At my last visit to the doctor to see how everything was going now that I'm on the dissolving medication, my doctor asked me to get a blood test done in July. It was basically to see if I've contracted Hepatitis from the dissolving medication.
So last week I had my blood test done, and it was a simple one vial procedure. I was scared at first because I wasn't sure how many vials they'd be taking. When I was pregnant they'd taken around 12 at one point, and that scared the crap out of me since I'm scared of needles.
It was basically just a waiting game, and I found out today that I did not contract Hepatitis at this point. I have to have another test done in September to check again.
For anyone considering doing a dissolving medication to treat your Gallstones, don't let anything I say scare you. A ton of people take the surgery, especially since it's usually what the doctor's push towards from the beginning. In most cases, those who are given the dissolving medication are generally elderly people who have less of a chance of recovery after a surgery. My doctors did tell me more than once that they'd rather I go with the surgery. Usually I go with what everyone else recommends, but I just had a baby in January, and had a C-Section... I don't want more surgery and lifting restrictions, and to have to take it easy more. Not to mention, if there was something that I could do to help my husband not have to take leave from work more, I wanted to be able to do it. So that's how I decided on the medication.
Yes, you can contract Hepatitis from using the medication. It's something to worry about, but not usually do you contract it.
Yes you can still suffer Gallstone attacks while on the medication, but it helps if you're on a very low fat diet to ensure that you don't get attacks.
Since I've been on the medication I have also maintained a low fat diet, and have not had a single attack since I started. I do understand that more people would rather have their Gallbladder out so they can continue a normal life, and not suffer consequences from eating whatever they'd like... but I honestly have enjoyed being on a low fat diet. Sure it gets hard at times, and I stare at the bakery sections in stores, a doughnut or pizza rolls sound awesome to me... but I gained a lot of weight during my pregnancy, and if it weren't for the decision to stay on this diet (I never had the willpower to stay on a diet before) and dissolve the stones, I'd never have lost 33lbs since February.
I really feel like having Gallstones has made me aware of the things I eat and drink, and just what things are out there that I can use in place of what I was used to. I'd never have found any of this stuff I post on this blog, the coffee creamers, the fat free cheeses, if I wasn't put in this situation. While having Gallstones sucks and makes me a tad paranoid (always afraid I could have an attack), I've been quite happy. I'm excited to see more of what's out there & blog about it! I love the fact that though there are a ton of people out there with Gallstones, afraid to eat anything, if they come across my blog they'd know that they aren't just stuck to salads and bland food. All you have to do is spend a few more minutes in the grocery store and look at all the products, read the nutritional information, you'd be so surprised to see what's out there! :)
So what I was getting at before...
While there are many things to consider when you are deciding surgery or dissolving medication, though there are things that sound scary, like contracting Hepatitis, really weigh your options and think, how likely is it that this will happen to me? Know that it IS possible, but chances are slim. But use it as a learning process..
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