A few months ago I posted about the appalling treatment I received from the NHS, having broken my ankle and nothing was done about it. Well I have had the same thing happen to me again. In April this year having waited 2 years for an operation to have my Gall bladder removed, umpteen cancelled dates for my operation with no explanations. I finally had it removed. I wish I hadn't even bothered. It was a complete balls up from beginning to the end. I was supposed to have had a heart scan performed before the operation which I didn't know about until the appointment came 2 months AFTER the operation. The sonographer didn't even know why I was there? they couldn't find my appointment and when they finally did having waited over an hour, that is when she told me that it was a waste of time having it done now because I had already had the operation. After the operation the anaesthetist managed to chip my teeth and now I have to be careful when I eat. Also the operation scars which should have healed by now haven't and I am in a lot of pain all the time, so now I have to have a scan to see why I am still in pain. I don't know whether I am just an unlucky person but I am always having some sort of problem with the NHS. In the future if I need another operation I am definitely NOT I will just live with it.
Gall bladder operation: A few months ago I... - Pain Concern
Gall bladder operation
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I am so sorry to read about your very bad luck , or so it seems, maybe it’s worth writing a complaint , I’ve not had any luck myself or help from the medical profession for a long time now.
Thank you for your reply. I have made a complaint and they have already wrote to me about what they are going to do next. My scan has been booked in as an emergency which I am gobsmacked about,it only took a week to wait. I am sick of complaining about my care.
Hi imagine1,
I am so sorry to read of your misfortune ..... sadly in my view it represents everything that is evil about todays, 21st century NHS. Frankly the organisation could barely be trusted to take a blood pressure reading much less anything else. A loathsome organisation.
I have had to take issue with my local NHS Hospital Trust in the past and I found an excellent start being to write to my local MP, preferably at his Westminster Office - however - failing that at his local Constituency Office. Set out your complaint in detail and ask him for an explanation as to the events and ask that this be done in conjunction with the Health Secretary. Then, at a later date ask for a meeting at one of his Constituency Surgeries that most of these MP's operate. In correspondence with your MP don't be afraid to name names of the offending healthcare practioners.
Wishing you good luck.
John
Thank you for your reply.I have made a complaint and they are looking into it. I won't rest until they sort it out. I am sick of complaining all the time. The care should be normal but alas it never is, The glorious NHS, NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE.
Hi Imagine1,
Yes I know what you mean but am glad that you have made a complaint and started the process. Your experiences are just beyond acceptable. Totally agree about NHS not fit for purpose.
Makes Holby City look almost welcoming.
😂😂
John
The NHS are a joke, they have never helped me in anything. I am also left disabled as in my previous post because of them but I am suing them over this. I dread getting ill because there is no way I am ever setting foot in a hospital again. My husband thinks exactly the same.
I live in the US, so while I don't know a lot about the NHS, I do know what it's like living under a horrible healthcare system. What horrible luck you've had. Can't they be made to pay to fix your broken teeth? That seems like a definite liability they should cover.
About the gallbladder, I had mine out about 18 years ago. It was an easy surgery, but in the healing stages I had a lot of sharp pain that almost felt like something was pinching me inside. I had MRI scans, CT scans, ultrasounds and nothing could be found except adhesions. Sticky scar tissue from the surgery was adhering to my liver and stomach. Every time it would attach and I would move a certain way or something, it would basically rip it off causing the pinching feeling and then the soreness after was from the inflammation. They told me that over the next few months the scar tissue would become less "sticky" and the pain would subside. I'm happy to say it did! I hope that will be the case and the issue for you.
The only other long-term issue I have had has been with diarrhea if I eat a not so good for me meal (usually fried foods), but that has been easily controlled with over the counter anti-diarrheal meds. Best wishes to you.
My mother has diarrhea something horrible after her gallbladder surgery…. But my husband who had his removed doesn’t have any issues wonder why some people have diarrhea forever after gallbladder surgery and some don’t…. Doctors don’t seem to care either.
Has your mum not been given anything for the diarrhoea? It’s likely bile acid malabsorption because the excess bile runs continuously into the bowel and causes the diarrhoea, Colestyramine is the treatment.
