Just wondering if I am the only person who has had to go through a pre-op assessment without knowing when their surgery date is? I am waiting for a 270 degree fundoplication & hiatus hernia repair. Surgeons secretary said I couldn't have a date without a pre-op assessment being done - but I know loads of people who are given their dates and the pre-op assesment date a couple of weeks before. It's really frustrating - especially as you can't make any plans - I can't even book any holidays as I don't know how well I will be! I feel like I'm constantly battling for answers - when I just want it over with!
I had a pre op assessment at the beginning of November and still have no surgery date
That's not good Lessley!
If you had an MRSA swab - the test results are only valid for 6 weeks. I had a few questions that the pre-op assessment team couldn't answer as well - and they were to do with meds! I'm not holding out much hope of having a summer break this year - plus my work keep asking me when I am going in - as they have to make sure they are covered for when I am not there.
My op was supposed to be over with by Xmas but they have cancelled lots of planned surgery because the have no beds.
I know what you mean though. It feels like your life's on hold.
Would you have been staying overnight? They are supposed to do my surgery as a day case.
This maybe as simple as the hospital admin omitted to send you a surgery date or it went astray. Anyway the best of luck
They booked me in for an overnight stay as they are putting a camera in first to have a look at my abdominal wall. It's my 4th abdominal hernia. If everything is straightforward I'll be home the same day but if not I'll be in overnight
Mine is a hiatus hernia - so they already know what they are doing with me. It's a straightforward laprascopic op - takes about 60-90 mins - even the nurses in the pre-op said it was a 'low risk' operation. The first time I talked to the surgeon he told me 8 weeks - and it's over that now :-(
Hi Keith,
No admin error, I have spoken to the surgeons personal secretary who told me she could not give me a date until I had done the pre-op assessment - which is just a load of rubbish! Most of the people you speak to on here know their date weeks in advance. I feel like I have had to fight every step of the way to get to this point.
I was referred last February. I don't believe anything that they tell me about dates now. After the surgeon saw my scan he said that my case was quite urgent as it's a loop of bowel that's getting caught in the hernia and it's very painful.............but I'm still waiting
I'd be pesting that surgeons secretary - and saying where am I on this list - I'm not getting any better! The NHS has an 18 week start to finish policy - you are way beyond that! Unfortunately because of being rattled between departments - they could argue my time clock has been stopped and re-started a few times - I've been in the system since April last year - so I know how you feel! Give them a call on Monday - and be pleasent - but very assertive. You need an answer!
I will, Glennie. Last time I mentioned the 18 week policy she said that there was a chance that my recent hernia is a complication from my last repair and consequently the rule didn't apply.
The 1st surgeon that I was referred to is "no longer with them" and so I had to be re-referred to a different surgeon whch took time. I'm sure a lot of this is a way of fiddling the figures.
The secretary is usually very pleasant and helpful. She moved my initial assessment by the 2nd surgeon forward by months. However, last time I spoke to her (just after new year) she just sounded deflated and said that, as they were having to cancel admissions, she didn't know what they were gong to do. However, I am phoning her on Monday as I spent best part of yesterday in bed dosed up on tramadol.
I hope you hear something soon though. It might be worth phoning your surgeon's secretary just in case a letter has gone adrift somewhere, or you've somehow vanished from the system. The latter happened to me a couple of years ago
I will be phoning her towards the end of next week - then my file is sure to be back at the surgeons office. I need to leave a question for the surgeon about meds I am on anyhow!
Let me know how you get on - and I'll tell you how I get on later in the week!
Ok. Good luck.
I spent all of last year with tests , waiting for appointments and finally in October surgery. So all told it took twelve months from knowing there was a problem to solving it. What are you including in your pre op assessment? I had an endoscopy, 2 CT's scans, chest x-ray, an echocardiogram and many blood tests before I saw my surgeon. Even after I saw the surgeon I didn't have a definite date but had surgery within two months. I couldn't travel any further than 30 minutes as I would be burping so much and very uncomfortable. I made four trips to emergency in the last six months of my wait. I used to listen to relaxation tapes in the afternoon to try and keep myself calm. I am retired but I couldn't have worked for the last six months.
