My ship may sail without me tomorrow

[SJ]

Paul,

 

Thank you for the insightful response. I always wanted to ask my doctors this but impossible to do so at appointments due to time restraints.

 

No one is debating politics here. Nothing wrong with asking for information that will help make us informed voters.

[pe4all]

Vacruiser - hope you had a restful night. I know how disappointed you were to cancel your cruise - I had the same experience in Feb. when I had to cancel my Glory cruise when I came down with norovirus the day before we were to leave. There is a whole packet of papers the travel insurance carrier will send you. (we had Travelguard) Your ER bills won't be covered, as it didn't happen on your cruise - but any pre-cruise hotel cancellation penalty, travel expenses like airfare, pre-paid parking, and cruise fare should be covered. (CCL port taxes and excursions were immediately credited back to us) It took about 3 weeks, but I was "made whole." I am sure you will have no problem, either. Make photocopies of everything before you submit it. Good luck with the surgeon today.:)

[ihibernate]

Having had sludge, I really would not go. I had a horrible attack at Thanksgiving and was in the hospital for 5 days. I wanted someone to kill me the pain was so very bad. No pain meds because they had to do tests on the gallbladder and it would not react if medicated. It was the worst 5 days ever. I had nightmares about it even after. I went a long time without the surgery, years. When I finally got it out, I felt sooooo much better. I cannot believe they made me wait so long. Get it out. Don't worry about the money until you are healthy and then work for a credit and take a cruise you can enjoy. When I got mine out, I went to the hospital, in the ER at 7:30 AM, home by 10:30 AM and felt fine a few days later. Take care of yourself!

[vacruizer]

Having had sludge, I really would not go. I had a horrible attack at Thanksgiving and was in the hospital for 5 days. I wanted someone to kill me the pain was so very bad. No pain meds because they had to do tests on the gallbladder and it would not react if medicated. It was the worst 5 days ever. I had nightmares about it even after. I went a long time without the surgery, years. When I finally got it out, I felt sooooo much better. I cannot believe they made me wait so long. Get it out. Don't worry about the money until you are healthy and then work for a credit and take a cruise you can enjoy. When I got mine out, I went to the hospital, in the ER at 7:30 AM, home by 10:30 AM and felt fine a few days later. Take care of yourself!

 

Oh, uggg.... did you have any stones or just sludge? What's puzzling the drs. is that it's just sludge. All my bloodwork is great for everything under the sun. One doc says sludge can cause this sick feeling (my pain is still minimal but very uncomfortable, overall sick feeling, and gastro symptoms mainly) then other docs say sludge doesn't mean anything and it's my stomach.

 

All I know is I want an answer and it to go away. A month ago I was leading a normal and active life and this hit me like a ton of bricks two weeks ago and hasn't stopped since.

[starfish216]

Sorry to hear about you missing your cruise and your gastro troubles - I hear/feel your pain. I have always suffered from various gastro problems, even had my gall bladder removed about 8 years ago. Sometimes it takes months for my gut to quiet down from either antibiotics or a stomach bug. And yes there are times I felt like it would never end.

 

But I must tell you not finding anything right now is good news.

 

Something similar happened about 6 months ago to my 27 year old son. He is very rarely sick (only occasional sinus infection) and never complains about anything. One day he called me to get him from the train station. He was on his way to work and got off the train a few stops later because he had stomach pain, felt nauseous and felt like his was going to pass out. This went on for several weeks. We visited his doctor several times a week, saw a gastro doctor a few times and went to the ER. He had blood work done, sono done, x-ray and upper GI done all these test revealed nothing. Not finding anything actually bothered him more, since he felt something was amiss because of how awful he was feeling for so long. He was on all sorts of meds to reduce acid, pain, anxiety (from feeling so crappy) and spasms. Came to a point where he was afraid to eat or drink anything. He was losing weight he couldn't afford to lose. Nothing seemed to quite the episodes down. After a few weeks he decided to stop all meds since they weren't making a difference and only making him very tired. Having had bouts of gastro distress most of my adult life I suggested he try one more thing and take Acidophilus which is a probiotic that balances the bacteria in the gastro tract. After a couple of days on it his gut quieted down and he was once again resuming a normal life. This whole process took a couple of months before he was able to put it all behind him. We never found out what caused all this.

 

My point is sometimes the there is nothing seriously wrong and your gut is just out of balance. Be happy with the negative test results and don't ponder why they haven't found a reason for your gastro distress. Sometimes in medicine there is no answer and it just takes time for things to get back to normal.

 

I hope you feel better soon so you can put this all behind you and start planning your next cruise.

 

Take care,

(I apologize for this being so long)

[sharecruises]

I really appreciate everyone's insight, and I can't say it enough, support and advice. I can respect all differing opinions on various issues, but don't want this to turn into any type of political argument that will get the thread pulled or locked. Not that anyone has done that yet, I just know those things can sometimes degenerate quickly. :)

 

You guys have provided wonderful help. I'll keep everyone posted how things go.

