Discussion
This study shows that gallstone disease has a
considerable impact on the patients’ lives. During
the period from the onset of symptoms to the
point of diagnosis, the patients suffered on and
off from diffuse symptoms and signs. They tried
to sort out what this meant, practising self-care
and controlling the symptoms themselves. The
onset of gallstone disease is often diffuse and
difficult to assess and diagnosis can be difficult
to establish based on clinical assessments alone
(Berhane et al, 2006; Finan et al, 2006). For the
patients in this study, the ‘real’ gallstone disease
made its debut with a dramatic and acute gallstone
attack. The pain was described as ‘almost the
worst imaginable’. A previous study revealed that
patients rate the pain intensity during gallstone
attacks as exceptionally high, on average 90 on a
0–100 visual analogue scale (VAS) (Berhane et al,
2006).