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I'm 33 weeks pregnant and just found out yesterday that I have a gallstone too large to pa__s (2 cm). I just came home last night from a 3 day stay at the hospital Pre-term labor set in on Friday (12/16). I've been in so much pain for weeks now and have to take a contraction inhibitor that makes my heart race. The Doctor offers me pain killers, but I'm afraid to put that in my system for the baby's sake. Anyway, My doctor was treating me for preterm labor and I had to insist that they take more aggtressive measures to find out what this other pain was. I thought at first that the pain was coming from my right kidney mostly. They did an ultra sound day before yesterday... Then, the next day, I was awakened to have a gall bladder ultra sound. Once it was clear that I had a gallstone, my doctor made light of it and was very qwick to talk about me going home. No talk about refering me to a gastroenterologist or wake the options were. Because he's an OB, that's all he'll discuss with me. I can either take the pain killers or wait this contraction ridden pre-term labor out in agony. I am to return to the hospital when my water breaks or I have more that 5 contractions per hour. So far its been no more than four per hour (because I'm on the Terbutaline). Should I be trying to persue this now, while I'm trying to stay off my baby's premature birth? I'm on bed rest until she's born. I doubt a new gastroenterologist would just talk to me on the phone. I'm scared, alone and feeling like I'm in a strange kind of motherhood purgatory. Thanks for hearing me, Rachel

Rachael,I am sorry to hear about your gallstones.For one,you can NOT pa__s a gallstone,it is extremely rare to do that and most of the time it gets stuck!! It is not like kidneystones.If I would be you I would ask for a prescription for painkillers,Lortabs or Percocets is what both me and Tami took.I went full term and i had the stones since I was 16 weeks pregnant and my little boy is doing fantastic!!! Just go ahead and get them,does not mean you have to take them,but if you would get a really bad attack you would want to have those handy.I hate taking meds,especially while being pregnant,but that pain is impossible to tolerate without meds.Also request either levsin or reglan( I had the reglan AFTER I had the baby) they will help too!! And if you get a bad attack,try taking a hot shower (not a bath,you are not allowed while pregnant).Louise just told me it worked for her _ Louise,I am happy it worked for you- I would advice you to make an appointment with a surgeon,he will go with you through what you are allowed and what signs to look for if it gets bad.At least you don't have that much more to go!!! And keep your diet very bland,no spices,no fatty!!! I ate a lot of yoghurt and bagels.Good luck to you and have a merry christmas.Let me know if you have more questions!!! Louise, I wish you a merry christmas as well,you are almost there and I know you can do it!! I am going to post my e-mail address,feel free to contact me if you need me.I check my e-mail more often than this site; it's sichelle1976@yahoo.com

Thank you, Shelly, for your feedback. I had another attack last night. I spent the night in the hospital and had irregular contractions. They increase when I go into spasm from the gallstone. The OB won't refer me to a Gastroenterologist until I deliver. I have no idea if I'll have to wait even longer for surgery because I'll be breatfeeding.. I did say yes to painkillers this time... Asked for something weaker than Percocet (that's what my OB offered at first). So, I got Tylenol #3. Got home from hospital this afternoon and haven't taken any yet. Still feel reluctant about even Codene. I do realize that I can't handle the pain of these attacks. My OB really seemed to minimize the gallstone. Louise, how are you feeling, being this far along with this added pain? You and I are about two weeks apart. I'm just wondering if anyone dealing with this has experienced anxiety attacks while having the spasms. Merry Christmas all, ...Rachel

I just wanted to put a little post on your last question.I didsuffer from anxiety attacks,not during every attack but through some of the bad ones.It really sucked b/c I was dealing with the pain of the attack,second my chest would always swell up and on top of that I also hyperventilated wich made breathing really hard (especially with the swollen chest).I am happy you went for the painmeds,IMO I liked the Lortabs,they where not as heavy as the percocets,but the percocets did help me through the last couple weeks.If you have any questions let me know.I have a couple more questions and suggestions but we will do that after x-mas ok? I hope you get to enjoy them.merry x-mas!!!

One more thing,the hot showers not only help for the pain,but they help you relax too,even if you have an anxiety attack!!!

I also get a tightness and pain in my chest, then my throat begins to feel like its closing. Its like it moves upward from the top of my abdomen. Its like a pressure that does feel like swelling. It helps so much to know that I'm not alone in this and that there IS an end in sight. Thank you, Shelly and Merry Christmas, Rachel

How was your christmas? Hope you didn't get an attack!!