 

In the good news, my family dr. said to just bring him the travel insurance forms and he'll take care of them.:) I'm probably going to need it to go towards the ER bills. :eek:

 

Yay for your family doctor that is great news, one less thing to worry about

 

Hang in there and get better fast

[LaShea]

Sorry to hear about you missing your cruise and your gastro troubles - I hear/feel your pain. I have always suffered from various gastro problems, even had my gall bladder removed about 8 years ago. Sometimes it takes months for my gut to quiet down from either antibiotics or a stomach bug. And yes there are times I felt like it would never end.

 

But I must tell you not finding anything right now is good news.

 

Something similar happened about 6 months ago to my 27 year old son. He is very rarely sick (only occasional sinus infection) and never complains about anything. One day he called me to get him from the train station. He was on his way to work and got off the train a few stops later because he had stomach pain, felt nauseous and felt like his was going to pass out. This went on for several weeks. We visited his doctor several times a week, saw a gastro doctor a few times and went to the ER. He had blood work done, sono done, x-ray and upper GI done all these test revealed nothing. Not finding anything actually bothered him more, since he felt something was amiss because of how awful he was feeling for so long. He was on all sorts of meds to reduce acid, pain, anxiety (from feeling so crappy) and spasms. Came to a point where he was afraid to eat or drink anything. He was losing weight he couldn't afford to lose. Nothing seemed to quite the episodes down. After a few weeks he decided to stop all meds since they weren't making a difference and only making him very tired. Having had bouts of gastro distress most of my adult life I suggested he try one more thing and take Acidophilus which is a probiotic that balances the bacteria in the gastro tract. After a couple of days on it his gut quieted down and he was once again resuming a normal life. This whole process took a couple of months before he was able to put it all behind him. We never found out what caused all this.

 

My point is sometimes the there is nothing seriously wrong and your gut is just out of balance. Be happy with the negative test results and don't ponder why they haven't found a reason for your gastro distress. Sometimes in medicine there is no answer and it just takes time for things to get back to normal.

 

I hope you feel better soon so you can put this all behind you and start planning your next cruise.

 

Take care,

(I apologize for this being so long)

 

Sometimes it is something though!!!

 

This is my story...I was about 24 years old when all my symptoms started hitting. Going to the ER twice and then to every doctor as they all kept pawning off thinking it was something else. I had every test known to man and they couldn't find anything wrong. Fast forward about 6 months and I started getting really sick. I had to take medical leave from work as the attacks kept coming. I was starting to feel like everyone was thinking I was literally crazy...even my husband at the time started ignoring my symptoms as no Dr. could find out what was wrong. One day I was home alone and I literally felt like I was dying. I started to turn yellow and I called my mom and told her I need help and now. She rushed over and got me and rushed me into the only ER in Vegas I hadn't been too yet. It was packed full of people...I was in the hall on a stretcher. My mom told the Dr she was not leaving until they found what is wrong with me even if they threw her in jail! LOL!! He took one look at me and said, "I had a patient last year that the exact symptoms you have now and there is a test I can run, but they usually don't allow this test in the ER, but they owe me". The test was called an injection fraction test (it actually puts you in an actual attack and they can see what the gallbladder is doing at that exact moment).

 

It was horrible, but after that the Dr. came up to me and told me a surgeon was on his way at 11pm and I am going in for emergency surgery. I had a polip that had grown between my Gallbladder and the pancreas and the bile was now going into my system as the hole was completely blocked!! Hence why I was turning yellow. Once my gallbladder was out I felt great!! I was back at work in 1 week. The Dr. came in the next day before he released me and told me I was one very lucky girl as most Dr.'s wouldn't look for that and I most likely had a few days and I wouldn't have been here any longer.

 

Moral of the story...if you are this sick please make sure you do not give up on yourself. It could be very possible that you have something that not everyone has or that not too many Dr.'s have seen. ;)

[vacruizer]

Hi again CC friends!

 

Just met with the surgeon, the chief resident, and heck - they even threw in a med school student for good measure. :p

 

Gallbladder comes out tomorrow and he says I'll feel much better once it's out. :)

 

It was just cruel that I checked my email a bit ago and had a birthday email from Carnival, though. :p LOL

[gobucks_43228]

Best wishes on a speedy recovery!!!

[retiredgram]

Hi again CC friends!

 

Just met with the surgeon, the chief resident, and heck - they even threw in a med school student for good measure. :p

 

Gallbladder comes out tomorrow and he says I'll feel much better once it's out. :)

 

It was just cruel that I checked my email a bit ago and had a birthday email from Carnival, though. :p LOL

Been following this thread and I am glad you are getting the problem taken care of.

I know you were disappointed, but now you will be able to schedule another cruise in the future and will enjoy it much more. We are just off of the Pride and I know you will have a great cruise if you book with them again.

Update us as to your recovery and have a speedy recovery.

[starfish216]

Glad to hear they found the source of your problems.

 

Hoping you have a speedy recovery.

 

Get well soon!

[golfadj]

Great. Are you going to frame it?

 

Morbid but my wifes surgeon gave hers back in a small bottle.

