Hello I need some suggestions if anyone has any. Since the end of January I have been having severe pain just below my right rib cage. I went to a doctor and was told he suspected it was my gall bladder. He performed a stomach camera procedure and a sonogram but didn't find any stones or anything with those tests to let him know what was going on. He then suggested a Hida scan, and told me I couldn't take any medications for 24 hours before I had the test. I did go for the test but my fibro was so bad, I could not lay perfectly still on the table for 2 hours for the procedure to finish. I got through the first 40 mins and just could not lay there any longer, I was right to tears with the pain. I did reschedule and tried again, with the same result, I just couldn't lay there due to the pain. As a result the doctor's office thought I was just being uncooperative and refused to see me anymore. Even after I tried my best to explain that I have fibro, and it was very difficult for me to lay there on a hard table without moving due to the pain. I even asked if they could give me something to help me sleep during the test, they wouldn't do that either. So now I am left to find a new doctor "maybe I will find one in Missouri" but I am afraid they will want to do the same test again, and without some type of help I will not be able to do it. Also I have read on here somewhere, I don't remember which post it was, but some peoples fibro has gotten worse since having their gall bladders removed. Oh my that is the last thing I need, I am afraid that may happen to me now. Not saying it will but the fear is there, but at the same time I can not keep living with this additional pain that the gall badder is causing. So if anyone has any ideas to help me get through a Hida scan if the new doctor wants me to do one I will greatly appreciate it.
Dear Angela,
The Hida scan is the only GB test to show function. A GB opens and closes like you open and close the fingers of your hand. My GB was perfectly normal in shape, no stones, no indication of a problem, other than 20 years of severe pain and digestive problems. Had all of the other tests done over and over...
The hida scan finally told the story! My GB was DEAD, I was wisked off to a Surgeon that day, day after, no more GB. I had to cancel having a big EAster dinner and egg hunt for the kids. The disestive Dr told me and I said "I can't, we'll wait until Monday" he said "WE ARE, if I could get you in now, I would, these can turn in to gangrene quickly, they can also rupture.
Not trying to scare you, but if this Dr thinks you need a hida scan, then really, I think you need to seriously listen to him and find a way to have the test.
I am not a doctor, but have been through this. If it is not your GB then they can go on to the next possibility!
With this test you spend most of the time sitting in a chair waiting for the next x-ray, they feed you something and watch your GB's function.
Wishing you the best,
SK
I agree with SK. MY gall bladder showed nothing on any tests but the Hida scan. I was afraid more of not having any pain med during. But I just laid still and put myself in another place in my head. I actually was able to fall asleep once I relaxed. Sure enough it wasn’t working at all. I had it out and have had no problems with pain or stomach stuff since. It’s been two years. I did not notice any flare up of the fibro. I’m glad I got through it. Far bettervthan being sick with a bum gall bladder. Surgery was same day and I had very little discomfort. Good luck.
Angela, what about learning self-hypnosis or self-relaxation techniques that might help you get through the procedure? What about a mattress cushion for the hard table? Ace bandages for the sore areas? Accupuncture or massage to try and alleviate some of the pain? Padding the areas that hurt the worst? Taking a Benadryl to get sleepy?
I'd also write a letter to your doctor detailing exactly what you've told us and how you WANT the procedure but cannot get past the pain and need some assistance on that front. Stupid doctor shouldn't kick you out because you're SORE. What do they do with elderly patients with gall bladder issues? Tell them to get out because they also can't lie down for 2 hours? Idiots.
I believe they need to give you an IV so I would ask for pain medication in addition to what they already give you. Also, ask your dr to prescribe Xanax unless you can get something through the IV.
There are so many patients with claustrophobia and chronic pain that it’s ridiculous your doctors were such jerks.
Unless they changed it, in 5 years, I was down, they took the pic, and I was back out in the hall in a chair for an hour waiting for the next. They did not tie up an xray machine and room up with me on the table, waiting. Really, not like an MRI.
Thanks for the advice. :) I really do want to get the test done. It is the only thing stopping me from getting this taken care of.
SK the scan they are trying to do with me requires me to lay still on a table and half into a machine that rotates now and then while it takes pictures. They put an iv in me that has some sort of radioactive stuff in it so the pictures show up i guess. They told me I would have to lay still for 2 hours so they could take pictures of my GB as the stuff they put in me worked through my system.
I did try very hard to complete the test sigh, but I just couldn't do it. Maybe you are right Readbks, maybe I was just to uptight knowing I didn't have any medication to help with the pain. That may have caused the fibro to act up more. I think I will write to the doctors office and try to explain that way, hadn't thought of that. I know they wouldn't listen to me while I was talking to them. If not I will get a doctor when I move to Missouri next month and try explain before hand about the hida scan experience. Maybe they will have something I could try so I'm not in so much pain during the test.
