more medical tracking

[the_siobhan]

Notes for myself and conversation with doctor.
Dates of gallbladder attacks so far.

May 24
June 17
June 19
June 28

Based on what I ate this weekend I'm going to make a prediction I will have another one before the end of the week. We'll see if I'm right.

This is the part that actually worries me; I'm definitely losing weight, I'm down about 12 lbs, 4 of those in the last week. I'm averaging four bowel movements a day. That started while I was in Amsterdam (I originally attributed it to the unfamiliar food) so lets say it was around May 10.

I'm starting to wonder about deficiencies in fat-soluble vitamins. My skin usually clears up in the spring, it hasn't done that yet. My last dye job was at the end of April, I should have at least an inch of root growth, instead there is less than a centimeter. Vitamin-D deficiencies are strongly correlated with depression. (Hello) And I cannot seem to get enough bloody sleep.

Tracking what I eat is a good idea, I'm going to start keeping a food diary again.

Comments

[rbowspryte.livejournal.com]

Mine (I am fairly certain) came from travel as well. California and an outbreak of a Norwalk related virus that left my diet altered for months afterward. Shortly after that gall bladder attacks and removal. Lots of bowel movements. I lost about 25 pounds.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

This is genetic - every woman in my mother's family has had her gallbladder removed. I may end up having to have it removed eventually anyway, but I'm hoping I can hold it off for a while with dietary changes.

How does your body handle fat digestion now that you've had yours removed?

[baratron.livejournal.com]

You know there exists medication that can help the gall bladder work better, and maybe even dissolve gallstones? (If they're the cholesterol type and not the calcium-deposit type). Ursodeoxycholic acid. It's one of the natural bile acids that your body should be producing anyway. People with gallstones generally don't produce enough of it, which is how the stones build up.

I've been taking it for several years, and my last ultrasound showed that the stones had virtually gone. Started off on 450 mg per night, now on 150 mg and going to drop that to 75 mg soon.

Also, the rather cheap antispasmodic Buscopan, sold for IBS, is not bad at fending off gall bladder attacks if you know that you've eaten too much fat in a meal. The drug in it is hyoscine-N-butylbromide.

I get annoyed with surgeons who see everything as a surgical problem.

btw,

[theevilchemist.livejournal.com]

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (http://www.ajcn.org/) is online and most all of the journals are full PDF and free. You can type in "gallstones" and see what sort of research has been done on diet and gallstones, as well as the efficacy of various treatments.


jv

[kylmak.livejournal.com]

I hope it's nothing serious.

As far as vitamins go, I've read somewhere that vitamin D can be hard to absorb if you lack vitamin C.

Then there's always the chance your body may have decided to stop absorbing a specific vitamin altogether (like Angel's body stopped processing vitamin B, so she needs to get shots every month to get her vitamins).

[sola.livejournal.com]

Those are fairly clear patterns, so i hope it's something that can be tracked down and sorted without wasting too much time sleuthing.

[theevilchemist.livejournal.com]

Vit D recommendations are on the verge of some major revisions here in the US and Europe, largely b/c of new data correlating the risk of hormone related cancers like breast and ovarian. In fact, researchers have found a receptor for Vit in certain cancer lines that when Vit D docks it causes apoptosis (cell death). However, the chemotheraputic dose is too high to be useful, but researchers at UCLA are trying to find more powerful analogs that don't induce hypercalcemia. These molecular findings + the epidemiological data correlating Northern Latitude with Ovarian cancer rates is an extremely strong argument that people are not getting enough Vit D. The AMA here is recommending the RDA increase to 2000IU up from 400IU.

Vit D Supplement taken with meals is the recommended route to go. It's cheap, so it's not a big deal. Mushrooms are the only veggie source of Vit D, but it's unreliable as the amount is dependant on how long the mushroom was exposed to UV radiation. In reality, vit D deficiency exists largely b/c we don't run around in the sun the way we did before the industrial revolution.

Vit A as beta carotene is everywhere in the plant kingdom. You cannot OD on beta carotene(but can on animal forms), so eat as much leafy greens, carrots, peppers as you want. Any time you find Vit A in the plant kingdom, you'll find loads of C & K, as well.

Vit E, the tocopherols and tocotrienols. There are actually 7 Vit E's, but supplements usually are only the α tocopherol. Sunflower seeds have the most, followed by Almonds closely in second. Almonds are a bit better overall, as they have more fiber and their fat is monosaturated (like olive oil) and increases HDL which aids in sending Cholesterol back to the liver for reprocessing.

I wouldn't be surprised if your Vit D status was compromised due to a gall bladder condition. Vit D & K, Chloesterol, Fats, are all interconnected in a very complex way affecting many systems.

How is your cholesterol status anyway? I've been reading the latest research on combination therapy of statin drugs + ursodeoxycholic acid in the treatment of gall stones, & the findings seem promising, There is strong evidence statin drugs help prevent gall stone formation, but unfortunately it's too early to tell if they are effective in reducing gall stone episodes in people who already have 'em.

Vegan diets often achieve the same results as statin drugs, so your cutting down on animal products seem to be a good route to go.


jv

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Last time I had my cholesterol checked I was told it was a bit on the high side but that my HDL/LDL ratio was excellent.