HELP I want my gallbladder gone YESTERDAY.

I am in pain and frustrated as crap. 

I could write a book about how many doctors I've been to see but here's the short version.

1.  gallstone attack = A&E Feb 18,  2007
2.  gallstones found = June 2007 (gallstone attacks in interim: 3)
3.  gastrointerologist = Nov 2007 (attacks in interim 3, 1 severe)

Oh this woman is on my sh*t list for life.  Very patronizing, thinks I'm hysterical, is snarky when I tell her I'm going to the US for xmas where the nearest hospital is 25 miles away (I just wanted to know what to do if I got sick) said she didn't know and why was the hospital so far away, tells me I have indigestion and on the way out I hear her say "...they just want antibiotics for everything."    cow.

4.  endoscopy finds nothing = Dec 2007 and Demon-spawn tells me its just indigestion
5.  have FIVE severe attacks in US, think they're indigestion and take pepto/valium/painkiller combo as suggested by myriad of docs.
6.  Feel ill constantly from 29 Dec to 8 Jan
7.  Up all night with pain, go to dr, INFECTED GALLBLADDER 8 Jan
8.  antibiotics, painkillers, feeling better but weak and can't eat much after a week


which brings me to....yesterday.  I ate 5 baked chips (FFries), gallbladder hurt all night, related back pain still hurts, my gallbladder is sore and my stomach hurts.

I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!  I WILL GIVE SOMEONE £100 TO DIG THE !@£$& THING OUT WITH A DIRTY SPOON!

I am at my wit's end and can't see EVIL COW until 22 February because of the norovirus outbreak thingey.  In the meantime here is what I eat:  a banana, two pieces of toast, a scrambled egg and a baked potato for dinner.  Every day.  (except yesterday when I was seduced by the chips).

Maybe this should go in the grievances but I am just about to lose my mind.  I can't live like this.  My GP is so nice but can't seem to get anything done and I feel bad going to hospital for anything less than an emergency.

Help!!! 

(sorry for the long post, if you've made it this far you'll get a prize.  it's in the mail)

I just went through it all. I can truly empathise. But there are a couple of things that you really need to watch out for: dark urine and jaundice. If those happen, go to your GP immediately.
I don't know what part of the country you are in but I can say that I am sincerely sorry you are going through this. My GP told me to the A&E immediately if I had an attack. That they could give me morphine through an IV to help with the pain and that if they felt it necessary they would do the surgery immediately.

In the end, I never made it to the specialist because mine progressed so rapidly and the GP sent me to the A&E after my liver tests showed concerning results. I was in surgery the next day. My advice and what worked for me was bugging my GP. I had appointments two days in a row...and if necessary or honestly NOW forego it all and go straight to the A&E. I hope you get what you need soon.

After re-reading your post...this is an emergency. Go to A&E now. The worst they can do is give you some real pain meds and send you back home. But do you realise that if a stone blocks the common bile duct like mine did, you could have permanent liver damage. the doctors said I was only a couple of days from that. When you go to A&E, ask about having your liver enzymes tested. It is a simple blood test.  But please go to A&E now.

I'm sorry you are going through this, but honestly, I agree with Terri.  Go now, poke someone until they fix you.  This is your health, and you need to do whatever to make yourself okay again. 

Agreed. Go to A&E now. If you won't do that, insist on another doctor asap. Be a pain in the ars*.

Let us know how it goes please!

Wow, thanks for the advice.

I'm trying to hang in at least until tomorrow.  I've got an exam and I've already missed two because of it.  I really want to take this one.

I've got some pain meds (well, one ultram) and honestly it's more of a dull ache.  If it were sharp I would already be en route to hospital but I would feel like a jerk going with less than a 7/10 on the pain scale.  I feel a bit better now I'm lying down and I'm going to try to get some rest.

I don't really know how to change specialists...my gp has a high opinion of her.  Do I have to go through him?  I might call and see if I can get my appointment moved up.  My gp was under the impression that she would write to me immediately but she hasn't, of course.  I will try to sort something out tomorrow after the exam.  I'll also ask about the liver thing or point that out to Dr. HatesAmericans.

