Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Other Health Discussion => Topic started by: groundhog on November 08, 2019, 03:58:23 PM
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Hi ladies,
Just recovering from a horrible sickness bug that landed me in hospital. The diahorea has been awful and I feel drained.
On Monday I'm supposed to go into hospital for an ERCP which is basically an endoscope of them gallbladder. Has anyone had this done ?
Please be kind as I am dreading it, last time I was at this hospital I nearly died and it was a horrible experience that's for sure, I have gallstones in the common bile duct which is potentially dangerous , they don't went to remove the gallbladder as I'm high risk but they do want to do this procedure x
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Don't undertake any investigations or surgery until you are completely certain what is going to happen! I don't understand the meaning of "ERCP" :-\. Were you admitted due to dehydration ?
Take a list and ask, ask, ask. Can the gallstones be reduced without surgery, i.e. with laser beams similar to kidney stones?
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Hello groundhog
I'm so sorry that you've been ill. There are lots of bugs doing the rounds at the moment and of course you have other health concerns so I'm not surprised that you are feeling drained!
I don't have any experience that will be helpful I'm afraid but I'm sure the hospital are aware of your circumstances and will have your best interests at heart.
Hopefully someone will be along soon who can reassure you.
Take care and sending hugs.
K.
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ERCP is sort of an alternative to surgery. I have stones in the common bile duct which is potentially dangerous so they want to get them out before it becomes an emergency. The procedure is an endoscope which locates the stones and grabs them out. There are risks but bigger risk to leave them as that's when you become really ill with jaundice etc. This is also linked to the bowel,perforating, gallstones are a known complication of the vein feeding I had.
Did I get admitted for rehydration - oK il tell you the story but major moan alert !
I had severe diahorea for about 18 hours, no fun normally but when you have a stoma bag or two in my case its a nightmare. We phoned doctor who was good and advised but said if I developed a temp to phone out of hours - well at 8pm last night I did and I hadn't past water for ages and when I did it was dark brown. Long story short, the out of hours team called an ambulance. They came out and he was the most obnoxious ambulance man ever, totally dismissive of me, said I wasn't dehydrated and you're can't go a&e just for a bug. My husband pointed out that because of the stoma bags I lose a lot more liquid than normal ppl. He was horrible made me feel like a waste of space. He took me in to a&e and whatever he told the staff resulted in me being sent back out to waiting area with all the other folk where I stayed for 3 hours. My husband asked and they said I was low priority, as everyone was based in clinical need. I totally get that but we didn't even call the ambulance! We left at 2am having not seen anyone, my husband went to Tesco to get me water and Paracetomol as my temp was rising.
Feel really bad for not staying but we would have been there all night and I just wasnt up to it.
😫😫😫
Just kill me now.
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Thank you Kathleen, we posted same time.
Just had enough 😞
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So sorry to read this groundhog
I personally don't have any advice to offer re ERCP but if you are still feeling under the weather on Monday I'd be inclined to cancel and re arrange for a time when you are feeling better physically and mentally.
Take care of yourself sending you :bighug:
Lanzalover x
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Yes Lanzalover I am tempted but they are keen for this to proceed, they do blood tests in advance and will only proceed if they are ok but the hospital is 100 miles away !
Nothing is straightforward. I have phoned them and they told me to ring on Sunday 😞
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Hello again groundhog.
You poor thing, my heart goes out to you.
The only positive thing I can suggest is to relay your story to the medics at your appointment on Monday and ask them the best way of dealing with this situation in the future. Obviously let's hope it never happens but if you have a plan of action ready then you will be able to treat it yourself and not waste your time and energy in A and E. Perhaps your Consultant or GP can give you a letter ready to take to hospital to show them if you need to.
If you go ahead with the procedure on Monday I hope it goes well. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you.
Take care.
K.
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You need to write to the Head of the Ambulance Service and the Doctor on Duty at the A&E dept..
If you have a 'bug' you need to ring and check if they want you there. Usually one has to be well 48 hours after the last chucking up or runs ..... especially if you are having to travel already feeling weak and woolly.
Is there no nearer Hospital? I think that your Consultant is 100 miles away but your nearest A&E? Also do let the out of hours team know what has happened so that they can make their own enquiries. It seems that the person you had attend at home isn't aware of listening and believing!
Awful for you.
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Hi GH
my brother has had gall stone problems recently and was admitted after nearly passing out with the pain. Turns out a small stone has got lodged in the pancreas opening. They were going to do the endoscope and grab it along with other stones but it rectified itself. But they removed the gall bladder within 3 weeks of that x
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Hi Groundhog,
I can sympathise with anything gallbladder and bile duct related as it makes you feel dreadful.
I am concerned about your prior experience at that hospital and your treatment by the ambulance service. I would recommend you contact your local Healthwatch* office and notify them of this. They will help you make a complaint if you want to but they also give very good advice on dealing with all hospital and related services. They are independent from the NHS despite being started by government and they are great at this sort of situation. Your ambulance service will have its own complaints procedure which I would also suggest you look into. They may suggest you contact your local PALS provider but Healthwatch have a lot more clout and report these instances fully to the providers.
The ambulance person shouldn't make you feel like you're wasting their time and neither should the hospital. I know you may not feel like complaining but its how services get improved.
* I've worked with them and volunteered with them too. They are very on the ball with this stuff.
W x
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:thankyou:
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Hi Groundhog
I had an ERCP a few years ago, weeks before having my gallbladder removed. They took 6 stones from the duct, I was sedated and don't remember a thing (except for a brief moment when I remember a nurse reassuring me - I went 'back under' ;)
I also had another ERCP a few days after my gallbladder op because they thought a stone may have escaped while they were removing my gallbladder. It hadn't :) and again I didn't remember anything of the procedure.
Hope everything goes well for you.
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Tnx.
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My story is that I had my gallbladder removed, still in awful pain, got an ERCP about 6 months later in case of "sludge". The ERCP itself was fine, no issues with the procedure. Best wishes to you groundhog, I know the awful pain these things cause. (I mean the stones, not the procedure)
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Kake: was there 'sludge' :-\ is the pain improved?
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No, there was no sludge, and it didn't help the pain. But I think it can do, sometimes. A 3 month course of amitriptyline 25mg eventually helped.
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Better since?
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Better for a long time, but the pain came back and stayed after a course of antibiotics. It's now called functional dyspepsia, which basically means there is no known physical cause for the pain. It's not constant, I can be fine for months, and then it comes back for months. The amitriptyline only helps somewhat, probably because I've had to use a lower dose.
Are you suffering too CLKD? My sympathies if you are.