Her doctor is as dumb as a box of rock and he just lets her suffer and sadly I can’t advocate for her since I live a ways away and my sister is useless when it comes to this stuff … I will pass this information on to her but likely won’t go anywhere… awful though I really think it messes up her nutrients.
That’s such a shame for her as it can literally give her a life back and yes the diarrhoea will be causing all sorts of havoc. After my op I could barely eat anything but the Colestyramine worked so quickly and I now only need 1 sachet a day and I can eat whatever I like without having to worry.
I wish I had diarrhoea, just a little bit would be great. I have a condition called Diverticulosis and one of the many side effects is I have chronic constipation which I have to take long term laxatives for the rest of my life. I mentioned this to the surgeon and he said that it would cure that and it would make me have diarrhoea. I was over joyed at this news and I thought that I wouldn't have to take laxatives ever again. That wasn't the case I am more bunged up than I was before.
Wow my sister and brother both have diverticulosis.
The hospital have said for the last 40 years that I had IBS because they couldn't find anything wrong with me even though there was. They still don't care because I have no medication to take and yet again I have been left.
I have suffered from a pituitary tumour for over 20 years now. In this time I have attended hospital annually for blood tests. During this time my prolactin levels have stood at 600 to 800, the norm for a male is around the 200 to 300 mark. When I have asked the reason why mine is up to 800, they say it could be anything. This year I managed to get a blood test, my prolactin level is now 1052. Now after 20 or so years the NHS endocrinologist has told me it could be a problem with my water works. So after years of suffering I feel like I have completely wasted my time.
They don't care about anything. If people paid private then we would get the help that we should have got from the NHS, which people have paid into for years and should get something back from it. WHY should people have to go private? It would probably be an NHS doctor anyway. I just don't trust any of them and they want a pay rise, for WHAT exactly? Our stories is one of many others, it shouldn't be.
"They don't care about anything." Oh for goodness sake!! All this negativity and unkindness.
I was a senior nurse in a level 1 Major Trauma Centre Emergency Dept before I was medically retired and I can assure you that no one goes into the job to not care for people, how insulting.
Have you forgotten about the personal sacrifices that many of my former colleagues and friends made during the covid pandemic? NHS staff moving out of their family homes and living in hotels for months to keep people safe. I lost two friends to covid.Thry died doing their job. Did they not care? One was a critical care nurse and the other a paramedic. They went to work during the pandemic to help others, no vaccine, hardly any PPE, hardly any support. They died. Others makes tremendous sacrifices working away from families and looking after strangers instead, and that is before covid happened I know because on my 15 years I hardly spent one Christmas with family and did many hours of overtime yet never got paid for it. So don't say people don't care.
If you have an issue with the NHS then write to your MP, write to the Department of Health and Social Care, write to your local trust and health ombudsman. Blame the budget cuts, blame the people who go to A&E with a splinter, blame the people who abuse the system by not paying their taxes so the NHS can't be funded. But do not blame the good and kindhearted, hard working people who work in the NHS. I can tell you that the NHS is run on the good will of its employees and I thinks it's awful to disrespect them in this manner.
You've had a bad experience and I'm sorry for you but I've suggested how to complain about it. Not everyone who works in the NHS is accountable for your experience so please stop the hatred.
First of all, every time I have been to the hospital whether it has been for an appointment or operation something bad has happened to me. There are too numerous to mention here, but I will tell you another one. I was seriously ill a few years ago and an ambulance was called. The paramedic asked me if I was allergic to anything, I told her I am allergic to anything with opiates in them, mentioning codeine as an example, what did the paramedic do, she gave me codeine in a small cup by the time I got to hospital I had to be resusitated and nearly died. Who is to blame here, certainly not me,because of this experience I am scared now to take any type of medication because if a paramedic could get something like this wrong and she was surposed to be trained a doctor or nurse can make the same mistake. From this all I received was not an apology but she has been told. How does this help me or other people she surposed to have helped that day. So don't tell me that the NHS are fabulous in my case they are certainly NOT and I will never trust them again.