I also tried to keep busy with small projects that I could do. I could walk so that was high on my list to keep my body in good shape. I know how hard it is to wait but try to keep positive and busy.
Judy
Hi Judy,
My journey started last April, when after being on PPI's for about 2 years my symptons were just getting worse and worse to the point where I was having regitation most nights, was having reflux after eating or drinking anything and sometimes the acid at work was so bad - even with PPI's - I was constantly drinking water to try and keep it down - which in my case was a mistake. To top it all the tablets were giving me cramp all the time - and I was tired constantly.
So my doctor referred me to the hospital for an endoscopy - as she suspected hiatus hernia. That was April - they lost her original referal - and if I hadn't changed my meds - I may have still been waiting! So she sent it again in May. Mid July they did the endscopy - found the hiatus hernia - said I would be referred to gastroenterologist to discuss my options. So September I got to see the gastroenterologist - who wasn't keen on the surgery route - but at this time the meds I was on where giving me cramp, I was constantly tired and I had lost most of my sense of taste! He changed my meds - and said he would book some tests. He wanted me to try every med under the sun - I said I didn't want that! In the end he said he would get a surgeon to speak to me about pro's and con's of surgery.
November I saw a dietition, had to go to another hospital to have manometry and 24hr ph test done (as local one didn't - 140 mile round trip!!) and I saw the surgeon - who within 5 minutes of speaking with me put me down for surgery. At the time of speaking with the surgeon the tests from the other hospital had not come through - but he said I would be put on the list straight away - and only taken off if the results were inconclusive.
I got a call in December to say the results showed I had massive acid reflux - and that the surgery would be going ahead.
So here I am now - everything has taken 2-3 months every time - and just knowing a date would be nice! I have helped myself a lot by sticking to a very strict diet - and sticking to the rules of eating and drinking times etc etc. Even when I saw the dietian she said I was doing as much as I could to help myself! It's just so frustrating!
I do have a bit of pressure from my work too - they want to know as I will be off work for 3-4 weeks! I can't tell them anything as I don't know!
If I don't hear anything by the end of this week I will be phoning up!
Glennie,
you have been through the ringer! I see your frustration. You do need this surgery soon. It is very hard to wait. I found I felt pretty good after my surgery but you can't do any heavy lifting for three months and the soft food diet is quite restrictive for a couple of months. I had a rolling hiatus hernia without heartburn . I had lost 20 pounds and had lots of gas and burping. I found it hard to sit as the hernia was putting pressure on my esophagus. I had chest pains . The waiting can make you very cranky and irritable. It is a lot of stress! I hope you get the call for surgery soon. I see my surgeon again in three weeks. I am starting to have trouble with gas again and wondering if I need to follow the soft food diet again.
Judy
Thanks Judy,
I too have lost weight - I cut out all the known acid reflux triggers as well as things I knew I couldn't tolerate.
I hope you get your problem solved when you see your surgeon. It does make me think of a very interesting thing my surgeon told me during our consultation - that when you have a hiatus hernia you take more air in when you eat and drink than someone who doesn't have a hiatus hernia - don't know if this stops after the operation?.
Good luck in any case - I think you will be seeing your surgeon before I see mine!
Just phoned the secretary. She knew who I was straight away. She said that they are working their way through the cancelled ops now and my name is in a special file. If anyone cancels I'm 1st on the list for a bed. She said she'd tell the consultant that I'd rang again.
She couldn't give me any idea of an actual date though
Hi Lesley,
I'm glad they say you are on top of the list for a cancellation - sounds awful - but it would be good if someone caught a bad cold - and you could get your op!
Isn't it so frustrating having no date though! I'm not even bothering phoning until Friday - as I'm sure the file will be back with the surgeon's secretary then - and all results should be back from the pre-assessment clinic - as I'm sure there will be some excuse that some results are not in if I didn't. I think my surgery is classed as a low priority though - and I fear I will wait a lot longer than yourself!