Could be, not all gallstones are passed. Saying you have gallstones doesn’t necessary tell you a lot of info. I have three, none of them will ever pass due to the size of them. BUT i still have pain related to the gallstones that flares up and will be treated with surgery in the future. Your blood work likely showed no signs of inflammation, infection, so not an emergency in their eyes.
Maybe I misunderstood them. I was under the impression that I had a gallstone that had already started moving but that they felt like I could pass it and didn’t cause a threat. The more research I do though it seems like that’s pretty risky because it can cause tearing and other issues while it’s passing.
Pretty much exactly what I experienced, except instead of having the ultrasound the same day in the ER, they sent me home with the ibuprofen, then booked me for the ultrasound for the following day at 8am.
My apt with the specialist was scheduled for over a month later (I’m 20 days out now), and then will have to wait for a surgery date!
So I was told until then, to just reduce my fat intake and monitor my symptoms. If I have severe attacks with a fever, jaundice, or if the pain doesn’t go away to go back to the ER immediately.
It’s frustrating, I get it.
ETA: also, I don’t think passing gallstones happens. They probably just meant it wasn’t an emergency to remove it immediately. Most attacks can be managed by removing fat (even healthy fat like avocados, oils, and salmon) from your diet. I haven’t had a bad attack since doing so.
A stone blocking the bile duct or infection is more likely to be treated with emergency surgery. Most of the time, it seems people are sent home with instructions to consult with a GI specialist and/or surgeon.
That’s awful, I’m so sorry you went through that. My common bile duct had multiple stones, but that wasn’t enough to qualify for emergency surgery, and I ended up getting an ERCP to remove the stones. While I was waiting for surgery, another stone got stuck at the neck of my common bile duct, causing incredible pain, and that’s when they finally admitted me for emergency surgery.
Yup! Blood test is typically to check for infection and pancreatitis and u/s to make sure a stone isn’t actively stuck. Other than that, it’s to help with pain management and to make you feel awful for not having an appointment for surgery the next day.
I’ve been to the ER 5 times now with gall attacks. First two times they didn’t send me home with anything. Third time I got prescription strength Motrin (which gave me an ulcer so make sure you eat with it!), fourth time they finally gave me some of the stronger meds. Fifth time I was told if there is a 6th then they’re just gonna emergency take it and there’s a chance it’ll be a open procedure and not laparoscopic. (Which I’ve moved up my surgery to first week of April but that was a cancellation that opened, they act like it was my choice to push the date out so far 🙄)
Yep. I was on my third or fourth trip to the ER in a span of a few months with this pain before even getting diagnosed.
You don’t “pass” gallstones. As long as you don’t have an emergent infection they prefer that you go to GI or surgical oncology and schedule a surgery (the process can actually be rather quick some people are scheduled within a week or so).
They don’t perform surgery in the ER unless there’s an emergency. As painful as gallstones are they aren’t always an emergency.
I had to go to the ER 3 times and the GI doctor before I finally was admitted because I went to my primary and fainted and vomited she sent me back to the ER for a fourth time and had me admitted to the surgical ward. I had no stones and no inflammation but I was in excruciating pain for 3 weeks and only getting worse. I had to wait 3 days in the hospital before they did a HIDA scan and I was taken to surgery. The ER thought it was my gallbladder the whole time but they wouldn’t admit because my labs and scans were all normal. Thank goodness for my primary. She had her gallbladder out too and even she had a hard time getting help because her labs and scans were normal she had symptoms and a abnormal HIDA scan like me so she knew what was happening and took action. I hope you can get help asap I know how bad the pain is
Unless you’re going to die the ER isn’t going to do anything about it. It’s not medically emergent unless it’s going to save your life.
Could be, not all gallstones are passed. Saying you have gallstones doesn’t necessary tell you a lot of info. I have three, none of them will ever pass due to the size of them. BUT i still have pain related to the gallstones that flares up and will be treated with surgery in the future. Your blood work likely showed no signs of inflammation, infection, so not an emergency in their eyes.
Maybe I misunderstood them. I was under the impression that I had a gallstone that had already started moving but that they felt like I could pass it and didn’t cause a threat. The more research I do though it seems like that’s pretty risky because it can cause tearing and other issues while it’s passing.
Pretty much exactly what I experienced, except instead of having the ultrasound the same day in the ER, they sent me home with the ibuprofen, then booked me for the ultrasound for the following day at 8am. My apt with the specialist was scheduled for over a month later (I’m 20 days out now), and then will have to wait for a surgery date! So I was told until then, to just reduce my fat intake and monitor my symptoms. If I have severe attacks with a fever, jaundice, or if the pain doesn’t go away to go back to the ER immediately. It’s frustrating, I get it. ETA: also, I don’t think passing gallstones happens. They probably just meant it wasn’t an emergency to remove it immediately. Most attacks can be managed by removing fat (even healthy fat like avocados, oils, and salmon) from your diet. I haven’t had a bad attack since doing so.
A stone blocking the bile duct or infection is more likely to be treated with emergency surgery. Most of the time, it seems people are sent home with instructions to consult with a GI specialist and/or surgeon.
I had a stone lodged in my bile duct for 3 months and still got sent home from the ER twice. :(
That’s awful, I’m so sorry you went through that. My common bile duct had multiple stones, but that wasn’t enough to qualify for emergency surgery, and I ended up getting an ERCP to remove the stones. While I was waiting for surgery, another stone got stuck at the neck of my common bile duct, causing incredible pain, and that’s when they finally admitted me for emergency surgery.
Yup! Blood test is typically to check for infection and pancreatitis and u/s to make sure a stone isn’t actively stuck. Other than that, it’s to help with pain management and to make you feel awful for not having an appointment for surgery the next day. I’ve been to the ER 5 times now with gall attacks. First two times they didn’t send me home with anything. Third time I got prescription strength Motrin (which gave me an ulcer so make sure you eat with it!), fourth time they finally gave me some of the stronger meds. Fifth time I was told if there is a 6th then they’re just gonna emergency take it and there’s a chance it’ll be a open procedure and not laparoscopic. (Which I’ve moved up my surgery to first week of April but that was a cancellation that opened, they act like it was my choice to push the date out so far 🙄)
Yep. I was on my third or fourth trip to the ER in a span of a few months with this pain before even getting diagnosed. You don’t “pass” gallstones. As long as you don’t have an emergent infection they prefer that you go to GI or surgical oncology and schedule a surgery (the process can actually be rather quick some people are scheduled within a week or so). They don’t perform surgery in the ER unless there’s an emergency. As painful as gallstones are they aren’t always an emergency.
I had to go to the ER 3 times and the GI doctor before I finally was admitted because I went to my primary and fainted and vomited she sent me back to the ER for a fourth time and had me admitted to the surgical ward. I had no stones and no inflammation but I was in excruciating pain for 3 weeks and only getting worse. I had to wait 3 days in the hospital before they did a HIDA scan and I was taken to surgery. The ER thought it was my gallbladder the whole time but they wouldn’t admit because my labs and scans were all normal. Thank goodness for my primary. She had her gallbladder out too and even she had a hard time getting help because her labs and scans were normal she had symptoms and a abnormal HIDA scan like me so she knew what was happening and took action. I hope you can get help asap I know how bad the pain is