In the meantime, I've got my list of medications by the door and taxi fare.  I know being scared that I'm going to have a big attack only makes it worse so I'm trying to relax.  Venting and the advice helps.  I'll let you know what happens.  Either way, I'm not waiting on Dr. Evil.

Yikes, I hope it's all right! I had gallbladder problems in the States and got mine removed. My older brother had to have an emergency removal of his -- which is worse, because they don't have time to remove it lapriscopically (sp?) and the healing takes longer. So please don't wait until it's too late! And get a new doc if you can!

My GP told me to the A&E immediately if I had an attack. That they could give me morphine through an IV to help with the pain and that if they felt it necessary they would do the surgery immediately.

Ha-ha-double-flipping-ha!

Not in my area.  Morphine for something so piddly as a gallbladder attack?  I was in the ER three times in two days because of severe attacks and never saw a stitch of morphine until after emergency surgery; not laproscopy because it was too bad by then.  Even then the drip/bolus was only connected for a few hours then off to the NHS's magic cure-all: Voltarol.

Pah!  I've had surgery twice on the NHS for extremely painful conditions and both times I was never given anything stronger than Voltarol prior to them finally getting a correct diagnosis.

Sorry, sore (pun intended) point with me.   

I am actually surprised they let you go for nearly a year!!  I was in the states when I was discovered to have gallstones. I was told that no one should ever let them go as it can cause serious damage.  When I went in for my ultrasound on them I was booked to see a specialist in 2 days. 3 days after that I had them removed.  DH happened to be in the states when all this happened and was so amazed at how fast they scheduled my surgery. He said that would have never happened in Britain.  I really think you should take the advice of others and go. Your life and health are much more important!!

Take your exam if you must, but please get those liver enzyme tests today. Your GP can probably send you to the hospital for those without Dr Evil, mine did. But it is really important that the common bile duct doesn't get blocked and you risk major liver damage. Please bug them more...it really does work.

I've got the same problem! They found gallstones when I was pregnant with my son, nearly five years ago, and I actually had an appointment to take it out, but because of probs with my blood pressure, ( I have white coat syndrome) I put off the surgery. Just recently I had a few really bad attacks, and went to a&e with one of them. They gave me codeine, but because I'm breastfeeding my daughter, they said to only take it when I really needed it. I'm still supposed to see my gp, and arrange another surgery. Those attacks are AWFUL!! Stupid thing is, I can't always figure out what is triggering them.

Bile which is stored in the gall bladder and actually forms the gall stones digests fat in the small intestines. So the usual triggers are fatty foods including some diary products, but stress is also a major contributing factor. As my GPs said they do not always remove the gall bladder unless the attacks are frequent or the stones are moving and blocking things like the common bile duct that mine did, which is then actually life threatening.

And does bloating accompany the attacks all the time? I was told I have IBS, could that be directly related to the gallstones? I usually get really bloated, so something as simple as a (semi) tight waistband can attribute to the attack.

When I developed mine I was already on a pretty watchful diet anyway.  I am lactose intolerant so I never ate much dairy to begin with.  And I didn't eat fatty foods, fried foods etc. They couldn't tell me why mine came about.  I can't believe dr's in this country let things like this go and have the nerve to tell you it's indigestion.  Mine didn't seem to have a trigger. I could sleep just fine at night, get up the next morning and go to work but around midmorning I started feeling discomfort. At first I thought it was heartburn and tums weren't doing the trick and it seemed to be everyday. I started getting this pain in upper back near my right shoulder. So that's when my mom suspected what it was and had me go into for an ultrasound right away where they found the stones. 

Factors for developing gall stones include:

Gender - women get them much more than men

Age - over 40 especially (although mine started in my mid-30s and my mom had hers when she was just 28)

Heridity (sp) - my mom had them, i had them, my ex's very health conscious mother had them...so my oldest daughter is almost certain to develop them

Stress - was one of my worst triggers

Crone's disease - seems to make you more likely to develop them as well

and of course a high fat diet.