Waiting for an ambulance

[waitingandwaitinggg]

Dh is in severe agony, has been the last 3 hours. He has gallstones and we think it's an attack, he cannot function , being sick, tightening pain.
Have two babies to deal with whilst dh like this. I'm upstairs whilst dh is with the paramedics downstairs I'm looking after the babies. Wish I could be down there with him !! Never seen him in so much pain before, this is definitely the worst he's ever been.

You poor thing, this must be so stressful let alone with two littles. If you can, go with him. During my many medical episodes, I've found
it helps to be able robustly advocate for yourself and to have someone who can do it on your behalf if you're unable. If you have to go to the same hospital, mention PALS, that would hopefully get them to listen.

It is the worst pain ever but once you get to the good stuff Morphine - it subsides but nothing to be done until inflamation settles. Trouble is they rarely put you straight on Morphine but go up the pain killers ladder.

I would put baby in bed and take toddler down, baby will likely cry but at least you are not juggling two of them with all that going on. Get toddler a snack brekkie etc as well. If cot safe for toddler should be OK to leave him in there and baby in bed and pop down and be quick.

I always had stuff upstairs to do bottles as she was feeding every three hours and it just made sense. But you haven't so you do what you can

The dark urine can be a sign of jaundice he needs to get seen again.
Bloody shocking treatment by the hospital op I'm so sorry for you.
The fever is also a sign of infection you really do need to keep pushing. Unfortunately the NHS is shit nowadays so literally won't treat you unless you are at deaths door. I'd go private if you can afford it.

When my DH was taken in to hospital for a gallbladder attack, the hospital dosed him up on morphine then kicked him out without checking he had anyone to pick him up or anything. I got there and found him wandering around the car park totally out of it. Shocking lack of care. He arranged a private op for removal because the waiting list at the time was 12 months and he couldn't cope with the pain for that long.

Right gp are doing a referral they said he needs admitting so hopefully he will bypass A&E.
my dad is taking him and I'm going to get childcare sorted and get down there asap. He needs someone to advocate for him. He needs a scan surely ??

In healthcare you need to be a "Karen" as otherwise you are ignored! Refuse to leave until there is a proper treatment plan in place!

No advice but just offering a hand hold. My dh was in and out of hospital with kidney stones when my youngest 2 dc were babies and it was a horrible time.

Thank you. He is being referred back to SAU by the gp. His temp was low at the docs, so it's going up and down. I'm going to meet him there in a couple of hours. So worried he's got sepsis

He's back in SAU now, they can't get any bloods out of him because he's dehydrated

That could account for why his urine is so dark. I hope he gets sorted . It does seem to be one of those things that gets fobbed off a lot .

Hope they take it seriously this time.

My mum had one gallbladder attack in her life, presented at hospital at midnight and was admitted to a ward. The consultant came round in the morning and said yip let's get that whipped out. She was operated on same day then happily home with paracetamol the day after that. This was last year, we're in Scotland.

Yet my poor niece languished in agony on the waiting list for years and lost her uni place among other awful things before she was finally admitted via ambulance and operated on for the same thing.

There's absolutely no consistency at all.

Please insist on a CT scan for his Gallbladder..my partner had sepsis and ultimately a ruptured gallbladder that was full of pus and a 5 hour operation to sort it. Please don't allow them to discharge him without doing much more thorough investigations. Absolutely disgraceful care he's received, bloody negligent in my opinion.

Thanks everyone it helps to be able to speak with people who know what they're on about .
Also what horrible experiences with these gallbladders !!

They've managed to get some bloods now so just got to wait for those to come back

Hope your husband is sorted soon. My husband had been having niggles with his gallbladder for years. After a Chinese takeaway he was in absolute agony. Taken in the ambulance and his gallbladder was out the next day. This was 3 years ago. I dont understand why they are not pushing for a removal. If it goes septic then it's a longer recovery and longer hospital stay 😕

Must be something in the Chinese food as this is what set dhs off the other night believe it or not 😆 I hate Chinese food myself too salty and I don't think dh will want to eat it again after this !!

He is being admitted and going to be put on iv antibiotics. He's also being scanned soon.
How long can he expect to be in hospital for does anyone know ?
I'm glad he's getting the help he needs, but also selfishly worrying about how I'm going to cope ! I know that makes me sound awful! I have 2 under two here and it's chaos lol

With the dark urine and the pain he probably has cholecystitis. I was in hospital for a week with that and had scans that showed sludge in my gall bladder which apparently indicated the stones had gone. I was then absolutely fine for a year other than a couple of mild attacks until I had another big attack which turned into pancreatitis. I was in hospital for more than a week while they waited for the inflammation to reduce so they could operate. Was eventually discharged after 10 days without surgery. As we walked in the door my phone rang and I had to go back the next day for the op. Thankfully I have had no more problems since then.

Hope your husband is well looked after and gets better soon.

My partner was in for 9 days including the major operation to remove his gallbladder.

Usually that is keyhole but due to his previous abdominal surgeries for colon cancer it was open surgery and complex due to adhesions. He needed a fair bit of care post surgery and still isn't able to lift anything heavy due to the risk of a hernia.

Much will depend on what they find and what the treatment plan is but ask anyone near to you for as much help as you need x

I am of the age where lots of friends have or have had gallstones. Before covid a bad attack led to them being whipped out. Since covid the waiting list is so long that you have to have multiple attacks. You can do two things.

1. Go private and have them out. If you can afford it this is the easiest way, and I don't often recommend going private.
2. Contact the GP every time he has any attack no matter how small. This does seem to affect where you are on the waiting list. Or go to A and E. If his current pain does not settle down today, go back to A and E.

I had gallstones and was referred for an operation. Had 1 big attack only. I must have passed them as have had no issues since.

I waited from early July 2002 to end of April 2003 In the last few months i could no longer eat solid food. Like a PP said there is no consistency

I had gallstones and had multiple severe attacks a week despite being on a zero fat diet. Scans showed I had loooaaaads of tiny ones that were just constantly dropping into my bile duct.
I had at least one hospital admission a week and would be pumped full of morphine.
After 3 months of this, I was 3.5 stone down and finally admitted for surgery.
I was borderline addicted to morphine at this point.

The surgery was life changing and I can live normally again!

I hope your DH gets on the emergency surgery list. He can't be expected to live in constant pain.

Really sorry to hear your husband is so poorly. It does sound like gallbladder infection. Hopefully after bloods and a scan they will be able to tell you more about a treatment plan. Hope you are ok.

Well you didn’t need to post in real time.

Yes I heard fast food can be a trigger. I remember he had a flare up when he ate a kebab a few years ago.
My husband was out of hospital the day after the op. We were in Devon at the time, nowhere near home and he being the only driver, couldn't drive us back home for 2 weeks :(

Im without a gall bladder and Chinese takeaway is the only takeaway that doesnt give me the shits.