Waiting for surgery: living with unpredictable
pain attacks
While waiting for surgery fear of further gallstone
attacks had a deep, negative impact on the patients’
daily lives. This constant state of uncertainty resulted
in nervousness and sadness. One patient stated:
‘What I think about first is the uncertainty when
you eat something. Okay I can eat it, but am I
going to be in pain? You can’t relax. And then you
get it. It could come the day after, often at night.’
(Patient 24).
Consequently, the patients refrain from eating
certain types of food since gallstone attacks could
occur at any time after eating something that
was unsuitable. Many patients described this as
depressing. A young man said:
‘I noticed that I couldn’t eat food any more. I felt
ill… It was really annoying. Even if it isn’t necessary
to eat every kind of food, it’s still depressing not
having the option.’ (Patient 19).