[Travelinglady]

This post is basically a vent. I was in terrible pain on Sunday, so I went to the ER. They gave me a CT scan and a sonogram of my gallbladder. (My pain was in my abdominal area.) The doc told me everything came back fine and to just go back to my primary care doc.

Earlier in the week I had gone to my primary care doc, and she was thinking the pain was coming from some damage to stomach surgery I had back in August. So, she had made me an appointment with the surgeon who did the surgery.

At any rate, on Monday I get a phone call from the nurse at the surgeon's office, noting that I was having problems and had been to the ER. "Yeah," I said, "but the results came back negative."

"I am looking at the report from the ER," the nurse said. "It shows you have a distended gall bladder. That's not normal. We think your pain is coming from that!"

"What?!" I replied. "Why didn't the ER doctor tell me?"

I see the surgeon tomorrow, but meanwhile I am livid. I think the ER doc should at least have told me my gall bladder was swollen. He said there were no gallstones. But I think I need further testing on it, from what I have read.

Had I not talked to the surgeon's office, I would have just gone back to my primary care doc.

I hope the surgeon can shed some light on my situation tomorrow!

Thanks for reading. Has anyone else had this kind of experience with ER docs?

[kaliope]

I am so sorry that this has happened to you. ER doctors can be such morons it seems. I went for gallbladder pain and had gall stones and an elevated white count. he gave me some pain killers and told me to see a specialist and sent me on my way. I couldn't get in to see the doc for two days. by that time a stone had lodged in my bile duct and I required two surgeries, one to take out my gall bladder and a second to remove the lodged stone. then I was in the hospital for a week due to infection because of the already elevated white count the er doc never addressed. the specialist said I should have had emergency surgery the night I went into the er. Idiots.....

hope all goes well for you....take care..

[Fuzzybear]

(((((((( Travelinglady ))))))))

[gayleggg]

I hope they have now figured out where you pain is coming from and can fix it. I agree ER doctors are not always the best, at listening or anything else, including bedside manner.

[allme]

Can see why you're angry Why wouldn't they tell you something like that? Jerks!

[Perna]

ER docs are usually interns and in a hurry, looking for something they can do something about, right now. If there was nothing to be concerned about they would not have told you to see your regular doctor but they could not do anything more about a swollen gall bladder (and not much you could have done either) so you have been sent back to your regular doc and/or surgeon, etc. to have them investigate further. Swollen does not necessarily mean there's anything one can do anything about, "why" it is swollen is the problem. I remember when I had my colonoscopy and my surgeon, after telling me about the two polyps, mentioned there was an inflamed patch of my intestine but that he wasn't "too worried" about it He may not have been but I still wonder, 10+ years later if it is better/worse, etc. Telling us things we can't do anything about and that we don't know the meaning of is probably not high on their list of things to disclose just so we can ask a lot of questions that they cannot answer (yet)?

[(JD)]

From my experiences with ER doctors they hate confrontation, having to take time to explain, and consoling a panicked patient... I always find more information on the bottom of the form they give me "for followup" upon discharge from the ER... it's important to read it and to follow up.

Glad you did!

The only good thing about the ER (other than saving a life if your dying) is that they run a whole slew of tests within a few hours time (rather than go back and forth to this lab and that lab). Other than that, I wouldn't put much faith in the ER doctor's telling you anything. Be sure to get your test results so that you can take them elsewhere. Sorry you had this experience

[healingme4me]

((((TravelingLady))))

That's awful, to not be informed about that. It wasn't a clean Bill of health, what the heck?



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[Athousandyears]

That's so awful! There's some ER doctors that are so horrible. My husband has crazy anxiety and was in awful pain when we though he had an obstruction in his intestine and the dr just thought he was crazy and a crack head. Hello my husbands in pain you idiot. Not to mention he had an enlarged spleen and they NEVER told us.

[unaluna]

Theyve had articles in the nytimes where young people have died from curable infections because the ER test results were simply not checked by anyone.

[Travelinglady]

Someone suggested that the doc just glanced at the sonogram results and didn't see any gallstones. He did also say the ER was "great for emergencies, but sucked at everyone else." Ain't that the truth!!

The CT scan was what showed the distension, my surgeon said when I saw him on Thursday. He has ordered a test to show gallbladder functioning, but it can't be done until toward the middle of next month. He also said to eat a low/no fat diet. Meanwhile I am "gutting through" the pain. (I am taking Vicodin and tramadol, though. Thank goodness for those. I normally take them anyway on a daily basis for chronic pain.)

[Wren_]

((((((((((Trav))))))))))))))
my experience of ER and tests is that ... if it isn't something that requires urgent attention e.g. gall bladder surgery for stones that instant then they send you away and leave it to be worked out with other doctors not sure why you weren't at least told so you knew what to share with your doctor but really glad the nurse let you know by accident - can understand your anger and really hope they find something that helps you - lots, soon

[TheEbonyEwe]

Hope your gallbladder issue gets resolved. My husband had his out last year. His was full of stones and infected. The ER doc said that they could take it out now, or they could send him home with tons of pain meds and wait until it ruptured; eventually, it was going to have to come out.... so he told them to go ahead and just take it out.

[Hydrophobic1212]

Oh my goodness, I know how this is! I went to the ER at three in the morning a few months ago, with sever, severe pain in my abdomen (it had started smaller and my doctor dismissed it and said it couldn't be WHAT IT WAS). I had pancreatitis. He sent me home with pain meds and then we later find out my levels were much to high, I should have been admitted to the hospital. :/ Also that my lymph nodes were really swollen.

So I know how you feel. D: I'm so sorry. I hope all gets better!

[Yoda]

It was probably found by the radiologist. It might not have been obvious to the ER doc as they are experts at emergencies but not so much at interpreting x-rays as radiologists. If this was an isolated occurrence of abdominal pain they may let you choose to see what happens next. I had no gallstones when I had my gallbladder attack and just sandy stuff in the gallbladder so I managed mine with diet. I wonder why yours is swollen. Perhaps you have a stone stuck in a duct? Let us know what you find out.

Feel better soon.