The patients also expressed considerable
concern and fear in conjunction with the gallstone
attack and the thought that they were having a
heart attack, cancer or that they would die. The
results concur with results from other studies in
which patients’ interpretations of symptoms were
investigated (Jerlock et al, 2005; Jones and Ballard,
2008). Patients who suffer severe, intense pain in
the chest and/or upper abdomen attempt to find
different explanations and often fear ‘the worst’.
While waiting for cholecystectomy, the patients experienced
a whole range of negative feelings. This is in line
with previous studies, which show that both
emotional reactions and low quality of life are
common prior to cholecystectomy (Chen et al, 2005; Oudhoff
et al, 2007). However, these studies do not explore
the impact of living in uncertainty and fear on a
daily basis. Illness uncertainty occurs in both longterm
and acute disease and causes considerable
cognitive stress and a feeling of losing control
(Johnson Wright et al, 2009). The patients stated
that a great deal of energy went into preventing
a gallstone attack and mitigating the attacks that