Gallbladder problems

So, my gallbladder has been bothering me a lot lately. Not a full on Gallstone attack because those are brutal but Ive been uncomfortable and queasy. 

Today I threw up outside of the bank and at the grocery store so that was interesting but that's what happens when you have gallstones. Now as for how to solve this here are my options:

I can keep the damn thing and just live with the attacks. The problem with that is its safe to say the attacks will eventually get worse and more frequent and its possible that a stone could get lodged in one of the ducts and that could cause infection and all kinds of problems.

The other option is I can get the gallbladder removed. The problem with that is of course surgery for anyone is risky but especially for me, I am a bleeder and I have no concentrate factor. The other problem with that in my mind is that I've never had surgery before and I've always been told I can't have surgery. Never tell a child they can't do something because here's the thing, they will believe you! So many things I do or don't do in my life are based on things that people told me when I was a child that are really not even true but they are so ingrained in my mind. 

The other option is taking the medicine that will dissolve the stones. The problem with that is I'm not crazy about all of the side effects of the drug and once you stop taking the drug the stones will just come back. So at the moment I am not sure what to do. 

My plan of action is to consult with the surgeon in April, consult with my Hemophilia clinic in March and consult with the GI specialist in May. Normally I always side with whatever my Hemophilia clinic says I feel like they know me the best and have the most experience with my particular situation. Of course I'll be praying and consulting with the man upstairs too!

I'm curious has anyone in the bleeding disorder community had this problem?

Old woman winter

So, the winter is always a rough time for me, February in particular. The winter is just long and cold and hard on the body. Anyways, my latest trouble has been with my gallbladder. I started getting pain about a week ago and went to my doctor. On physical examination he decided it would be best to get an ultrasound. The ultrasound didn't really show us anything we didn't know. I have gallstones and they bother me every now and then. Right now the action plan is to follow up with a GI specialist and see if they can maybe dissolve them with medication or break them up small enough so that they can be passed.
Another wonderful development we noticed is that my blood is raised. Its normally 120/80 always all the time forever but lately its been 150/91, 138/85 so I am going to be put on a 24 blood pressure monitor and then we will go from there.
In the meantime I am going to get on with my life as much as possible. The best thing for gallbladder problems is a clean healthy diet including BEETS! Beets are wonderful for the gallbladder so I've been roasting them and eating them as much as I can.
So if you have gallstones and can't get them removed please let me know and I'd be happy to share my beet recipe with you, its so good they barely taste like dirt.

Hemos Unite!

So, I had the pleasure of talk with Matti Vann a weeks back and I am so excited to listen to the finished product.
Matti Vann is the mother of a Hemophiliac, activist, and all around great person. She was so kind to have me on her show and has inspired me to get back to blogging more.
To learn more about Hemos Unite, please visit Hemosunite.com.
You can listen to me blabbing on about hemophilia on her site as well.
I love talking about Hemophilia its one of the only topics I feel like an expert on and I love the idea of helping others just by doing something as simple as sharing my story.
I love volunteering and speaking at events and I honestly wish there was an opportunity to do more of it.
In the meantime I am still dealing with the gallbladder pain and I had an ultrasound tomorrow. I am going to the doctor tomorrow to get the results so we shall see what he has to say. Until then I will enjoy listening to the podcast!

slight setback

So, I've been complaining lately that I haven't been able to blog in a while so today my body hast decided to act up on me. Sunday, I started having stomach pain and by today it was so bad I had to go to the doctor. He said that its a gallstone attack so I am off to the doctor tomorrow to get an ultrasound. 

I've had gallstones since I was 12 years old and I am so lucky that I've only had about half a dozen attacks in my life. The thing is my hematologists don't want to remove my gallbladder unless its absolutely necessary. So as long as I'm only having a few minor attacks here and there I think I will hang on to them. In the meantime I am very uncomfortable and I'm really looking forward to getting this ultrasound so we can see if the stones are blocking something and then we can decide what to do from there. Last time I was given a blood transfusion and antibiotics so in the grand scheme of things not the end of the world.