There is no sympathy for self-inflicted wounds.

Let me start by saying "I am not a doctor." In the doctor's office I work in, however, it is my job to read the physicians' dictations and code the work they've done. Almost every day, without fail, I read a dictation from one of the physicians that says basically, "The patient complains of right, upper quadrant abdominal pain. The pain is worse after he/she eats pizza." (Or tacos, or fried chicken, or 'a fatty meal.') The physicians do their best to council the patient on a proper diet, but invariably the patient just wants their gallbladder removed so they can continue to eat pizza, or tacos, or fried chicken.

Let me put this another way. The patient would rather have surgery, major surgery, than to give up their favorite food. They would rather have incisions through which various surgical instruments are inserted to remove an organ from the only body they are ever going to get rather than give up the pepperoni and sausage. Aside from the appendix, there is not another organ in the body which does 'nothing.' Scientists have decided that the appendix used to do something but now is just a useless appendage that evolution hasn't yet quite gotten rid of, but the gallbladder is not in the same category. It produces bile - bile that your body needs to aid in digestion. Not a useless organ. Not really a good trade for the Hawaiian special at the neighborhood pizza parlor.

Of course, there are exceptions. If you have gallstones and one becomes impacted, then, yes, maybe your gallbladder needs to be removed, but most of the time, no. As with any other surgery, there are always those who legitimately have the need. I don't think the sixteen-year-old who weighs 300 pounds and can't give up the McDonalds is someone who legitimately has a need.

Maybe it's too easy to fall into the 'surgery will fix this' trap. Obese? Gastric bypass, or the latest sleeve gastrectomy where they remove most of your stomach. Skin lesion your doctor assures you is not cancer? You don't like the look of it - cut it out. Abdominal pain after your favorite KFC Extra Crispy? Take out the gallbladder. Don't like your period cramps? Have a hysterectomy.

Now, don't get me wrong. I've had my share of surgeries. Heart surgery as a child. Two C-sections, and a hysterectomy. None of these could have been avoided by giving up fried foods. My heart surgery, at age three, was hole related, not cholesterol related. I suppose you could argue that the C-sections could have been avoided by actually eating birth control pills, but that is a whole nother blog. The truth was it was more due to my total lack of progression in labor and my son's freakishly large head (I love you Gary - you grew into it in no time!) The hysterectomy was a result of severe anemia no amount of meds or less invasive procedures could fix - believe me, I tried. In my mind (at least), these were totally legitimate reasons for surgery.

I aldo must confess, I have gallstones. I've known about them for years. When my gallbladder starts to flair up, I lay off the 'bad' foods for a while and it calms down. Should I give up the 'bad' foods altogether? Probably, and I'm working towards that. I know bile does not seem like your friend - especially when you're vomiting (who hasn't tasted that? yech.), but it actually is your friend. I think I'd like to keep this friend with me for the rest of my life, thank you. (Hello, this is my best friend, bile. He can be a little bitter at times, but if you'd been through the things he has been though, you'd understand.)

In the end, however, it is the owner of the gallbladder who has to make the decision. "I really, really, really want to continue to eat Thickburgers every day, and I really, really, really don't like the pain they cause." This is obviously enough justification for some. Your body, your call. Unfortunately it ends up raising health care costs for the rest of us, but again, I digress.

The migraine that comes from eating dark chocolate, however? So worth it. And it doesn't cost the taxpayers anything. I buy my own meds.

Before you judge me, remember my previous blog? Do as I say, not as I do.

Holly