i had a realy bad attack and now I think I have jaundice when I went to the ER they did test and said that all my blood work was good .I don't have insurance to get the surgery done yet so I don't know If the jaundice has a long term affect on my health and what I should do .Anyone with a similar story?
I had gallstones for a very long time. I believe it was for almost 7 yrs. before i found out. i didnt have insurance either so thats why it took so long. my symptoms were really bad. I got this really bad like heartburn which i thought was acid reflux. It got so bad once that i had to call 911. And i was hurting on my right side around where the gallbladder is located. I had it removed last yr. and i have no more symptoms and i feel so much better. I lived in hell for those yrs. no doctors would help me without insurance. They said my gallbladder was thickened and it could have burst which i probably would have died from.
I had long-term heartburn, which while not directly related to gallstones per se lead me to seek medical advice. Over the years, they ultrasounded me a couple of times, and I did have gallstones, which were getting bigger.
There doesn't seem to be a lot you can do about it except get the gallbladder removed at some point.
It's really not a necessary operation (assuming you can handle the pain that feels like a hot iron spear being thrust through you from front to back) until the point that one of the stones gets stuck in the bile duct, at which point everything backs up and rots – you get a gall bladder infection, at which point you need emergency surgery, get a tube down your nose, and have all kinds of fun trying to get that puppy out before it bursts and you have all kinds of nasty stuff leaking into your abdominal cavity to kill you in pretty short order. (Umm, that's not exactly all the correct medical terminology, but I think you get the point.)
Sorry, that's what happened to my dad when he ignored and "worked through" his symptoms. It's going to have to come out sooner or later.
To get mine removed was elective outpatient surgery. It was half a day in hospital, about three or four recovering. I had a Philly cheese steak sandwich smuggled in to the hospital after the operation to celebrate. I'm so bad.
I feel for you, and hope you can work this out ok. good luck.