75% off
- the last 2 days they're 90% off
- after that, the stores clear off the shelves.
This holds true for major holidays. For minor holidays, mark downs usually occur faster.

So, now you know when to go shopping for holiday stuff. Of course, the best stuff usually disappears the first 3 days after the holiday, so it depends how long you want to hold out. I'm not one for shopping any more than I have to. I haven't tested this out (and probably never will!) but it is interesting to know.

On Being a One Car Family

We've had at least 2 cars for so long that adjusting to having only one car has been interesting. But we're getting used to it. At least our one car is big enough to fit all of us. It's squishy, but it works - especially if we aren't going farther than a mile or two away from home.

If we want to take just one extra person, though, it doesn't work. We've tried to talk the kids into riding in the trunk - it's nice and roomy, right? - but none of them have taken us up on it. Just kidding. I wouldn't let anyone ride in the trunk anyway.

The interesting thing is how much money it has saved us in just the last couple of months. Our insurance has gone down $90/month. And yesterday we got the Chevron bill - usually it's $350/month. For last month? $140. Wow. That means we saved $300 last month. And that's not including not having a $200-$250/month car payment.

That said, I wish public transportation were better. I would probably ditch the car and take the bus/train to work. Which has gotten me to thinking that it might not be a bad idea if I got a job at Granger Medical Clinic. It's right on the bus line and probably a 5 minute bus ride from my home. And, I would be forced to walk to and from the bus, which would be good. Even though it was a pain to ride the bus to and from MSC a few years back, I did get more exercise!

We would still need at least one car, though. David can't walk very far - not even to the bus stop a couple of blocks away. Maybe if he took his walker and started out a half hour before the bus was due. Plus, not many busses run on the weekend. I can't imagine using the bus for grocery shopping. And taking the bus when it's dark out? Scary. Of course, even in daylight it can be scary, when you're stalked by psychotic men. But that would never happen, right?

I guess at least the trend is going toward busses and trains. The Trax hub in our part of town will be done this August, I think? Meagan and Zac are getting pretty good at navigating the bus/trax system.

That said, David and I are still planning on buying a minivan. Just probaly not til sometime this summer. The options I'd most like on the minivan? A tow hitch and a back-up camera. Unfortunately, not many minivans come with the back-up camera - and if they do, they're the way expensive minivans.