Hi Angela,
What a terrible ordeal and then the added insult of the doctors office not believing you! You can always call your insurance company and ask for a case manager who will help you and you can put in a formal complaint regarding the doctors behavior. I do not know the laws where you live, but here in PA you much send a letter to the patient explaining why they will no longer see you and they must give you one month to find another doc. They must still take care of you for that month. Check the laws where you are and good luck
Maria
Sorry Angela, I owe you an apology, I just know how important it is for you to find a way to have this done, so that you can have the 'easy surgery'.
I know I just had to have my 3rd brain scan looking for lupus or MS, I was on a table for hours too, could not move, I have Psoriatic Arthritis, the kind that hits the spinal column and SI joints, and I have spinal stenosis. I had hubby drive me, took 1 1/2 valium before I left the house and the lady who took it, propped me with pillows, but I could not move, anything, I know how hard it is.
I know how important it is to have this done. They must have changed the hida scan since I went through it, hope you can make it!
Sending you my best,
SK
Sounds like a plan Angela. Maybe some sort of anti-anxiety meds might be ok. I know they don't want any other meds getting in the way of what the GB can and cannot do. The techs only have their orders and go by the book. You need an MD to intervene for you sounds like. I hope you can get relief.
I didn't know I could do that. Thank you for letting me know :) They did send me a letter stating that I was being uncooperative and refusing to follow the doctors orders, and I had missed an appointment without rescheduling. So they where not going to schedule me another appointment. They did not give me a month to find another doctor, just told me flat out no they where not going to see me anymore.The thing with the missed appointment was apparently they made a follow up appointment for the Hida Scan, and didn't bother telling me about it. When I first went for the test I didn't even have the orders they had to call the doctor to get them, his office never gave me any. I don't blame the doctor, I blame his office they need to get it together.
HI SK, No you owe me no apologies :) They are always changing things so you can never know for sure what is going to happen. I do wish they where doing it the way you described, I don't think I would have had such a hard time that way. I did not know that the GB could rupture or turn to gangrene, and I thank you for letting me know that. I now know I need to try and get this done asap.
OMG, I'm so sorry you have to struggle through this. Can they put you out for this? I had the same problem when I had MRI's of my back. Laying on that flat table was excrutiating. It was all I could do to make it through the 45 minutes. My muscles cramped up in so many places.
Truly TERRIBLE service. You DO need to let the doctor (or someone) know how terribly the staff is running his office and how you were treated. How could you make an appointment that you didn't know about? How can you sit still for 2 hours if you can't? What an idiot practice.
Sorry to hear about the 3rd brain scan, SK. Did they find anything? (I truly think that's where they should be looking for fibro stuff too.) Sorry that you had to lie for so long too, don't know how on earth you did it with PsA and spinal stenosis. God bless the both of you. What a horrible situation to be in.
I understand you do not want to blame the doc. I worked in a family practice for many years and before any such note was sent, the doc HAD to approve it. There is a chance he/she knows of the letter. You could still write a letter to them but i would do a certified mail stating only the doc can sign for it so you are certain that he sees it.
Maria
Hi Angela,
Maria is right. Although there are no "laws" dictating how to discharge a patient, doctors have to be extremely careful because they open themselves up to liability lawsuits...for abandonment, in your case. Here is some information on how they SHOULD handle it -- I've been fighting with my old rheum over this, because he abandoned me with no letter, no available doctor to take over...
I can't believe they are putting you through all of this. I guess I was lucky...I had an ultrasound, that showed nothing, but my doctor and surgeon still believed it was my gall bladder. I didn't have to do the Hida Scan, they just did the surgery and found that my gall bladder was full of stones, with one blocking the duct. Why continue to put you through such extreme torture !
*FYI: It did not make my Fibro any worse after having it removed...in fact, I felt better, probably because the abdominal pain was gone! My Fibro didn't get extreme for another 5 years after a little car accident.
My daughter had the hida scan because gallbladder pain, it showed that her gallbladder was sluggish, meaning it was not releasing bile the way it should, the bile gets backed up and causes pain, in there words not an emergent situation, but her pain continues despite her exstream bland diet ( diet has helped ) no fried or processed food, perhaps your primary can give you a script for one Valium to be used the day of test, you will need driver. My daughter had to go to ER with gallbladder pain, they ordered her test & they are more likely to give you something for pain, tell them you had a sonogram and you don’t have stones, so hopefully they will just order the hida scan, after they medicate you for pain Good luck
Angela,
I've been thinking about you, hoping you've already gotten this resolved. Please let us know !!
I was wondering if you have different radiology facilities in your area? We have machines at the hospital, but also private radiology groups--and many times they are very different. Maybe call around, and find out what their techniques/machines require for the Hida Scan? Maybe someone will have a quicker one, or at least be decent enough to care about your situation. I still can't believe the trouble they have given you, they are so wrong.
Hugs,
Renie