So I had my ultrasound on Tuesday. Should have written about it at the time but the time I would normally spend websurfing and blog-writing, I've been knitting my binary scarf. Which is turning out pretty well, considering I've never worked with two colors before, but is slow going for the same reason.
Anyway, the ultrasound. An MD friend warned me that the technician doing the ultrasound normally will not tell the patient anything. Which is exactly what happened. I can understand that they don't want a tech saying something that scares a patient, or encourages them to treat themselves with possibly harmful results. But still, it would have been nice to have some idea what was going on. I could see the screen but I didn't know how to interpret it. It just looked like white and black swirly patterns. And sometimes they added blue and red colors, and then took them away. It was groovy, man.
At one point I asked the tech if something was a stone, but she would only say "Your doctor will get a full report." I had tried to break the ice with her at the outset, by making a joke that I just hoped she didn't see a baby in there. Which went over like the proverbial lead balloon. She rolled her eyes, offered a weak smile, and then went back to work. She barely spoke except "Take a deep breath and hold .... .... and breathe." Also, I didn't think ultrasound was supposed to hurt at all but she pressed that thing so hard into my side that it was kind of painful.
I think she must have been a new trainee or something. Because when she was done someone else came in and did the whole procedure again, only much faster and no pain. And she was friendlier and chattier, though no more willing to give up information. At one point she asked me if I was OK and I said yes, I just wished I understood the image. She chuckled and agreed, and then let it drop. Dang, I was hoping she'd maybe respond by explaining it to me, but no such luck.
I do think I saw stones though. At least, I saw both techs making notations on little white spots. In any case I have the follow-up appointment with my doctor, who allegedly got a full report, later today. At which point I will find out whether I do indeed have gallstones and if so, when will the surgery be scheduled. Or if.
I have to say that for me, the worst possible outcome will be if I do have gallstones but they don't want to operate. I haven't had a gallstone attack since I went on the low fat diet a week ago. So they may say I can control it with diet, and they may be right. But I hate being afraid of food. I don't know yet whether it's truly just the fat content that causes the attacks, or if the total quantity of food and lateness of eating affects it too. There's a lot of uncertainty so I worry every time I eat. I would hate to live like that permanently.
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