Well, there we were in A&E. It was really busy, I saw the triage nurse and then went back into the waiting room and waited, and waited, and waited..... I have to give the staff here some credit as I'm fairly sure that me and Sparks were the only people in there who weren't drunk. The language was appalling and people were generally abusive. I really don't know how they work there, it's been a long time since I worked A&E and I'm darned sure it never used to be that bad.
I rocked away in my seat waiting to be seen, the pain had started to ease a bit and I was going to suggest to Sparks that we go home but I knew what his reaction would be. We were duly called in and I was seen by a 12 year old doctor - am I getting old or what - our doctors all look really young now....
The doctor stuck a cannula in, did some bloods and tried to convince me that I had GORD, Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease!!!!! I assured her in no uncertain terms that it was not GORD. All the same, she gave me an antacid and said she would come back and ask if it had worked in 5 minutes, which she duly did....... and it hadn't
I had told her that I thought it could be Biliary in origin but it fell on deaf ears.. That's August for you, all the junior doctors are new and just learning the ropes, so they ask a prescribed set of questions in a prescribed order to try and determine what is wrong with you. That's how they learn you see. Personally, I find that you actually learn more if you listen to the patient!!!
Thankfully, I was saved by the co-ordinator, purely because I was about to breach the 4 hour target. She came in, asked a couple of questions and said to the doctor, 'this lady clearly has Biliary Colic, arrange a bed on Surgical Triage Unit so that she can be seen by a Surgeon.'
So I was transferred to STU, Sparks got my bag out of the car and I told him to go home. It had been a really long night for him, meanwhile, I had to ring work and tell them that I wouldn't be in for my shift in the morning. It was 4am by this time and I had no idea when I would be likely to get out. I was made as comfy as you can be made on STU. They don't have beds on there, only trolleys, it's meant to be very short stay you see. Bloody uncomfortable when you are in pain though.
The nurse was brilliant, she did comment that I had probably been putting up with this pain for a lot longer than I had been letting on. I didn't see the need to tell her about my several months of back pain..
I saw the Consultant in the morning and within 45 minutes I was having an Ultrasound. They found at least a couple of large Gallstones which I had obviously been cultivating for quite some time. My Bile Duct was dilated though, the Registrar thought that it was very likely that I had passed a stone but as their intention was to remove my Gallbladder at some point, I was put on the list for an MRI scan, just to make sure that there was nothing nasty lurking in my Bile Duct.
I was allowed home after food and a brew. I was in a state of trepidation. That was my first ever hospital stay and I've never had surgery or a general anaesthetic. I worked on Surgical ward when I first qualified and knew that Gallbladders can cause no end of problems. Once you start getting symptoms from Gallstones, they only get worse. I remember seeing grown men writhing in agony with Gallstone attacks and feared what was to come. Just removing the stones can give you temporary relief but the chances of them recurring are high. The only permanent way is to take out the Gallbladder and like any operation......it is not without risk.
I had a lot to think about..
I rocked away in my seat waiting to be seen, the pain had started to ease a bit and I was going to suggest to Sparks that we go home but I knew what his reaction would be. We were duly called in and I was seen by a 12 year old doctor - am I getting old or what - our doctors all look really young now....
The doctor stuck a cannula in, did some bloods and tried to convince me that I had GORD, Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease!!!!! I assured her in no uncertain terms that it was not GORD. All the same, she gave me an antacid and said she would come back and ask if it had worked in 5 minutes, which she duly did....... and it hadn't
I had told her that I thought it could be Biliary in origin but it fell on deaf ears.. That's August for you, all the junior doctors are new and just learning the ropes, so they ask a prescribed set of questions in a prescribed order to try and determine what is wrong with you. That's how they learn you see. Personally, I find that you actually learn more if you listen to the patient!!!Thankfully, I was saved by the co-ordinator, purely because I was about to breach the 4 hour target. She came in, asked a couple of questions and said to the doctor, 'this lady clearly has Biliary Colic, arrange a bed on Surgical Triage Unit so that she can be seen by a Surgeon.'
So I was transferred to STU, Sparks got my bag out of the car and I told him to go home. It had been a really long night for him, meanwhile, I had to ring work and tell them that I wouldn't be in for my shift in the morning. It was 4am by this time and I had no idea when I would be likely to get out. I was made as comfy as you can be made on STU. They don't have beds on there, only trolleys, it's meant to be very short stay you see. Bloody uncomfortable when you are in pain though.
The nurse was brilliant, she did comment that I had probably been putting up with this pain for a lot longer than I had been letting on. I didn't see the need to tell her about my several months of back pain..
I saw the Consultant in the morning and within 45 minutes I was having an Ultrasound. They found at least a couple of large Gallstones which I had obviously been cultivating for quite some time. My Bile Duct was dilated though, the Registrar thought that it was very likely that I had passed a stone but as their intention was to remove my Gallbladder at some point, I was put on the list for an MRI scan, just to make sure that there was nothing nasty lurking in my Bile Duct.
I was allowed home after food and a brew. I was in a state of trepidation. That was my first ever hospital stay and I've never had surgery or a general anaesthetic. I worked on Surgical ward when I first qualified and knew that Gallbladders can cause no end of problems. Once you start getting symptoms from Gallstones, they only get worse. I remember seeing grown men writhing in agony with Gallstone attacks and feared what was to come. Just removing the stones can give you temporary relief but the chances of them recurring are high. The only permanent way is to take out the Gallbladder and like any operation......it is not without risk.
I had a lot to think about..
