An interesting 17 hours

Emp_Fab

I’m knackered beyond so I’ll keep it short.  3am this morning I was woken by a severe crushing pain right across my chest.

You can imagine my thoughts.

GTN spray, 999, pain exactly like I had at my heart attack but worse... much worse.  Clammy, sweating - all the symptoms.  I was quietly resigning myself to what I believed could be my final moments.  I was on all fours in the living room as this seemed to slightly help with the pain, which was excruciating.  The main thing on my mind was “I don’t want to die on all fours on the carpet!” 

FFWD to hospital...   umpteen ECGs, intravenous painkillers, pain started to ease a tad.  Two hours after admission, the pain suddenly returns with a vengeance.  Moaning out loud level pain.  Another ECG but this time the bed is now flat.  I lie down, she does the ECG and I’m suddenly aware that the pain has gone - completely.  I sit up and nothing I do hurts - it’s vanished.  WTF?

Various blood tests, x-rays, doctors poking and prodding and a ultrasound scan and they think it’s my gallbladder.  There is ‘debris’ and possibly stones in my gallbladder, my liver function is a bit out of whack and my white cell count is elevated, suggesting an infection to boot.  Not cardiac.  Thank fuck for that.
I’m home now, had very little sleep since 3am.   Antibiotics and an adjustment to my existing tabs and a follow up scan in a few weeks.  The results of which may, or may not, mean removal of my gallbladder.

Getting older sucks.

viz

Wow take it easy dude

underdog

Got halfway through you're post and thought sounds like gallbladder. My wife has had that type of attack 7 or 8 times now, finally had appointment with "specialist" this week, told her keep an eye on it for 6 months, absolute dickhead he was.

As you just said, the pain is like nothing else people have to live through and the NHS don't seem that bothered.

TTony

Emp_Fab said:

Getting older sucks.

At least you *are* getting older.

roundthebend

Sounds terrifying. Stay well buddy.

merlin

Damn, that sounds like a truly horrible experience. My heart goes out (see what I did there) to you. 
Get well soon and take it easy. I've had a few friends who have had their gall bladder removed. 
The adrenalin kick might mess with your sleep and blood sugars for a while, so stay off coffee and keep your carb intake a little lower than usual (speaking from someone with type 1 diabetes perspective)
It is tricky getting older but it comers to us all... 

guitarfishbay

My dad had something very similar over the weekend too, he’s still not been discharged as his infection isn’t well enough controlled yet, he also needs his gall bladder removing eventually. Was very worrying at first because everyone thought it was cardiac as well.

Get well soon, sounds very painful.

EricTheWeary

My niece was admitted to hospital last night with gall stones. Are you really a 21 year old girl from Northampton and just been pretending to be a grumpy old Welshman all this time? 
Well, sounds very unpleasant. Glad you are on the mend. 

richardhomer

Hope you’re ok Kev - my sister had her gall bladder removed a couple of years ago at 71 and was fine. Key hole job - she recovered pretty quickly, given her age.

NeilMcG

I had a similar problem - several extremely painful episodes that looked heart-related, but mysteriously got better while I was in a&e. This went on for the best part of a year with no diagnosis until I got an infection and was hospitalised and they bothered to do an ultrasound.

Minus a gallbladder I have been right as rain ever since. 

redrighthand

Terrifying! Get well soon dude.

BRISTOL86

Worst announcement from the flight deck EVER.

Just joshing, hope you’re ok and sounds horrible. Best wishes. 

Phil_aka_Pip

I don't understand any of this medical stuff but I do wish you well.

chillidoggy

Ouch! Sorry to hear that. My son had the same, agonising pain, thought he was having a hear attack. Ended up they took it out, he’s been fine since. Keyhole surgery, operation one day, out the next.

Three bullet hole scars, but think of the fanny you’ll be pulling down the boozer when you lift up your shirt and tell them how you were shot at whilst flying an F16 sortie over Iraq but managed to bring the old kite home safely even though you’d been shot three times. How could you fail?

octatonic

I am glad you are not dead.

tone1

Click bait..... I thought you’d been on a 17 hour bender involving Prostitutes.....sounds like it could’ve been a whole lot worse.....sending Good Vibrations 

octatonic

tone1 said:

... sending Good Vibrations 

You'll set his pacemaker off.

Nitefly

Sounds grim, Emp - best of luck.

Garthy

TTony said:

Emp_Fab said:

Getting older sucks.

At least you *are* getting older.

You're very kind, I'd have said at least you weren't in charge of a plane during take-off but hey ho.

Wishing you a speedy recovery Mr Fabulous.

thumpingrug

What the fuck does a gallbladder do anyway, your better off without it.

Seriously, I hope they get this sorted for you. Scary experience.

Roland

thumpingrug said:

What the fuck does a gallbladder do anyway, your better off without it.

Stores the stuff you need to digest fat. Without it fatty or oily food can cause diarrhoea-like symptoms