[H82seaUgo]

Hi again CC friends!

 

Just met with the surgeon, the chief resident, and heck - they even threw in a med school student for good measure. :p

 

Gallbladder comes out tomorrow and he says I'll feel much better once it's out. :)

 

 

good.

 

save it, and put it in a bottle, and throw it overboard on your next cruise for full closure!

[maxamuus]

save it, and put it in a bottle, and throw it overboard on your next cruise for full closure!

 

Some poor chap will think he has found a message in a bottle from one of the kind folks on Cruise Critic, only to open it to find a gallbladder :eek:

[KuffMUp]

Sorry your trip was cancelled. Good to have insurance though. Although it was RCCL, I got full reimbursement for an "elective" eye surgery. I passed out and hit my eye on the counter rupturing it (no this wasn't the "elective" part:cool:). After 4 surgeries to repair it, I was pumped to go on a B2B out of San Juan for our 25th anniversary. 1 week before the cruise, the Dr. says my retina has a small detatchment and they want to repair it. If they don't it could cause me to further lose eyesight. While they put silicone oil in after the first surgeries, they want to put a gas bubble in my eye this time because they won't have to go back in and take it out, it dissapates on it's own. Having the gas bubble means I can't fly. At altitudes over 3,000 feet, the gas expands causing high pressure in the eye which can lead to blindness (and significant pain I found out by accident). But, he said, he would leave it up to me. I could have surgery when we got back or he could put silicone oil back in but he really didn't want to. At the time, I was trying to save my eyesight (said plan failed) so we cancelled the cruise. Even though it was sort of up to me, he filled out the paperwork as to what was wrong and it went through no problem.

 

So, long story short, you will have papers for the Dr. to fill out and if he said your gall bladder needed to come out I think that he can word it so that it would be understood that the symptoms are happening now and they fixed it as soon as possible.

[H82seaUgo]

Some poor chap will think he has found a message in a bottle from one of the kind folks on Cruise Critic, only to open it to find a gallbladder :eek:

 

i'm debating which is worth more.

[JPV072900]

Dear Vacruizer, your countdown clock for the cruise is still there :(:(:(

 

Hope you're doing better!!

[vacruizer]

OMG - LOL - I so needed the laugh right now but dang it hurts to laugh. :p

[thomarvin]

Good luck with the surgery tomorrow. My sister and I (with our families)will be on the Pride on the 5th. We are lots of fun:p You could come with us. I had my gallbladder out 23 years ago. Havent missed it yet. LOL

[zqvol]

Hi again CC friends!

 

Just met with the surgeon, the chief resident, and heck - they even threw in a med school student for good measure. :p

 

Gallbladder comes out tomorrow and he says I'll feel much better once it's out. :)

 

It was just cruel that I checked my email a bit ago and had a birthday email from Carnival, though. :p LOL

 

 

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[wrigley80]

Well at least you got the news you were looking for. Best of Luck for a Speedy Recovery!!!!! :)

[Sargent_Schultz]

Just think, with the new Health Reform, you will be waiting a LOT longer than hours, or even days. We will be waiting months and years for operations. Don't believe me? Just ask any of our Canadian or UK friends.

 

vacruizer, I hope you are doing better this morning.

 

This post prompted my Canada reference.

 

Sargent,

 

Did you mean to address your comments to me? You stated 'it was nothing like Canadas' and I assumed you were referring to a Canadian ER visit? If you were not referring to what a Canadian ER visit would be like then please explain what you were stating. The OP is in Virginia, I am in West Virginia, others have posted about what it's like in Ohio and other states so why wouldn't we want to know what it would be like in Canada?

 

As for a 'political game' being played, I can assure you I'm not playing any kind of game nor do I consider politics to be a game.

 

In terms of relevance to the thread topic, it's safe to say you have posted several times and have yet to be anywhere near the topic we are discussing.

 

I am well aware of Canadian Healthcare's reputation and have spoke with several Canadian Healthcare Providers about their experiences, but if you have info to add please do. If your opinion is all you have to offer then I think it's safe to say you've done so and that others disagree. It doesn't mean you are wrong or they are right; just that you don't agree. Why must you get so hostile about it? 'Disgusted.' That's a pretty strong emotion to be spouting off about.

 

I also don't see a 'host' before your name so why do you feel a need to police the boards for posts that you deem irrelevant?

 

My bad. I thought you were following up on the few who insisted on making political statements. My disgust is with them.

 

OTOH, there seems to be some policing on your part, as well. Are you a host? :p

[Kristi Williamson]

I'm so glad your surgery is scheduled and your Dr. is taking care of the paperwork for you!!

 

I'm really sorry you missed your cruise. But, now you can look forward to one with great health and I'm sure you'll enjoy it immensely!!

 

Praying for a speedy recovery and an extraordinary upcoming cruise!!!! :)

[Froufie]

Good luck with the surgery - I know you will feel way better once that nasty gall bladder has been removed - then you can start planning your next cruise :D:D

[Kimber1369]

Good luck tomorrow! Wishing you a speedy recovery!