A (Happily) Failed Test

My doctor called with the results of my HIDA scan with CCK.  My gallbladder doesn't work.  Though it looks totally normal on scans (past being a wee bit larger than expected) and though it is totally stone-free from what they can see, it doesn't eject bile anywhere near the rate it should.  The office didn't give many details past that and a, "It doesn't work much at all--so little that it has to come out."

I nearly cried...I was shaking on the phone as I heard words that, though scary, were such a relief.  I'm not crazy.  There's something wrong with me, and they finally found it.  Three years of suffering, and I finally have answers!  I shouldn't be so elated to need surgery, but I finally--FINALLY--know why I've been in pain so long.

I know why my digestive system randomly rebels.

I know why I get stabbing pain in my ribs that takes my breath away if I move wrong.

I know why my entire abdomen feels inflated if I eat (seemingly) random foods.

I know why I never can fully know how a meal will affect me.

I know why I suddenly have had heartburn problems for the first time in my life.

I know why I am nauseous every single day of my life with no rhyme or reason.

I know why I'm so unbelievably exhausted all the time.

I know why so many of my aches and pains make absolutely no sense when compared with my known medical problems (supposed estrogen sensitivity and a chronically inflamed right ovary that has a near-ridiculous affinity towards making functional cysts that are smaller than my pain levels indicate.).

I'll still have cyst problems with my ovaries, and there's no way to know exactly what all of my symptoms come from my failing gallbladder before surgery is done, but the bizarre pain parts of my symptoms finally have some plausible, tangible answers with a solution at hand.  Within a few days, I'll have an appointment scheduled with a surgeon to determine when my gallbladder will be removed.  Due to a family history of gallbladder's bursting, mine is to be removed to avoid that possible complication.

On another interesting side to this, we know now over two decades later why my dad's gallbladder seemingly went from totally normal to gangrenous overnight.  (Back story from what I can recall--when I was really little, my dad went into an ER with horrible pains and was sent away.  He soon went back in with the same symptoms and a very high fever.  They decided to remove his gallbladder "electively," mostly to shut him up.  Lo and behold, when they got inside of him they found his gallbladder was not only leaking, but it was gangrenous from leaking for such a long time.  At some point, it burst.  No one knew why or how it happened, but it baffled all doctors as he had no symptoms of gallstones prior to the event.  His mother had her own gallbladder removed under similar circumstances, but hers never burst or developed gangrene.)  My PCP thinks my dad's own gallbladder stopped working like mine and, over a period of years, damaged itself to the point of bursting.  We're glad I didn't go that route, and my PCP and his office are operating assuming that they caught mine in time.

So, praise God!  There's a light at the end of this tunnel!