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Worst weight loss system EVER
Previous in Personal: Much Ado About Nothing | Next in Personal: NumOrgans– |
Tomorrow, someone is going to knock me out, slice holes in me, and remove one of my internal organs. Then he will bill me.
About two months ago I mentioned that my health was failing and that I’d been to the hospital to have some tests done. Since then my health has remained poor, and I’ve had many more tests. The doctors have finally concluded that my gallbladder is not working right. It’s no longer under warranty, which means the best thing to do is to have it out. Yes, the gallbladder is an optional organ. I did not know this. I guess I’ll find out how “optional” it is after the surgery. I’ve been reading a great deal about this here and there on the web, but everyone is a little different and I won’t really know what it’s like until the time comes. Great. I just love surprises.
The surgery is tomorrow. I have Friday’s DMotR already complete, but I strongly suspect that this weekend I’m not going to be in the mood to make with the funny. In fact, I’ve been pretty short on funny lately to begin with. During my Fear the Boot interview I mentioned I had about three or four weeks of lead time in the comic. I’ve been slowly chipping away at that lead time since I got sick, and now it’s gone. Lately I’ve been cranking out episodes at the last moment. The upshot is that I’m just not going to have episodes ready for next week.
To avoid missing updates entirely, I’ve pulled out a few funny screenshots that should fill the void until I’m on my feet again.
When I warn of missing updates, the most common response I get from readers is, “You don’t owe us anything! Take time off and don’t feel guilty!” I want to make it clear that keeping up with updates is something I impose on myself. It’s just something I want to do. As the comic has grown I have increased my expectations and goals for the project. This started off as a bit of fun, and has become a sort of personal challenge. I want to see if I can pull it off, and see it though to the end. So, don’t feel like you’re being too demanding. The harshest taskmaster I have right now is myself.
Previous in Personal: Much Ado About Nothing | Next in Personal: NumOrgans– |
147 comments? What, did somebody start a flame war or something?
Hope the surgery goes well and you manage just fine without that pesky gallbladder.
Good luck, get well soon, and lets hope it’s as optional as an appendix…
I hope you feel better soon. From what I understand from the people I know of that have had gallbladder surgery, you have to watch what you eat afterwards. The gallbladder stores bile that helps your liver break down fat or something like that (pardon my off-the-cuff inaccuracies), and if you don’t have backup you may have a hard time digesting really heavy food.
From what I understand, though, it’s a relief to get rid of it if it is causing you problems.
Take care of yourself and we will patiently await your return.
Most of my current fam is sans bladder de gall at the moment, so I will give you the quick run down. It will take some time for your system to start processing fatty foods efficiently agin. During that re-adjustment time get used to multiple trips to the toilet. Other than that, everyone I know who has had the offending sack of bile removed has really been just fine.
Good luck on the surgery, and thanks for the commitment to posting the comic regularly. many a lurker out here who love the comic. Damn! I just de-lurked, didn’t I?
Regardless of who your taskmasters are in life, if you try to do anything that puts your health at risk I’d bet more than I own that your wife will prove the strongest of the taskmasters as she drags you by the scruff of your neck back to resting :-D
Good luck with the surgery and recovery Shamus, you’re in our thoughts and prayers.
Best of luck with the surgery, Shamus.
Mavis: It’s slightly less optional than the appendix, which serves no function at all except to occassionally become inflammed and infected in some life-threatening manner. The gall bladder does actually serve a purpose in digestion, but you can live without it, particularly if it’s already become blocked in which case you’re ALREADY living with out it, and removing it will just make that permanent, as well as get rid of your symptoms.
I assume Shamus is having this done laproscopically, so there are many fewer complications, less scarring and quicker recovery time.
If you’re lucky you don’t even have to go under general anesthetic. They just knock you out and administer local anesthetics to keep you from feeling anything for a while afterwards. I had that done with some elective surgery, and when I woke up, within about 30 minutes of waking up I had eaten, drank and been to the bathroom, which apparently meant I was good to go. I would have walked out, had the surgery not been on both of my big toes to correct chronic ingrown toenails. I could stand, but not really walk for the better part of 3 days.
The good news was that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time had just come out, so I was thoroughly entertained for the entire duration.
Are you going to keep it?
Damn thing just isn’t galling right is it.
I can’t believe you’re doing this to us. You should feel really guilty and stuff.
*cracks the whip*
Hope you feel better soon.
You’ll be fine, Shamus. I had the ol’ rock factory out over a decade ago and I’m still ticking. It took me about three days to get over the surgery completely even though I was out of the hospital that day. No fuss, no muss. Minimal scarring. And I don’t miss my gallbladder at all. Granted, we had drifted apart over the year or two prior to its leaving, but still, I really don’t even notice the absence these days.
So wishing you a successful surgery, a speedy recovery, and a healthy life without it.
Best of luck, Shamus. I have no plans this weekend, so perhaps I’ll have my gall bladder cut out as well as a gesture of solidarity. Will you be keeping yours in a jar?
Good luck with your surgery, your schedule and everything else. See if they’ll let you keep your gall bladder in a jar!
There’s got to be some way to use the removed organ in some kind of horrible prank.
Good luck!
So if the guy asks “Where do you keep your treasure?” before he opens you up are you going to a) assume he’s just a reader or b) get up an run out the door sans clothes?
