It's good to be alive
 

So, last Monday morning, around 4am, I started to get pain in my chest under my right rib. I wrote it off as a gas pocket and kept doing what I was doing... but the pain started getting worse and also moved from my right side to the center of my chest (about an inch under where the ribs end). It just stayed there and didn't seem to want to go away like a gas pocket normally would.
Finally, after putting up with it until about 11 Am I decided that it was time to get it checked out, so off to the local hospital ER went I for some evaluation. Well, after testing me with an EKG and other tests the verdict came back that it was not a heart attack. However, after a CT (CAT) scan and some other tests it looked like it was my Gall Bladder. Met with a surgeon and he ordered a few more tests for the following day. Next day (Tuesday) was an MRI and something else, followed by a confirmation from te Doc that indeed, it was my Gall Bladder, it was infected, had gall stones and, to quote him.. "it was hot".
2:30 PM that same day I was in surgery and it was removed using Laproscopy. Talking to the Doc afterwards he said it was scared from previous attacks and he wondered why I wasn't in worse shape from the infection. (Put me on massive IV doses of antibiotics). I'm happy to report
that the next day I was doing really good and was on solid foods already and by Thursday evening (although still *very* tender I was sent home. Doing better every day now, walking without any pain and more importantly able to draw a full lungful of air without pain. My point of all of this is to caution everyone not to just shake off heavy pain and think it's a gas pocket. It can be much worse, from a heart attack to a gall bladder to kidney stones to ??? Take pain seriously, it's natures way of telling you that something isn't right.
I got my Christmas gift early. I'm still alive.

Glad to hear you are doing ok. And its not during fishing season.

Very thankful that you’re doing well and great post to make everyone aware of the issue. It’s too easy to do the “man thing” and brush it off, but it’s not the smart thing.

I'm glad your doing well Paul. Your so rite about pain .it is indeed letting you know something is wrong.Glad you got it taken care of and that you can enjoy a wonderful Christmas!

Happy to hear that that's all it was and that you are on the mend already. I totally agree with your advice. Merry Christmas to you and your family.:clap:

Close call, D, glad your back in the pink. This will be a christmas you won t forget.

One of the guys at a parts house i trade with was having lower back pains and shortness of breath, turned out to be a gall bladder problem. I always thought of gallbladder as a digestive problem. I guess that issue presents itself in many different ways.

Depends on if it also has stones or not. Glad he's doing ok, and yes, this is most certainly a Christmas to remember. :beer:

Thank you all for the good wishes.

Merry Christmas everyone

You done good...
 

Glad you are up and about. I worked in health care for 44 years doing treadmills, ekg's and echocardiograms. Postponing treatment of chest pain has caused many people to end up with more irreversible damage than they would have otherwise. Good on you for getting it checked out quickly.

Merry Christmas and a happy 2020!

XXL

Happy everything worked out in a positive direction for you, God bless. Nobody wants to go to the doctor or hospital thats the last place we want to go but sometimes you have to. I get pains all the time but when do you go to the hospital? I had this pain in the head and it would be a pounding headache then I said to my wife,Stop hitting me in the head with that pan, then it went away,that was a close one