Gallbladder removal wait length on NHS (UK)

brenda22164 Snow22 · 2016-01-15T16:10+00:00

Hi there Sorry to hear about your problem - Mine was the other way round. Had my gall bladder removed and then they found stones in the bile duct so had to go back in. It's a dilemma which hospital to choose but my advice is choose a small hospital rather than the busy city hospitals. - I was advised to choose Louth hospital because our city hospital Lincoln being much busier they tend to cancel the ops like Gall bladder on the last minute as they have lots of emergencies to deal with. Hope this helps and you get sorted quickly.

jay15225 Snow22 · 2016-01-15T17:59+00:00

Hi,I think people's waiting time goes on how well you manage the pain,I had niggles for weeks then on December 7th at night I couldn't stand the constant pain and went to hospital and was admitted that night,next morning I got taken for a scan and next thing I knew the surgeon came to my room an hour later introduced himself and said he would remove gallbladder in an hours time!.. Atleast I had no time to think about it 😀.. I think I was treated as an emergency due to the fact my skin on right handside was sore to touch and increased pain on breathing too...there comes a time when you can't handle the pain and that's when they need to do something..I know it's annoying but unless your at your gp or emergency department regular then I can't see it being done in a hurry...good luck

j75920 Snow22 · 2016-01-18T17:57+00:00

I'm curious - how did they remove the stones? And it seems funny to me that they would do that and not take the gall bladder. Where were you for them to do this?'I'm afraid I'm one of "those" people that do not want my gall bladder out. However, I say this and right now I'm fine, but when an episode occurrs, I think differently. I would, however, like to just have the stones taken out. Can they do this?

Beenthruit Snow22 · 2017-01-05T11:11+00:00

Reading this forum, I don't think doctors deliberately mislead patients: its more a case of one person tells you one thing then another says something else. There is a definite lack of communication not just between medics and patients but also medic to medic.

I am a previously fit and active 67year old female with no family history of gallstones. I was a vegetarian for fifteen years and have eaten low fat for years, however I admit to a craving for ice cream, probably my downfall.

Had my first bad gallbladder attack in July 2015 (4 days before I went to A&E) and was misdiagnosed as having kidney stones- told "definitely NOT gallstones". After several minor attacks I got another bad attack in September which lasted three days and was almost hospitalised. A week later I had to be admitted as an emergency following an attack so bad I fainted with pain. I was badly jaundiced. I had ultrasound and MRI scans confirming I had a lot of stones. I had ERCP to remove stones and insert stent and was told I'd have cholecystectomy in a couple of days. However I was discharged without surgery next day after a week in Hospital. No explanation was given. I attended for a further ERCP early in December- very invasive- to have stent replaced. Asked what would happen next, but nobody gave me an answer. Week before Christmas I had a further attack and GP sent me to triage at local hospital. I had infection so was given antibiotics and told I wasn't even on waiting list! I had assumed that surgery would be within 18 weeks of original referral which was in September so was expecting appointment for end of January time. I still have not heard. I don't think medics realise what it's like for patients. Nobody explains how system works. They don't understand the effect of waiting on a patients mental wellbeing let alone physical health and what effect it has on lives: you cannot make plans. I feel unwell, run down and despite sticking rigidly to low fat diet (I actually lost weight over Christmas) I am getting pain and discomfort. The bottom line is my gallbladder needs to come out before I can even start recovery. All these delays and procedures and periods of being an inpatient are just adding to the cost. My gallbladder problems are not going to resolve unless I have surgery and the sooner that happens the better it is for me and the cost to the NHS. The NHS was in its infancy when I was born. I was brought up to believe if I was ever ill, treatment would be prompt and free, so I feel very let down.

I hope you have had surgery and are fully recovered by now.

mindy67882 Snow22 · 2017-07-15T06:03+00:00

I'v been having pain in my gallbladder for three and a half years but thought it was a stomach ulcer before it's diagnosis by ultrasound in November 2016. The consultant told me it was a large stone and I would be put on the list which was running at around 7 months. Come May 2017 after months of restricted diet, disruption to sleep, difficulty managing to get through the day for tiredness , I called the hospital. They said the list had grown....July was likely. I was devastated. My attacks grew in frequency and intensity. I can remember the night they became more sinister and started before bedtime rather than waking me up about 2am. They would cause me agonising pain in the rib that I couldn't manage in any position, and all the pain killers I've tried don't touch it. The first night I was sick from the pain I really thought my gallbladder had ruptured. I was sweating then freezing, felt like my whole torso was on fire, felt sick, was sick, generally feeling like death. I'd been feeling like this over 6 hours and after the sickness went to a&e. By the time I'd waited hours the pain was subsiding. They did blood tests. No infection. Just said go home carry on waiting. Called the hospital next day they gave me the news the waiting list is up to around 12 months long and growing all the time. They said they get calls from people like me every day and none of us can have priority. They said don't expect anything before September.

I'm lying here now in bed at 6.30am after 13 hours awake in pain because I had an egg sandwich at 2.30pm yesterday. The pain began early evening and is still going strong. I usually exist on boiled veg and don't eat after 2pm - which is difficult when you work full time. I've lost 19lbs since Christmas (good job I had it to lose) and I'm thoroughly distraught seeing no end in sight. I've looked into private surgery £6k. Don't have the cash. I feel the NHS have really failed me on this occasion, though I am a big supporter of the NHS after the superb care they gave my daughter when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour last year.

I live in Devon so if you're planning to get gall stones....for goodness sake don't do it here!

Gallbladder removal wait length on NHS (UK)

Snow22

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