I had gallstones a few years ago. They are intensely painful. At first I chalked it up to bad food. The second time, I thought I must have an ulcer. The third time I realized it was my gallbladder. I went to an excellent specialist who confirmed to me what it was.
The internist tells me he'll simply remove it. "You don't need your gallbladder anyway." I beg to differ. He wants to provide a sure result, first time, every time. I have a different goal: I want to do the least harm, least intrusion possible. I was perfectly fine with suffering a bit longer to achieve my goal. I postponed my appointment to proceed with the surgery and started by trying a "gallbladder cleansing." This is far from 100% reliable, but for me it worked.
If it hadn't, I would have proceeded to the next mildest approach. Surgery is my last resort. For my doctor, it was his first. I'm in this for the long haul; it's my body and I have a responsibility to learn and understand it, to take proper care of it.
The internist tells me he'll simply remove it. "You don't need your gallbladder anyway." I beg to differ. He wants to provide a sure result, first time, every time. I have a different goal: I want to do the least harm, least intrusion possible. I was perfectly fine with suffering a bit longer to achieve my goal. I postponed my appointment to proceed with the surgery and started by trying a "gallbladder cleansing." This is far from 100% reliable, but for me it worked.
If it hadn't, I would have proceeded to the next mildest approach. Surgery is my last resort. For my doctor, it was his first. I'm in this for the long haul; it's my body and I have a responsibility to learn and understand it, to take proper care of it.