Hello so just had ultrasound and was told these there was gall stones!!! Such a relief now knowing what all that pain has been!!!
What should I expect to happen from here? As I was just told the dr would receive full report and be in contact.
Many thanks
they will report as to the next step for you,if you have a trapped stone,?? keyhole surgery will be offered, all best,
The report will go to the GP and you will go for an appointment. From this they will write to a Consultant/Surgeon at the hospital and you will wait for an appointment to see them. Then you will most likely be put on a waiting list for an operation to have your gallbladder removed. This might be quite a wait unfortunately. I saw my consultant in April, and was told there was a six to nine month waiting list. I keep ringing up the hospital and I have recently been told it might be in August. Good luck.
My experience was slightly different to Lynne's. I guess everyone's experience if slightly different?
I had my ultrasound and was told I had gallstones and would need a cholecystectomy and they'd get in touch. No estimate of how long this might take!
A week later I developed jaundice. I collapsed and had to be admitted. I was really ill- in danger of septic shock. I was catheterised, on IV fluids and antibiotics and I had to have oxygen. I stayed in hospital for a week during which I had an MRI scan and an ERCP to try and remove stones from my bile duct. However there were too many big stones for this to work, so they inserted a stent to keep the bile flowing. I was discharged.
Seven weeks later, I had another ERCP, as an outpatient, but they still couldn't get the stones out.
I heard nothing for two months. It was very frustrating. I was having attacks that lasted up to four days, during which I couldn't sleep or eat. I was eating low fat and it seemed to help but I was exhausted from previous attacks. However I had another bad attack of cholecystitis and attended triage as a day patient. I was put on the waiting list then and opted to have any GI surgeon and told them I was available at short notice if they had a cancellation.
A month later I got a phone call asking me to attend a pre-op next day with a view to having surgery ten days later. This was scheduled on a Saturday as the waiting list was so long.
When I turned up, nil by mouth, I was told they couldn't perform a laparoscopic cholecystectomy as there were too many large stones lodged in the bile duct. Nobody had noticed the results of both ERCPs which clearly stated this. Thanks to a really sympathetic lady surgeon, they managed to find me a bed and I had the open procedure that day.
I don't know where you live (I am near Leicester), but I'd say you're in for a wait. My GP actually laughed when I told him I was waiting for elective cholecystectomy!
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. In retrospect I think you have to keep pestering and attend A&E every time you get the pain or they just think you are coping. I just gritted my teeth and tried to tough it. Think this was probably the wrong thing to do.
Hope your experience is better
I think eveyones experience is different. My gallstones were found in October and was refered. however my Dr failed to mention that I had severe weight loss, nausea, bloating, gas, IBS symptoms and reflux so bad it was sending me into anxiety attacks, she only put pain on the form ( which I actually had very little of and didnt go for in the first place)
I was placed at the lowest catagory on the surgical wait, due to this and was waiting and waiting. ( can be upto a yr to see the surgery team)
I went into my specalist as I have Castlemans disease and she was not happy in December, sent me for urgent Ct scans and then refered me internally, to gastro, saying I should of been cat 1 or 2.
Due to the time of year she had to write again at my next appointment in March and they finally replied as Cat 2, same time I had gone into hospital with constant rib ache, other than seeing all the gallstones again, the scan showed no inflamation or other issues and was discharged with a letter saying to write another more urgent referal ( I am pretty sure all the breathing and pressing they did caused a stuck stone to dislodge, so didnt see it on scan as the rib ache eased pretty much straight after discharge and had been there for 3 solid weeks prior, where I couldnt actually sit straight)
I went to a different Dr who refered me to gastro at 2 hospitals, original one saw me as a cat 1 highest and the other cat 2 ( they all came at the same time LOL, so I chose original hospital I was waiting for surgical referal and because it was a cat 1)
I was sent for cameras top and bottom the next day which ruled everything else out and my surgical appointment had finally arrived for 2 weeks later ( so Mid May, 7 mths after being refered.
I was placed and next urgent after immediate surgery due to all my symptoms and just saw pre op and my surgery is 31st july, so 13 mths after this all started and 9-10 mths after being refered, its been a long road.
I have several symptoms now which appear chronic, constant and of various degrees of strength, very hard when running my own personal cleaning business, with just me and family (kids and animals)
I know it's hard, Star, but you have to try and stay positive. You have certainly had a hard time.
July isn't far away. Cling to that thought. Hopefully after surgery you will be feeling so much better. Even though I was groggy and unable to eat after mine, I still had an immense sense of relief.
Thank you, the end is in sight, just hoping I dont have too many issues after as well