gullbladder wait

My doctor told me after an ultrasound that my gullbladder (gallbladder) has stopped working.  How long do I have before I need to have it out?  It's about 2 weeks before I can see a surgeon

[ducky406]

The ER drs discovered a swollen gallbladder and a bunch of "sludge" in me in 2010. A few months later an ultrasound showed 3 distinctive gallstones, but no swelling/blockage. It took 6 more attacks within 8-9 months before they told me to see a surgeon, who can't see me until December (made the apt in October) and then it's a 9 month waiting list for those without private health cover here in Australia. Obviously I'm not an emergency case, and my gallbladder is still kind of functioning.

I know that if something gets stuck they start worrying about the health of your liver and if you get jaundice you get seen to immediately.

Keeping in mind that I live in Australia, and we have socialized medicine so it has extra bureaucracy but lower cost, it sounds like you are somewhere in between. Now I'm unsure what you mean by stopped working- if it's completely not working and backing up bile and throwing out gallstones left and right you probably should be in the ER getting prepped. (Although that opinion comes from knowing what a 6-7 gallbladder pain feels like and being terrified of it being worse) So even then you might be fine. Now if they just said it's not functioning properly, stuff is rolling around, you might be able to wait on it a little. -Your surgical apt will be fine in 2 weeks and he/she would be able to tell you how long it will be. If you're very uncomfortable with how long it will be, ask your doctor to maybe find an emergency appointment with the surgeon. It might be for nothing, but on the off chance it works, it's worth a shot.

In the mean time, just try not to **** it off. I know that's sometimes easier said than done. Keep an eye on how you feel. If you start getting a high fever, extreme pain, or any symptoms of jaundice you need to be seen by a dr asap.