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not eating normally by any means...
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if i were you, i wouldn't worry about the cheetos. i would just lay off the burgers, fries, mcdonald's route. a lot of people get flare-ups for things like LETTUCE. you wouldn't think it, but everyone is different. it's pretty safe to say you can eat your cheetos. i ate pretty normally and didn't have any flare-ups for a whole 5 months. so it really depends on the person. anyway, i don't think cheetos will hurt you if you're craving them.
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Wolf, just curious, why would a gallstone hurt sometimes and not all the time?
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mine started in february of 2002, and continued every single week, sometimes every day, until june. then it stopped hurting at all until november. after 7 different opinions, an ultrasound, and almost a YEAR (11 months, actually, to the day that it started hurting), i got my surgery. it depends on the person, the size and number of the stones, and what you eat. i myself had many smaller stones.
one of mine got lodged in the duct that actually goes to the small intestine. that duct is also connected to the pancreas. at the worst of my pain (november), i was hurting for 4 days straight. this was absolute agony for me. i couldn't eat or drink anything because i would get nauseous, i couldn't stand up straight or lie down, or sit up straight...i begged to go to the hospital, because i knew something was wrong. long story short, i ended up being misdiagnosed and going to a different doctor, and she found out what was wrong.
if i had let it go, i could have developed pancreatitis and died. luckily, it didn't go that far. but it's not entirely uncommon.
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she claimed it really wasn't all that bad.
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it's really NOT all that bad. the first couple of days, you will be in moderate discomfort. they will PROBABLY give you morphine in the hospital, which helps a lot (you can't move in the bed and your back will get sore), and they will probably suggest a prescription for vicodin or some other equally effective drug. the worst part, i think, is the carbon dioxide they fill your abdomen with. it cannot be passed like intestinal gas, therefore you have to wait for your body to reabsorb it. taking deep breaths 5 to 10 times every hour helps with this more than you'd think, but you'll still feel like a balloon. the added pressure on your internal organs isn't pleasant, but as stated...is much more bearable than the pain of the gallstone itself (gut-wrenching. literally.)
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I think that's what Jen had. They went in through her belly button! How weird!
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it was weird, but i've got three little scars. laparoscopy is amazing. they do the stitches inside, too, so they just dissolve.
you'll have a pretty quick recovery. i was almost perfect within a week, but remember...even if you feel fine, don't overdo it. i turned onto my stomach in bed once after the first week, and i got shooting pain from one of my incision sites. it hurt for a couple of minutes. just don't stretch too much.
i don't know if you crack your back or not, but looking back, that was the worst for me. i crack and stretch constantly, and to be forbidden to do that for 2 weeks had my back in a bit of pain.
take it easy and don't worry about it. i'm sure they'll treat you really well, and i'm sure you'll be fine.
