Thursday, April 1, 2010

False Alarm

Well, I'm back after an absence of almost a week. I have a very good reason for keeping quiet these last few days. On the 28th of March, I was at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital Alor Setar for my routine post treatment follow-up on Hepatitis C. This time, in addition to the blood test, I was ordered to do a liver scan. I didn't sleep very well the night before the appointment fearing a relapse of the dreaded disease.

We (my husband and I) arrived at the hospital at about 8.10 a.m. and headed straight for the Ultra Sound department . I did not have to wait long before I was called in. I was relieved when told that my liver looked okay but they discovered something else..... there were stones in my gall bladder. At that very moment, I was devoid of any feelings. The whole world froze on me. There was no fear, no shock, nothing. When the truth finally sank in, I meekly asked whether it was normal to have stones in the gall bladder. I was told to discuss it with my doctor, putting an end to my attempt to get some sort of an assurance that it was not a serious problem. Well, my appointment was due in two days time, on the 30th. This meant that I had to endure 2 long days and nights before I could finally get an answer.

When I told my husband of the new discovery, he let out a long sigh before laughing out loud. "Hey, this is no laughing matter. What is so funny?" I shouted back in anger, tears brimming my eyes. Sensing that I was really upset and distressed, he started to console me, quoting friends and relatives with stones! I lashed back at him "They all have stones in their kidneys, I have them in the gall bladder!" My husband was momentarily quiet. He is one confused man when it comes to the human anatomy. I think he was trying to figure out the difference between a kidney and a gall bladder but he refrained from probing further

We then made our way to a different part of the hospital to have my blood taken for the blood test. By 10 a.m. everything was done and during the drive back home, I cautioned my husband not to breathe a word about the stones to my mum. There was no point in making her worry......not yet, I reasoned out to my husband.

Surprisingly, I was able to handle the "bad" news remarkably well. I did not rush to the internet to devour whatever knowledge I could find. The scenario was completely different when I was first informed that I tested positive for Hepatitis C in December 2007. Much as I was scared to know about Hep C, I kept on digging more and more and I ended up worse off emotionally than I started out! I was not about to repeat the same mistake this time around.

My cousins, Fushia and Ikke and my aunty Rozainy called to get the latest updates on my tests but I kept mum on the scanning, telling them that the results would be made known only after I saw the specialist. I was extremely careful not to leak out anything regarding the stones for fear that the message would be passed on to my mum. I remember Ikke insisted on knowing the results of the scan, so I had to lie. I told her everything was okay.

I prayed extra hard the morning of the appointment. Again, my husband and I set out for the hospital. While waiting for my turn to see the doctor, I met a fellow Hep C patient, who used to be  my husband's golf  buddy. I wasted no time in telling him about the stones in my gall bladder. What a relief when he told me that he also has some in his gall bladder. He told me not to worry adding that once you crossed 67 years, you should not complain about  any minor health defects. I nodded my head in approval but the problem is I have another 10 full years to reach where he is now!!! Come on, have some mercy on me!!

My turn to see the doctor finally came. This specialist, a gastro enterologist, is an extremely nice person. I referred to him as "the good doctor" in my earlier write-up on my experience of Hep C. After having exchanged the usual doctor-patient greetings, I sat down nervously waiting for what was in store for me. He was busy studying the results on the computer. When he finally spoke, I could not believe what I heard. His exact words were " These stones, there were already there before. You don't have to worry." It suddenly dawned on me that he was already aware of their existence before. My husband wasted no time in telling him that I was very worried about them. He explained that it is common practice to leave the stones as they are unless they cause discomfort or start to migrate out of their habitat. One problem solved. Syukur Alhamdulillah.

My blood test results were good. My ALT (liver enzyme) reading was normal. This reading is of great importance to all Hep C patients, before, during and after the treatment. It acts as a signal when monitoring the state of your liver. If the reading exceeds the allowable range, then there is cause for concern. My cholesterol level was a bit over the upper limit but he told me it was quite okay. What a relief! My prayers were answered. Syukur Alhamdulillah.

The good doctor told me he would see me again in 6 months' time. I have about 6 months to improve on my cholesterol level but the rest, like the ALT, are beyond my control.  I can only hope and pray that everything would be fine come 6 months from now and for always. InsyaAllah.

7 comments:

  1. Siti,

    ,,,just get rid of your gallstones via the natural way, as both me and Bid had done! Read more about Gallstones Removal Natural treament from Google o.k.
    ,,,its very simple, just drink fresh green apple juice 1 x glass every night for 5 x nights. (3 green apples to be blendered)
    ,,,on 6th night, no dinner but 1 x small spoonful of EPSOM salt with water 1 x glass at 0600 hrs plus again at 0800 hrs AND at 1000 hrs half glass of olive oil plus half glass of lemon juice mixed.
    ,,,you will shit out almost all of the gallstones same night and in the morning hehehe !!
    ,,,do it again in 6 months time and later yearly just once o.k.
    ,,,harmless for both of us but we are gallstone free nowadays.Got pic.of it in my blog too hahaha...green stuff initially plus brownish or redish later on i.e those far back in the gall bladder.
    ,,,you will feel vy healthy after getting rid of these gallstones from your system, trust me.

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  2. ,,,by the way your liver will be healthy too after doing this natural gallstone removal yaa.
    ,,,always drink fresh green apple juice, everyday too plus eat more garlic and serai.
    ,,,No more daging in your diet except ayam or fish will help too in reducing bile releasing from liver which end up as gallstones.

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  3. Dear Capt.,
    Thank you so much for the tips. Will work on it soonest. Never knew that these stones could be easily flushed out. It is a relief to know that many people share this problem. Initially, I thought I was doomed. Thanks again. Visited your blog a few times and commented on your entry on the English language. Will visit again to view the hot pix you mentioned.

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  4. Dear Siti,

    ,,,go to my blog jan 2009 for pic. captslonghouse.blogspot.com

    "Its easy and kind of safe,,,,just drink 1 glass of fresh apple juice for 5 nights (from 4-5 green apples or just eat them !)

    ,,,,,, and on the 6th night, take 1 x spoon of epsom salt mixed with water at 0600 p.m. and again at 0800 p.m.

    At 1000 p.m. drink 1 x glass of mixed Lemon juice and Olive Oil.

    AND that's it !!!!!!,,,,just wait and later run to the toilet and shit everything out.......the gallstones will be green in colour and will float,,,,,,pick them up if you want to further check it. (use a spoon-lah)

    ,,,,,,,try it out, it works for me,,,,,,,sharing my experience-lah. The next morning, you will find even more green stones in your stools. "Usually they float," and "You might want to count them. I have had friends who passes 40, 50 or up to 100 stones. Very many."
    "Even if you don't have any symptoms of gallstones, you still might have some. It's always good to give your gall bladder a clean-up now and then."

    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,PASS THIS AND YOU MAY HELP OTHERS!

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  5. hi aunty siti,
    syukur alhamdulillah problem wasn't as bad as you thought. wishing you speedy recovery!
    p.s. thanks to you and capt. longhouse on the crash course on gallstones :-)

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  6. just visited major's blog and realized it's your birthday!
    HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!
    *hugs*

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