My Abdomen Scan

Today I had Hospital again and this time it was for the scan on my abdomen. I jumped on the bed and the lifted my t-shirt up, Then the Doctor put the gel on my stomach and swathed the lights off grabbed his magic wand looking thing from the scan machine, and began to look inside my stomach.  

After about 20 minutes of me turning from side to side, holding me breath in and out the Doctor finished the scan.  Then the Doctor told me you have a few Gallstones and a Enlarged Spleen, two spate things going on.

What are gallstones?

Gallstones occur when bile, which is normally fluid, forms stones. Gallstones commonly contain lumps of fatty (cholesterol-like) material that has solidified and hardened. Sometimes bile pigments or calcium deposits form gallstones. Sometimes just a few small stones are formed; sometimes a great many. Occasionally, just one large stone is formed.

What is the spleen and what causes an enlarged spleen (splenomegaly)? 

The spleen sits under your rib cage in the upper left part of your abdomen toward your back. It is an organ that is part of the lymph system and works as a drainage network that defends your body against infection.

White blood cells produced in the spleen engulf bacteria, dead tissue, and foreign matter, removing them from the blood as blood passes through it. The spleen also maintains healthy red and white blood cells and platelets; platelets help your blood clot. The spleen filters blood, removing abnormal blood cells from the bloodstream.

A spleen is normally about the size of your fist. A doctor usually can't feel it during an exam. But diseases can cause it to swell and become many times its normal size. Because the spleen is involved in many functions, many conditions may affect it. 

An enlarged spleen is not always a sign of a problem. When a spleen becomes enlarged, though, it often means it has been doing its job but has become overactive. For example, sometimes the spleen is overactive in removing and destroying blood cells. This is called hypersplenism. It can happen for many reasons, including problems with too many platelets and other disorders of the blood.

Causes of an Enlarged Spleen

An enlarged spleen can be caused by infections, cirrhosis and other liver diseases, blood diseases characterized by abnormal blood cells, problems with the lymph system, or other conditions.

I will have wait till I see my Doctor next to see where we go from here, but having read up a little on these two things. It said gallstones can come on by rapid weight loss, and as for the enlarged spleen maybe it’s enlarged because of FA. It said  a spleen can enlarge its  self by overworking and the spleen fights of infections, and when I was in Hospital for the first operation I lost a lot weight rapidly and had a big infection in my foot. Now I’m not saying this is what has caused both things but it’s something to think about, and to discuss further with my Doctor when I see her next.