I haven’t blogged in awhile mostly because I’ve still been dealing with the issues with my gallbladder. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see that I was in the ER again! That’s 3 times in less than a month. As of right now, I’m waiting on a surgery date. I’ve seen a gastrointestinal specialist and just waiting to have this thing removed. Right now all I can eat is chicken broth, crackers, plain rice, and apple juice. Oh and the occasional Laughing Cow wedge . . . light of course. I read something that hit home about this ‘”diet”. It said that you are basically eating to give yourself enough energy to survive until the surgery. All your nutritional habits must go out the window for now.
Man, that is SO true!
I’ve felt a lot of emotions during this last month around my gallbladder from anger, sadness, fear, and most recently acceptance.
During my therapy session last week (ironically enough just hours before I ended up in the ER lol), I had an epiphany. We were doing an EMDR session around my anger with the surgery. That in itself requires a whole other blog post. lol
Recently I’ve been organizing old pictures because they seemed to just be scattered about. That’s what prompted me to finally write “My Story” on my blog. Seeing those old pictures where I call myself Medusa was horrifying. I still don’t recognize that person nor do I know what the hell she was thinking.
Prior to my first gallbladder attack, I had lost 30 pounds. I definitely started to change part of my lifestyle and then this happened. I feel like my gallstones are actually a sign. A sign that I MUST continue this healthy lifestyle and a reminder to never go back to becoming Medusa again. Ever.
No matter what anyone says, I know that yo-yo dieting my entire life caused my gallbladder to fail me. That said, this is my wake up call to REALLY change. To keep up the momentum. To never go backwards.
I had a vision of being at the hospital and seeing my gallbladder come out. To me taking out my gallbladder symbolizes leaving all those bad habits behind too. The new Mimi without a gallbladder symbolizes my new lifestyle. My new way of living that I must maintain . . . forever. The gallbladder isn’t just full of stones, it’s full of YEARS of binge eating, yo-yo dieting, and bad habits.
When I think of it this way, I accept my situation for what it is. I accept it and embrace it. I’m ready to move on and put this behind me.
“Pain doesn’t show up in our lives for no reason. It’s a sign that something in our lives needs to change.”
Hi! I’m Aimee with 2 E’s. I'm a confidence coach that empowers women to love themselves by breaking down body image issues, so that they can lose the emotional weight and gain the confidence to look and feel irresistible...at any size.
Everything happens for a reason. It’s great you can take this and turn it into a learning, growing experience. Everything we experience makes us who we are. xoxo
I always have to look at things like that! xoxo
That first quote is soooo true! I am a firm believer that we sometimes suffer because it is a call for us to look to a higher power. We all suffer from something. Great post. Well wishes with your surgery, your recovery, and your change!
Thanks Andrea! I always try to look for the good even in bad situations. I don’t think I’d get through them otherwise!
So frustrating dealing with this and having those “attacks” I had 3 before they finally moved my surgery date up. I wish you all the best! I know exactly what it was like to feel I was waiting to move on & be healthy. xoxo
Thanks TJ! Aren’t they the worst? How did your surgery go? I’m worried about the recovery!
I have viewed my surgery the exact same way! It’s a sign that the changes I have been making for myself need to continue and it HAS GOT TO BE a lifestyle change. Good luck with your surgery. Has it been scheduled yet. Like I said in your last post I just had mine today and they said it looked awful and it had to come out. So far I am feeling ok. Obviously some pain. The worst pain is just the gas stuck inside my belly that they used to blow me up lol. My friend that is a nurse said I needed to walk around to get that out.
Between this post and your “my story” post I can’t help but be amazed by your strength and your growth. You are truly an amazing person to find the silver lining in every situation. You should be incredibly proud of yourself for how far you’ve come in your journey up to this point. I know that you’ll continue to persevere through any hurdle that you come across. You are an inspiration!
I had my gallbladder out 6 months ago. From my early 20s I suffered from “heartburn” and after having my kids it was almost unbearable. Eventually I ended up in the ER with what I thought was a heart attack. As you can guess it was my gallbladder the whole time.
After my surgery my doctor told me I could eat whatever I like. I thought, eating whatever I liked led to this,why on earth would I do that? Just stopping eating high cholesterol foods has had great results both with weight and feeling so much better. Heartburn was an almost daily occurance; I haven’t had it Once since my surgery. I’d been so used to it I didn’t realize this was not normal.
Gallbladder attacks are a pain like I’ve never experienced before! It’s horrible. So happy to hear you’re feeling better since the surgery.