I never said the NHS were fabulous so don't put words in my mouth. You seem to be able to communicate, you can ask what medication you are being given. You can decline meds if you are allergic. I have spent 32 weeks in hospital in the past 5 years and it hasn't all gone swimmingly but I'm not going to go on and on about negative experiences because it doesn't help anyone. I'm not going to start listing my experiences either because it gets us nowhere and it's not a competition.
My point is negativity breeds negativity. You said yourself that you are "sick of complaining about my care." So stop it.
My suggestion is that you stop spreading negativity about the NHS and make a valid complaint where it will can be investigated. Complaining on here won't change anything but if you complain to the appropriate people your case can be looked at.
I expected to be given medication that I WASN'T allergic to, what is the point of the paramedic asking me if she was going to give it me anyway. Yes I can communicate but I shouldn't be doing her job for her. As for complaining, I am suing the NHS about a broken foot that again they did nothing about, I now can't walk properly and I am left disabled, plus I have made an official complaint about the care I received at the hospital and when I left. I am sick of people saying how wonderful the Glorious NOT NHS are, I am on here telling of my experiences of them and their massive cock ups. The way you were talking about the NHS it is like they are Gods and nothing compares to them. NO I am not putting words in your mouth, it is the way you are talking about them.
I'm not engaging in this thread anymore, you are entitled to your opinion and voice and I have said all I wish to say.
I wish when the doctor told me about the operation that they would have told me what could have happened,sadly they don't.
What about the consent form that you have to sign that lists every complication? It has to list them by law? Needs to be checked by the surgeon and two scrub nurses.
Yes I signed the consent forms but I don't think they will pay for my teeth to be sorted out. They won't care.
My point is that when you sign the consent form it is a disclaimer that you know of the risks because they are listed and are prepared to accept the risks and go ahead with the procedure. No clinical pricedi can be without risk and everything is don't to inform you of those risks so you can make an informed decision about consent.
I didn't expect them to chip my teeth though and if i didn't sign the form then I wouldn't have been able to have the operation. In hindsight i wish i hadn't now. x
Sry for your troubles..Bad docs are not confined to one system. Curious whether you had an ERCP performed? Beat,etheral
What is an ERCP?
A gasstroscope is passed down the esophagus and the sphincter of Oddi is located . This is the passageway from the gallbladder to the intestines. Even after the gallbladder is removed this can remained inflamed or have stones that can cause chronic problems. This can be corrected via the scope or surgery...etheral
What was wrong with your gallbladder that you needed surgery and aside from the issues do you feel better? I hope they didn’t leave something inside your incision site.
I had really bad pain under my ribs on my left side. I was admitted to hospital because of the pain that i was in and I should have had a CT Scan while I was in there but they didn't, The doctor told me it was to do with my bowels. Well it wasn't. I had an internal ultrasound scan performed at my GP's and they found numerous gallstones, it had nothing at all to do with my bowels it wasn't even in the same area. Then I was booked in for an emergency operation, it took over 2 years, during this time the CT Scan appointment came which I should have had done at the hospital, I obviously cancelled it. The reason that I had gallstones was because I have lost a lot of weight on the Slimming World diet, I was a size 12 and I am now a size 8, the problem was the weight came off to quickly and that is what caused the gallstones.
2 years for emergency surgery that doesn’t seem like an emergency you must have been in pain for a long time .. wow
It was due to Covid, when no one was having operations, appointments, everything was shut down, it didn't stop my pain though. It was never ending and I am allergic to painkillers so I couldn't take anything. It was a complete nightmare. xx
I can only say as I’ve seen and I’ve seen NHS at its best. Am NOT saying they are perfect and mistakes don’t happen because they do, because we are talking about human beings performing tasks and they make mistakes. I don’t understand if you were is so much pain re gallbladder that nothing happened for 2yrs? I don’t accept that Covid meant they wouldn’t do anything. My dad had his gallbladder removed during Covid due to being in agony. In his case (possibly due to age) there were many side affects and he stayed in hospital for 7wks!! Things were far from perfect (and I had to phone the ward to complain on 2 occasions) but the staff did their best in very trying circumstances. Likewise he has been treated for skin cancer, and been seen under 2 week rules for cancer for now diagnosed untreatable blood cancer. Even with this he was referred to local hospice straight away and they are keeping a very watchful eye on him.
