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I thought I would give a (probably long!) update as I've had quite the week! Very long story short, after 12 months of at least 2/3 attacks per week, I ended up having emergency gallbladder surgery this week.
Last Monday morning I woke at 4am with the excruitiating pain. I ended up in A&E on morphine, which did nothing. They kept me overnight, and the surgeon and his team of junior docs came to see me the next morning around 9am and literally could not get me into surgery quick enough. I was prepped and in surgery by 11.45am, after 31 hours of constant agony. I don't remember them giving me any drugs to fall asleep. I know I got the anti-sickness med and then he had barely put the mask over my face and I was out. I know I got back on the ward at 3.20pm, hooked to the morphine drip (yay, fun times!), and the rest of the day was a blur. I do remember that one of the junior doctors just kept telling me that my gallbladder was huge. Nothing else, just that it was huge!
The next day they explained that my gallbladder had actually ruptured and was exploding bile everywhere inside. Also, it was that inflamed it was at least 3 times the size of what it should have been. He demonstrated the size with his hands (which granted, were bigger than mine!) and mine measures out to 11 inches. He said that they'd had to consider converting to an open surgery, luckily they managed to make the incisions larger to get it out, but it had been a struggle. I ended up spending 3 nights in hospital, and experienced quite a lot of pain in those first few days, and had 48 hours of antibiotics.
I'm hoping not to tempt fate here but so far, so good. I'm still sore and getting tired easily, but I guess that's to be expected after surgery full stop, let alone the craziness that happened. I've only had one bowel movement since the surgery, but it was regular. I'm slowly reintroducing food and mostly just eating whatever my body is craving which seems to be biscuits and chocolate, which is the complete opposite to my usual tastes! I had an Indian takeaway last night, just a chicken korma and naan and was fine. I'm still having the sharp shoulder pains from the gas, I'm guessing, but I've been able to sleep on my side since last night. I'm hoping things stay as smooth as they are going right now.
Apparantly, I've been incredibly lucky, both with the surgeon that I got who is supposedly one of the best in the area and one of the few that would have even attempted keyhole in a situation like mine, and also lucky that they managed to get it out when they did. The first few days were rough, and I imagine the severity of it was why I had a longer hospital stay but other than that, it's just niggly pains that I imagine will settle down once I've recovered.
I just wanted to share my experience so that firstly, anybody who is experiencing the biliary colic (a surgeon confirmed for me!) knows to get to A&E ASAP since it can go south very quickly. But also, there aren't many happy ending stories out here, and while mine hasn't ended yet & I realise things could change at any point, so far it hasn't been as horrific as I expected. I'm mostly ok, people are amazed at how quickly I'm bouncing back and the difference in me after each nap! It's been a rough week but the first thing I really remember thinking when I woke up (after the confusion!) was how grateful I was to have that agony gone. I'm still apprehensive, but right now any pain & niggles I'm having outweigh that pain from the colic any day! Fingers crossed for a continued happy ending!
0 likes, 21 replies
Tom_Peters sarah50457
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sarah50457 Tom_Peters
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No, I wasn't given any antibiotics. Up until Tuesday, nobody really believed the pain was from my gallbladder. The last few times I went to A&E I was told it was IBS. When I'd seen my first GI specialist, he'd repeatedly asked me if I did recreational drugs and that my "story was believable enough to warrant testing". Scans showed gallstones, but I was told they weren't the cause of my pain. It was only that I was away in summer and a nurse who saw me experience an attack pegged it as my gallbladder, and I recently saw a new GI who agreed and scheduled surgery for late Sept.
By the end, I had Cocodamol, Tramdol and Buscopan. I found the Buscopan next to useless, and the Cocodamol wasn't much use 12 months down the line.
Everybody keeps telling me how serious this had gotten, and how risky the surgery must've been, but my surgeon didn't really say too much about it other than the condition of my gallbladder. I'm hoping they'll send some sort of notes to my GP that I can read. I imagine it was pretty infected, given that I had 2 days worth of antibiotic IV's!
Tom_Peters sarah50457
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sarah50457 Tom_Peters
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I managed to identify some trigger foods, but they were all over the shop so was never able to keep it under control. And then it exploded! But the past month or so I was on a very low fat diet, checking the fat content on everything, or like you say, just not eating. After a really bad attack, it could be 3 days before I ate again. And I truly believe it was the cause of my bowels wreaking havoc too, so that made me want to eat even less, which in turn led to a 25lb weight loss which at 8st 6lbs, I couldn't really afford!
I'm glad you manage to have yours under some control, and that they identified it pretty quickly. Sometimes I think part of the problem is having the right person to see the symptoms at the right time, it's all well and good seeing a GP the morning after the attack, but someone who actually witnesses an attack can properly identify and order the right scans at the right time to get the right results, if you get me. I wouldn't wish this pain on anybody. I hope you get your surgery soon!
sarah50457 Tom_Peters
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Tom_Peters sarah50457
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bird_lover sarah50457
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I've had mine out for two months now, ate six small bites of steak yesterday and the pain got so bad, took a half of pain pill and was on the couch with my ice bag. Woke up this morning and that steak wanted out of me one way or another. Not a good day. I truly hope you are one of the lucky ones that heals wonderfully. Happy endings to you.
sarah50457 bird_lover
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Im sorry you're not having quite the same luck. Have you been back to see your doctor or surgical team at all to see if they have any answers for you? I
lynne42182 sarah50457
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it really great to hear that everything turned around so quickly for you, and that you are on the mend, it sounds like you have a good surgical team.
sarah50457 lynne42182
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carole28488 sarah50457
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susan22821 carole28488
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sarah50457 carole28488
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The only way I could get any sort of relief was a few hours down the line, and I'd close my eyes, prop myself up in bed and block everything out and breathe as shallow as I possibly could and just hope and pray it would go away.
i hope you manage to get it sorted soon. Also I found that taking antacids would make it worse.
ruby96281 sarah50457
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What an experience you have had! From a lot of the things I have read on line about how many tests, how much pain, the wait, if the doctor's think it should be removed, etc. . . . you went through a lot awfully fast but at least you got that thing out. It sounds like it was a really fast surgery when they seen what was happening. I'm glad you are through this and hope only for the best for you. This has been quite an ordeal for you and now you can enjoy Great Health! Thank you for replying.
sarah50457 ruby96281
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I've had months and months of testing, to no avail. They found the stones but insisted they weren't problematic until I finally saw a new surgeon recently who agreed 90% it was my gallbladder, and I had surgery scheduled for the end of September. Fortunately, they're now 110% convinced that it was my gallbladder, it just took it exploding and trying to kill me for anybody to believe me.
Above all though, I'm extremely glad they got it out quick, and at least our healthcare system means I won't be in any worrying debt from this.
ruby96281 sarah50457
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I am so happy that everything has worked out great for you. Good Health to YOU!
Ruby
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