Looking back, I should have known better. As a registered nurse, I knew the warning signs but chose to ignore them (we were still reeling from hubby's recent PC diagnosis).....discomfort in my right upper abdomen after eating, discomfort radiating through to my back, very dark urine, very light stools, etc.. When the final, excruciatingly painful attack occured I ended up in the emergency room with severe, acute cholecystitis - the RT who did my MRI said that I had the most widely dilated bile ducts that he had ever seen. I was very lucky that the gallbladder had not ruptured yet, but it was close. I had to wait 4 days before I was stable enough for surgery, and was in the hospital for a total of 8 days. I really felt as though I was going to die.
I went home with a T-tube to drain the bile because my ducts were still swollen shut, and it took a couple of weeks before the swelling went down enough for the bile to drain normally again. I have never been so sick in my life! Unfortunately the timing was terrible in regards to hubby's PC diagnosis, and postponed the process of getting second opinions for him to decide what treatment he would choose. I've always felt guilty that this unexpected event caused him to have to delay his treatment for several months, which could have caused a much worse pathology than anyone could have expected.
Once I recovered, I have had no problems at all with my digestive system. I would certainly recommend that if anyone has a choice of when to have surgery, do it when you are NOT in acute distress!!