Like I say is not all perfect. I have dropped off respiratory team list and never got appointments promised and I feel abandoned by gp. But when I see the state of situation in other countries, where medications I take for granted are refused or have to be paid for then things aren’t all bad.
Was interested re tooth damage. I was warned on at least 2 occasions that unavoidable tooth damage can result during operations due to breathing tubes etc so am surprised you weren’t warned.
I was misdiagnosed by a doctor at the hospital saying that I had a bowel problem, I was meant to go for a CT Scan but I never had one and it turned out to be numerous Gallstones in my gallbladder, if I had the scan they would have seen them and I wouldn't have been in agony for 2 years. It was one big balls up. Other people might be very lucky and never have problems with the NHS. I am certainly not one of them. They have made too many cock ups with my care. I was not warned about teeth damage, they never let you read the consent form and they never tell you everything that could happen. Like the Heart Scan I was supposed to have had BEFORE the operation, but I got the appointment 2 months later. That is shocking if anything was to have happened to me during the operation it doesn't bear thinking about. Yes I was in pain, even the ward I was put on was an all male ward and they were not doing operations at all and it WAS because of Covid. I was that ill I had jaundice and they still didn't do anything. How ill was a supposed to be until they took notice.
Hello there , sorry to hear of your troubles . If your tooth is broken you can get that fixed by the dentist. I had my gallbladder removed many years ago in the 80s and recall it was a bit tough after with diarrohea it was 12 months before my stomach was back to normal but now you can get tablets either from the chemist or your GP . In your paticular case I would make a complaint if your dissatisfied, not that I think it will help as most complaints go unheeded just adding insult to injury. But it does help to highlight where things are going wrong in the system. Best Wishes hope you start to recover soon.
Gall bladders can be very painful especially when Gallstones need removing .Sometimes a stone can be missed, especially near the bladderl
When I Had my gallbladder removed they lost one of them and the Surgeon was told of by the Consultant. Before the Op it was very painful and even when op was over still sore for a time, the stone was never found all ok now
Hence the need for a photo
Thank you for your reply. I am glad that you are okay. The soreness is around my incision mark in the middle of my stomach, whenever I bend or stretch it is very painful. I have a manual job and it is making it worse and harder because of the pain. I hope they haven't missed a gall stone. I am certainly not having another operation to get it out.
Did they not so micro surgery an entry point in your tummy buttom another in the right side bellow the rib cage and a further entry point for an endoscope. , How long were you in hospital, I wemt in early morming was operated on pm and all done late aftermoon, one night in hospital and rechecked and discharged home for evening meal. Yes it was sore and it bothered me of an one for about a year or so. They seemed to to have done a good job thtee pin hole surgery points possibly four and the holes were sealed in a mater of days or so.
I was an engineer and was unable to lift or ben for a medium period of time
Now ok although it was done in the mid 80s. They may do a scan that happened before I went home. Suppose at seventy two years young They may find it when I curl my toes.
I wanted the stones to make a ring with the largest stone shame
BOB
Yes that is exactly what they did. The incisions have not healed properly and that is what are very sore and red, like a big rash over my scars. My job is very physical and there is a lot of bending, stretching and lifting which I am finding it hard to do at the moment. I had to have an epidural so I had to stay in an extra night and when I came round from the anaesthetic I was shivering so they had to put this blowup blanket on me until my body temperature went back to normal.
Did they make an appointment to temove any stitches or did they us a glue seal ? personally tf not already talk to your Doctor, did the specialist make an appointment for you to be seen after the operation tp discharge you ?? The shivering after a proceedure you may feel chilled, Recovery time ??
BOB
It was keyhole surgery so they were tiny marks that self healed, but one of them hasn't and it is very sore and red. I am having a scan to see what is happening. The doctor did discharge me at the hospital but I have had no followup appointment.
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