A week of eating in Lisbon

I’ve really enjoyed writing about food on here, especially diaries of what I’ve eaten when travelling. But it’s recently become difficult. Last autumn I began to experience bouts of incredible abdominal pain that felt like a cross between the worst indigestion I’ve ever had and a heart attack. The first time it happened I did think oh fuck I’m going to die. I was in Marseille and had been to a fancy place for lunch with my pals and was trying to drink a half of beer when I began to feel acute discomfort that I’d not felt before. When it happened again a few weeks later I went to the doctor and said to them, I’ve googled this, and I am concerned it might be gallstones. I was dismissed and given a prescription for some meds to help with indigestion but a minute or two after I left the surgery they called me and said please come back and pick up a form for blood tests.

I dutifully collected my form, went and had blood tests and a couple of days later was called up to say they were concerned, and they wanted me to have a scan. The following week I went for the scan and the clinician pressed the imaging probe onto my side and I said that hurts and she said yes that’s because you’ve got gallstones. She turned the screen to show me the hazy white blobs in my gallbladder. Naively I thought they would just refer me for surgery to take my gallbladder out, but instead I was told to manage it through diet. The thing I’ve found that works – and by works I mean almost manages my symptoms – is eliminating all the things I find most delicious to eat: butter, cheese, red meat. Goodbye croquettes! Farewell eggs fried in butter! Adios pork belly! Au revoir roast potatoes! I think I’d completely eradicate my symptoms if I didn’t drink any alcohol too, but I can’t face that yet. I’m glad not to be in excruciating pain but it is – culinarily speaking – very depressing.