AIBU?
wibu to go to A & E with suspected Gallstones?
ncpg53 · 24/07/2015 17:13
I think I have gallstones. I've been having "attacks" since my dc was born a few months ago which at first lasted 30 minutes but have increased in length and frequency.
I had any symptoms for a month or so so sort of forgot about it and didn't make a doctors appointment but for the last 3 days I've had this constant pain under my right boob which shoots through and across my back.
It starts off like heartburn but gradually gets worse especially at night if I'm laying down. At its peak at night it causes me to vomit the pain is so bad.
Today the pain has been here since midday and it's getting worse, I've had diarrhea and if I breath in its a sharp pain in the right ribs almost like a stitch.
I don't have childcare which is why I've held off especially at night as my baby is sleeping.
I don't want to wait the hospitals time if they can't do anything or it wouldn't warrant a visit to A &E. My doctors surgery is closed until Monday but I'm not sure I can wait until then and we don't have walk in clinics here.
Would I be wasting hospital staff time and would I be unreasonable to go ?
timeforacheckup · 24/07/2015 17:21
I went to A+E with gallstone pain (although I didn't know what it was then). They took it very seriously, gave me some strong painkillers and referred me to a consultant. They need to check for signs of pancreatitus(sp) as well - this is apparently rare but can be a serious complication of gallstones - sadly my friend died from this last year.
ncpg53 · 24/07/2015 17:25
I don't know for sure it's gallstone but from talking to people who have had them and from the nhs website I strongly suspect that's what it is. The pains so bad that I can't put it off anymore and dc will have to come with me to hospital as I just don't have anyone who could look after them even for a few hours
wherearetheteaspoons · 24/07/2015 17:25
I agree, go and get checked. I had to do this on the advice of my gp as it went on for two days and I went very yellow, it can be serious or you could be like me and it will pass whilst you're in the waiting area but please get looked at. They'll want to check your bloods and as pp said it could cause you problems with your pancreas if it's that bad.
itsmine · 24/07/2015 17:32
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Message withdrawn at poster's request.
Purplepixiedust · 24/07/2015 17:36
I had gallstones and it sounds like it could be that. Pain like indigestion/stitch but on the right side under ribs. My GP said straightaway that's what it would be when I described the pain. Sent me for a scan to confirm and then referred me for an op. In the meantime I was prescribed co-codamol and some meds to reduced acid. Both helped loads as did avoiding fat and eating late. Sometimes it was still painful though so I was glad to get it sorted. If you can't control the pain and it is bad, do go to a&e. Sometimes more urgent action is needed but mine were routine though bloody painful. They will check you out and give you pain relief at the least.
Skeppers · 24/07/2015 17:39
They won't admit you, or do anything really other than give you pain relief. I'd had a week of sleepless nights with agonising gallstone pain so went to A&E in desperation...they gave me some Gaviscon (!) and then put me on a morphine drip for a couple of hours so I could get some much-needed rest. However they couldn't justify keeping me in as gallstones are a chronic condition, so they prescribed me some strong codeine and sent me on my way. Was eventually referred to a consultant and then on to surgery; turns out my gallbladder had impacted (ie. exploded!) in the meantime and bits of it were stuck to my other organs. Only surgery could solve it, so I'd get yourself referred to a consultant ASAP.
PtolemysNeedle · 24/07/2015 17:47
Don't you have an out of hours GP service you could use? You might be able to find out the details from a message if you phone your surgery or from the website.
Tbh, I think YWBU to go directly to A&E. You need to be checked out definitely, but it does seem a bit silly to have left it all day instead of trying to get an urgent GP appointment.
WhenYouGottaGo · 24/07/2015 17:54
They may well admit you. Sorry. When I went to A&E with my gallstones I ended up curled up in a ball on the waiting floor crying I was in that much pain. They took one look at me and said "gallstones" and gave me IV morphine. I was admitted for three days and had my gallbladder out three months later.
SpamAnderson · 24/07/2015 17:57
I had my gall bladder out after dd2 was born. The attacks started when was pregnant but they kept fobbing me off saying it was just muscle pain, it wasn't until I was 31 weeks pregnant that I had a really bad one that left me hospitalised for 2 days. The pain was immense, far worse than child birth was. It is absolute agony. I went to the OOH Dr who sent me to hospital as they were very concerned about the level of pain I was in. I think they'd have probably sent me to A&E if I wasn't pregnant rather than to delivery suite. I'm not sure if I'd go to A&E unless a Dr or NHS direct for example told me to as I'm a wuss and would worry they'd tell me to go away and stop wasting their time!
spancake · 24/07/2015 19:52
I ignored gallstone pain for nearly 4 years thinking that either I had really bad trapped wind or cancer. 
(too scared to find out) It wasn't until a stone got stuck in my bile duct and I ended up jaundiced that my then bf forcibly took me to out of hours and I was rushed to a&e. Don't be a hero, get yourself down there.
BestZebbie · 24/07/2015 20:05
YANBU if you need urgent out of hours strong pain relief - I went to A&E myself with bilary colic (eg: gallstones) for that exact reason and ended up staying for 24 hours for ultrasounds etc.
YABU if it is just more convenient to go to A&E for childcare purposes than to see your GP.
I note in passing that I had seen my GP multiple times before getting full-on colic, had 'suspected gallstones' diagnosed and been told to wait a year and come back if it carried on - but after getting into the system by being seen at the hospital I got a surgery referral direct from their team within a couple of months.
MrsRonBurgundy · 24/07/2015 20:15
I was admitted with gallstones. The pain was so severe I passed out. I was in for 4 nights and they did the surgery on that admission.
They said it was a bad case and didn't want to send me home to wait the estimated 6 weeks for the op due to the pain level. It had been mild for months but escalated to that point so it depends what point you're at I assume? They were lovely at the hospital, I felt an idiot for going in but they said I did the right thing
Skeppers · 25/07/2015 05:28
I'm a bit narked now that they just packed me off home, despite the amount of pain I was in (also was sick/faint from pain)!
Maybe I wouldn't have had complications in surgery if they'd taken it a bit more seriously? There was definitely a 'suck it up, buttercup' attitude. S'pose it depends on your local hospital and how busy they are?
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