Gallstones diagnosed for DD17 - how long for surgery?

[MaybeMrs]

Hi all. My daughter has been diagnosed with gallstones. She has been having attacks since September but they have only just taken her seriously.

We are waiting to see GP after her scan. Is it likely they will take it out? Does anyone know the average waiting times. She’s having attacks on a weekly basis and it’s awful.

I had my gallbladder out last year as an emergency case (it was infected, so not ‘just’ gallstones). I was very relieved not to have to wait on the waiting list as the surgeon told me it was then a little over a year to wait. Obviously it depends on where you live though (Scotland in my case).

That’s awful that she has to wait if she is having weekly attacks.
In my case, I was fast tracked due to a severe infection/inflammation. Markers for these come up as very high in blood tests if that’s the case so it may be worth asking for this.
Pre operation I did not have any more attacks as I followed a low fat diet. Difficult but not impossible. Is she able to do this?

I ended up having to go private it was taking so long and so agonising. Also misdiagnosed for 18months then waiting for the op for 6 months. Couldn’t stand it any more. Unless it’s an emergency as for PP, it can take an age. I even went in for op a couple of times and it kept getting cancelled. Hope your DD has better luck. You’d have to find out locally about specific wait times.

Thank you all for your replies. We actually ended up in A&E at the weekend and she was admitted due to an infected gallbladder. Still in hospital and now on the urgent list for surgery which should be in the next 2 weeks.

I see she’s been prioritised. Mine was diagnosed during lockdown, between speaking to the Gp, getting it officially diagnosed and having the op was about a year which, given the circumstances at the time (routine ops cancelled, meaning longer waiting lists) was actually not too bad imo.