Pain Pain Go Away ...

Regular bloggie readers (are there any, I have to wonder?) might remember my humdinger of a kidney infection back in September last year, which caused the most excruciating pain. Lucky me, I've got the pains again. I had another attack in early December, which my GP insisted was probably due to a stone in my bile duct (I had my gallbladder removed two years ago). I managed to get myself referred for an ultrasound, and when I finally got the appointment for the scan (three months later), everything appeared normal.

So, the pain is back. But this time I don't think my kidneys have anything to do with it. I am conscious of the fact that over the past couple of weeks I've probably eaten more fatty food than normal, and I reckon that perhaps my liver has decided it can't cope with more fat to digest than normal. My other thought was that it could be pancreatitis, but I'm not a doctor so I probably shouldn't be trying to self-diagnose anyway.

Shoring up my liver/fatty food theory, I have completely cut fat out of my diet since Monday, and I believe it has made a difference. On Monday night the pains were dreadful. It's like a crushing sensation, and I can feel all my abdominal muscles contracting hard as the pain hits. So hard, in fact, that I had great difficulty in actually getting any air into my lungs. Most bizarre. Whilst I can cope with pain, the real downside to this is that it's just so disabling - when the pains are there I literally cannot move as any movement results in agony. More than that, my abdomen is swollen, and my liver (presumably) is so inflamed that anything but the smallest of movements is impossible anyway ... hence sitting or lying still is the best option. Anyway, no fat since Monday, and last night (and tonight) the pains haven't been anyway near as bad as they were on Monday. The fact that I'm high as a kite on a cocktail of painkillers probably has something to do with that though! And I'm absolutely exhausted, and just generally feel weird (again, probably the painkillers). I sincerely hope the pain just disappears as quickly as it started. I can't stand feeling so debilitated.

Presumably as a result of the pain, I'm also feeling really depressed today. I am trying really hard not to indulge in a big hissy-fit of monumental proportions, but I'm not succeeding! I just ... well, it doesn't matter really, does it. I'm sure I'll feel better tomorrow, so why bother pouring out my insecurities here ... well at least I was capable of one rational thought!