Sometimes, you just need a break. For example, not being motivated to do something whether it’s cooking dinner, calling your cable provider to lower your bill or update your blog.  I’ve learned to ‘go with my gut’ and this time it was my gut (or gall bladder to be most accurate) who got to me.

I’d had a nagging pain under my right shoulder-blade for months.  I blamed the pain on bending backwards, painting the ceiling of my front and back porches. While I am certain that did not help, it was not the problem.  I tried more yoga and stretching, longer deep tissue massage, chiropractic and acupuncture with no relief. Finally, my Chiro/Acupuncturist suggested it was gall bladder.  Crazy, right…not so!

The ultrasound confirmed what they thought was a polyp but post surgery it was a gall stone. I saw the surgeon and he strongly suggested we go with Robotic Surgery (Single Site) vs. Laparoscopy.  Knowing the recovery from the surgery would be better, we went with the Robotic plan.

The procedure went very well and I literally had no abdominal pain post surgery. Abdominal tenderness and some swelling were the only symptoms.  Anesthesia recovery, was another story and after 10 days, the fog finally lifted.

Little did I know that little pain in my back was an indicator that something else was going on.  My ‘gut’ told me there was something more and I’m glad I went in for the testing.

Things that I’ve learned or confirmed as a result of this experience:

1) Listen to your gut
2) When something doesn’t seem right, get it checked out…pronto!
3) If you need to cut back on commitments to take care of your physical or mental health, just do it!

I’m back, and feeling stronger every single day.  Thanks for hanging in there with me!