u/Calorically_Yours

Hi, everyone! So, my gallbladder is scheduled for removal in a month (thank God!), and I'm doing my best to wait it out, but I am just almost constantly fatigued and feeling inflamed. Last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I noticed I was having pains all along my right side, from my neck down to my groin. I went to massage around my hip/groin and it felt like there was a swollen lymph node. Massaging it seemed to help a bit. I've also noticed on other occasions that I will feel a hardened lump on the back of my neck on the right side. I assume it's also a swollen lymph node, which seems to come and go with my other symptoms. I never noticed any of this until I started having gallbladder issues (didn't realize it was my gallbladder at the time, but looking back I feel pretty confident that it was).

For context, I've been diagnosed with at least one gallstone, a polyp, sludge, and a distended gallbladder with some wall thickening. I know gallbladder stuff can cause abdominal lymph nodes to swell, but not sure I've heard of it moving beyond that. However, the timing and location seem a little suspicious to me for it to be completely unrelated. Has anyone else experienced these symptoms? Anyone notice these kinds of things improving after removal?

I am so excited! My surgery is scheduled for June 10 and I cannot wait! I never would have imagined being so happy to get an organ removed, but I am so ready. I didn't even realize until recently that my gallbladder has been having issues for YEARS. I've had a few of the classic painful attacks in the past, but they subsided after an hour or two, so I always just kind of shrugged it off. I'd go for several months of feeling perfectly normal, so it was even easier to just kind of forget about it.

The past two or three months, though, have been a completely different ballgame. The attacks have changed; they're not as painful anymore, but they are much more frequent. And my list of symptoms has been getting longer and longer. They didn't do a HIDA scan, but my surgeon said I have at least one small gallstone that's stuck in the neck of my gallbladder, a polyp, and sludge, with some wall thickening and distension. No wonder I've been feeling so terrible!

All that said, I am so ready to get this thing out of me. The next month is going to be tough, especially on the hard days. I could have gotten into surgery MUCH sooner, but sadly had to postpone so my husband can take off work to watch our toddler while I recover. 😭 It is what it is.

Idk, maybe I'm not taking this seriously enough. I realize it's a major surgery, and obviously it would be ideal not to have to remove an organ in the first place. But at this point, my surgery cannot come quickly enough. 😂

I've been obese my entire life- was 200lbs at 10 years old. I carried it pretty well, I would say. People were always shocked to hear how heavy I actually was. I was quite curvy with large breasts, butt/hips. I definitely had a belly, but overall my fat was just well-distributed over my entire body.

Now, at 188, I'm basically at the lowest weight I've ever been. Much to my surprise, I do NOT have the lovely hourglass figure I always thought I had. Turns out, I'm an upside down triangle. 😭😂 I actually don't mind it at all and have really been enjoying my broad shoulders and straight collarbones. I feel powerful, lol.

I anticipated having to relearn what clothing/styles look good on me, but not quite to this extent. It's been fun diving into researching fashion, now that I can finally shop basically anywhere. There's definitely more of a learning curve here than I was prepared for, though, lol. Anyone else had a similar experience after fat loss?