ERCP ?

[Tired John]

I am a 42 year old male that has suffered through gastro problems for some time. I saw a new doctor yesterday, and after he reviewed all my labs, cat scans, sonograms and other tests that have been performed, he feels sure that I have a partial blockage of the bile duct. I am to undergo ERCP this coming friday. He is looking for a possible stone, or growth that has caused a dialated bile duct.  My question today is directed at those who have undergone this procedure. From previous posts here, I see a wide range of opinions on ERCP. What can I expect? Will the procedure be as routine as my Doc. explained? He did mention the 20 % chance of pancreitis. If anyone has any insight on this procedure, please advise me. Thanks for all your help today, and all the support I have received from this board..

         Tired John

[Baseball_Mom]

When I had my ERCP done I ended up with Pancreatitis and was in the hospital for 4 days and home for another 4 weeks.  I'm sure this is a worst case scenario, but don't go in expecting to right home or you might be disappointed.  Best of luck to you.  Hopefully your doctor has done more ERCPs than mine had (about a 1,000).  I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

[JaimeK]

Hello!
  I have had 2 ERCP's.  From one, I got pancreatitis.  But from the second one, nothing happened and I was fine the next day.
Since it's such a delicate procedure, I would make sure your Dr. is very experienced in this area and is a veteran as far as ERCP's are concerned.  My Dr. cut a sphincter at the end of my pancreatic duct...so he thinks that's why I got pancreatitis from it.  It just depends.  The actual procedure is no sweat at all since you're out cold the whole time.  If your Dr. ends up doing work down there, then your chances for a longer recovery period are more likely.  If he/she doesn't find any problems, you'll most likely be ready to go back to work on Monday.  
They are keeping you in the hospital on the night of your procedure, right?  Usually, they want to keep a close eye on you the first 24-36 hours to make sure pancreatitis doesn't develop.
Good luck!  
Jaime:)

[Lor]

I had an ERCP done. I went in at 11am and was out by 1pm. I didn't get pancreatitis from it, but had a lot of pain during the procedure. They will hold you if you have pain following the procedure. I've been told by another Dr when I had a different ERCP that you shouldn't have any pain what so ever. Apparently my shpincter was too tight and when the Dr put the canula into it - I tried coming off the table it was so painful (i remember that) I wasn't sedated properly. We are of the 20% who do have problems.

[Tired John]

Thank you to all who have offered valuable input to my problem. After searching the net this weekend for info on ERCP, I have decided to go ahead with the procedure. I think that the thought of being free of gastro problems persuades me to overlook the slight chance of complications from ERCP. I will keep you all posted......Thanks again    Tired John

[Suffering after Gallbladder removal]

I had it done twice and was amazed by the different outcomes with different hospitals. I tollerated it well but did wake up during the procedure and scared the hell out of everyone as I tried to rip it from my mouth

[TazLady]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents in.  I have had many ERCP's.  The worst case I had was 9 days in the hospital.  My doctor says it's the dye that is used during the proceedure that gives you a pancreatic attack.  Also the degree of blockage will affect your recovery too.

Good luck to you,
TazLady

[viola]

Hi I have had gastro problems for a long time as well. They found an ulcer first and then treated with antibiotics and losec. I felt good for about 1 month but then symptoms came back. Heavy stomach feeling, heartburn, wake up in the middle of night for 3-4 times almost every night, sore throat. My doctor did another scope and found that the ulcer is gone and H/pylori negative but there is minor chronic gastritis. But he didn't think this is the cause of the pain. I also did abdominal ultrasound and everything looks normal (no stones). I then asked for a HIDA scan, which found that the emptying from my gallbladder to small intestine was slow. My GI asked me to do ERCP next because he suspected narrowing of the gb exit (sphincter?). I also heard of the risk of pancreatitis so I didn't want to do it just for something not even sure. My doctor backed away as well by saying this might not be the cause of the problem and the slow emptying of my gb could be some temporary tightening of the sphincter. Hence my questions is, have you gone through ERCP yet? How did you go? Did your gastro problem go away? It will be great help to hear from you on this because your case sounds quite similar to mine. Thank you in advance!