I smashed things in my bedroom as I reeled around with the pain. I'd taken 6 pethidine tablets during the night, given to me by a doctor who came to the house twice. He diagnosed a spasm of my sphincter.
in fact, double
I was in a temporary okay state as I walked to the ambulance, but got bad on the 20 mile drive. They gave me some gas which made me drowsy.
I can remember being put on a gurney - for some reason in a kneeling position - must have done that myself - and then saying I felt sick. Someone bought a little cardboard hat-shaped thing, capacity, one tea cup at most. I emptied what looked like a gallon of bile onto the gurney and then slumped into it blissfully free of pain.
After thee days I was okay to go home. I'd lost 20 lbs. I was told 8 weeks for the operation.
I was commuting to Texas month-about-month then, and a surgeon phoned me from his car and said he was worried about me traveling. He'd do it privately in the Oaks in a week or so. I agreed. Twice they moved it forward, until I found myself packing for the next day. He'd got a team organized for a Saturday.
The anesthetist came in wearing a Canadian style shirt and everyone looked kind of relaxed. When the gall bag was removed, they told me it was covered in black patches. (that'll teach me not to act on early symptoms) I gather he had a lot to say to the night doctor and my GP. They were both kind of sheepish about it all. My GP blaming the 50 year in practice visiting GP cos of his experience. I made no criticism at all.
There was one big stone, and it undoubtedly blocked the duct or even the whole area near the outlet. What is significant is that it probably could have been coaxed out of the way by manipulation.
What is certain, anyone with an inflamed gall bag and a stone would have to be restrained on an aircraft, given the amount of the strong drug I'd taken still left me reeling about.
Slightest hint, get it diagnosed with absolute certainty. Multi-crewing? sheesh, they're working from books, no one who's really known that pain would want them on an airfield, let alone an aircraft.
Oh, BTW. I was an otherwise very fit 50 year old. Aggressive sports where I got a fair share of pain. Different league.
Another BTW. When I cut the stone in two, it was like rust on the outer layer, but inside, large white crystals were all pointing towards the centre. I felt disinclined to keep it for long.