Had mine out several years back. I was back to work a few days later, but in retrospect, I should have rested a couple more days at least. I felt so much better without it, but it was in pretty bad shape. I had an appointment with the surgeon to have it out but didn’t even make it that long; I ended up in emergency when a gallstone hit my pancreas (and I thought it was horribly painful before that). Ends up it was gangrenous and worse than they thought. Ever since I have felt free to use the phrase “By my gangrenous gut…!” in normal conversation, so that’s been a plus. Life has been wonderful without it and I can actually eat anything now, more than I could before I had it out.
Good luck with it. I hope it all goes smoothly.
The phrase “optional organ” amuses me.
Anyway, good luck in surgery, let’s hope they don’t leave any tools in you :)
Gallbladder to Shamus: “Im in ur systems messin up ur comix”
Oh no. lolDM.
This can’t be good.
“I want to make it clear that keeping up with updates is something I impose on myself. It’s just something I want to do. As the comic has grown I have increased my expectations and goals for the project. This started off as a bit of fun, and has become a sort of personal challenge. I want to see if I can pull it off, and see it though to the end. So, don’t feel like you’re being too demanding. The harshest taskmaster I have right now is myself.”
I admire that greatly. Good luck on the surgery and recovery.
Oh, and Gropos… LOL!
The hardest part of gallbladder surgery – if you are having the incision method versus the laproscopic method – is when, post-surgery, the medtech comes to remove your abdomen drain line.
Major Ouch.
(Though quickly over)
Darn! You’re on the cart twice.
Why does your gall bladder hate the strip? Has all the bile within put it in a poor humour? ;^)
Feel better soon. My jokes probably aren’t helping.
Yes, Shamus, keep your gall bladder in a jar. Better yet, in a phylactery so that you can regenerate after fatal damage.
Have you considered cybernetics? Half man, Half machine?
Good luck and I hope you start feeling better soon!
I hope your surgery goes well and that you feel better soon.
Also, after your last paragraph I don’t think that you would even listen if anyone told you to take a break, so I’ll just sit here and shut up. ;)
Be Strong man!
I know how it is trying to keep up with updates while under the weather.
I have never had surgery, but I have had some nasty flus that will put me out of it.
i wish you a speedy recovery shamus!
My guy had his gallbladder out last February – even though it was done laproscopically, he still had a great deal of soreness in his abdomen for a few days following the operation. You’ll probably want to hire a sexy nurse for the first few days to help you get through. On the plus side, he lost about 20 pounds of beer gut.
You don’t owe us anything! Take time off and don’t feel guilty!
Hey, somebody’s gotta say it… :D
Good luck!
Good luck Shamus, and don’t worry about not posting:P
Get well soon Shamus, (yes I am a lurker who posts very occasionally)
honestly, we will all survive with out the DMotR for a couple of weeks…will give us all reason to go back and re-read old ones.
Hope all goes well- good luck to ya, Shamus.
Hope all goes well.
i love the fact we have optional internal organs.
i want to know how they worked out what we needed and what we dont to live?
good luck SHamus, sorry for my morbid thoughts.
May your surgeon have a +2 in Optional Organ Removal, and may you not fail your saving throw.
just remember shamus to get better, and remember the house rules of DMotR; No Monty Python references… lol :D
I hope that the procedure goes smoothly and you don’t have to spend one minute longer than necessary in the hospital.
I think modern medicine adds a lot of +2 conditional modifiers to the throw.
Best of luck man. Take as much time off as you need, and then one day more. Rushing back to things when you feel “good enough” might just make things worse, and then you’ll end up losing more time than if you had just spent that extra day resting.
Enjoy putting your feet up for a while, use the time to come up with an arsenal of witty ripostes to phrases like “You don’t have the gall” or “the unmitigated *gall*!” etc.
I know you’ll feel better when this is done. :)
Also, this is an official THANK YOU from my family to you. We all love to read your blog and DMotR comic every week. You are a bright spot on the web. And the source of so many smiles. Thanks.
Heal fast, Shamus!
Yep. Hospitals add a good circumstance bonus.
Aides … er… aiding.
And since you can’t critically fail a skill check, I think we’ll have a healthy comicker in no time.
The gall bladder is, indeed, mostly optional (it acts as a storage facility more than a gall production factory). Not that I’ve had mine removed, but close family has (in the early 870s, if memory serves me right).
Gropos Says:
“Gallbladder to Shamus: ‘Im in ur systems messin up ur comix’”
lolDM – I’m not sure I want to see the pic of the gallbladder that goes with that.
I’m an engineer for a company that makes laparoscopic surgical instruments – some might be used on you! I have learned that removing the gallbladder is routine even laparoscopically (thru 3-4 small incisions that allows instruments in, but not surgeon’s hands), so much so that our company trains its engineers & salesmen on the use of the instruments by having them remove a pig’s gallbladder.
One minor thing to be aware of is that laparascopic surgery can have a weird side-effect- aching shoulders for a day or two after the surgery. The gas that is used to inflate the operative area (to allow room for the instruments & a field of view for the camera) can migrate to the joints. I understand it can be uncomfortable, but not terrible & some doctors forget to mention it. It doesn’t always happen, but thought you might appreciate a heads-up.
So: (1) routine – don’t be anxious; (2) don’t be surprised if your shoulders ache.
Hope you recover quickly & are soon asking why you didn’t have this done ages ago.
Cheers,
-Chipper
Think of how much faster you’ll be able to run without it… Less weight and gall bladder-related drag.
God speed, John Glenn. Get well soon.
Brendan
Be more better. Here’s wishing you a skilled surgeon and plenty of happy drugs for afters.
Good luck, man!
Best wishes, Shamus. I hope it goes as well as it possibly can.
May it go well, and recovery be swift and aided by happy painkillers.