My Christmas was a non-Christmas, really... I had two attacks and stayed in bed all day accept for showering and eating. I did do the research on diet and had friends food-shop for me. Since I've been eating no fat, lots of pectin and fiber, the attacks have been getting less agonizing. This has been the hardest Christmas of my life... My mom pa__sed away early moring on the 26th. She had cancer and was fading on Christmas day. I'd flown back East in late November, but could no longer fly by Christmas. I spoke to her on Christmas Eve., but she was unconscious on Chistmas day. So sureal it is to have the most beloved and important person in my live pa__s, while the most beloved little person (my Savannah) prepares to enter. What a strange and bitter-sweet grieving this is.They say that God doesn't give you any more than you can handle... That remains to be seen for me. I'm ok so far and await Savannah's arrival, hoping she isn't effected negatively by all of my crying. I wish my news could be brighter, but this is where its at right now. Although the dad and I aren't together, he's working on Savanahh's room and the house, getting it ready. We've decided to be friends, for the baby's sake and all of us. His boys from his previous marriage are very excited to have a sister on the way. They're such good boys and will bring nothing but goodness to her. That, I am so grateful for.

Rachel,I am sooo sorry about your mom pa__sing!! That is so horrible! I can really understand how bad you should feel,indeed you lost and you will gain something precious....but it will not be the same.I hope not to make it worse for you with the following,but I will tell you why I can relate.Back in march when I had my first gallstone attack ( i thought I was losing my baby) My best friend was fighting b___stcancer.I know she was not my mom,but she was so important to me.I never met anybody like her.We talked 2-3 times a day,knew how we felt without telling,defenetly the best friend ever.I went with her for her radiation and chemo,and all of a sudden (march) she got really bad,from one day to the other.I now know that it had spread to her whole body including her brain.Anyways,to make a long sad story short,she was in a nursing home and I went to see her every day,and she would react to me and her fiance.She suffered really bad those last 3 days,and just before she pa__sed she said she wasn;'t ready to go.When people tell me that it was for the best I say no,she was not ready.She told me back in januari,that she promised to live at least to do my babyshower and to see the baby,and to see her racehorse race for the first time.Well,she didn't get to do any of it!! And it was so hard,I was just in my second trimester and I was so sad,stressed and kept worrying on how it would affect the baby.Every time I thought about Tracy not having the chance to meet him broke my heart.(still does). Her birthday would have been dec 24,I went the 22 nd to her grave to put something there for her birthday and christmas.Anyways,on the day that she pa__sed,I got this huge gallstone attack,I went to my doc and he had just received the results of my gallbladder u/s. Thats when he told me that I had gallstones.Be really careful now,not only food can trigger attacks but stress will do the same.I am also sorry to hear that you and the baby's father are not together.It is hard as it is,being a single mom is going to be hard.I don't really think I am helping you,sorry, I think what I am trying to get to,is letting you know that I have an idea on what you are going through! If you want to talk ..I will be there for you.I hope Tami joins us in our conversacion, she lost her mom to b___stcancer when she was younger.Again Rachel, I wish you a lot of strenght,take care of yourself and Savannah,I love that name!!!!

Hi Ladies, Racheal, sorry to hear your Christmas was so rough. I lost my Dad shortly after Christmas due to Kidney cancer... boy did he suffer!!! Shelly unlike your situation I was so pleased that his suffering was over. For the longest time he was fighting and didn't want to die. What do you say to someone when there begging for their life. By the last week of his life he was begging for death. No one should suffer that much. He was 78 pounds when he died and lost all body function. Still way too young at 56 years old. Rachel your tears are much better shed than trying to bottle in your emotions. One way to look at your loss is that you will have an angel watching over you as you welcome Savannah to the world. As much as that won't take away your pain I hope you might get some comfort. Shelly, losing your friend must of been heart breaking. I know two ladies fighting b___st cancer at the moment. One lost both her b___sts and the other appears to be losing her fight. She is 35 and has four children and a loving husband... it just makes no sense at all. I truly believe that Tracy was there for you at all the times she told you she would be. Even for the birth of your son. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your baby. The first Christmas is always so precious.

Selly and Louisa... Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. Shelly, It DOES help to hear a you talk about having gone through something similar. It makes me feel less alone. Come to think of it... my first attack happened the night before I had to say goodbye to my mom because I had to come back to California. I brought a portable DVD player to the nursing home so she could see the 3-D ultra sound of Savannah. She cried. Just as the DVD finished, they had to transport for back to the hospital for radiation. I lost it when they wheeled her away. I knew I'd never see her again.I didn't let her see me cry., but my grieving had already begun. I knew I wouldn't be able to fly after that trip. Shelly, as I read back on your story, I noticed that you'd thought that you gallstone surgery was going to be two weeks after Jesse's deivery... but it turned out to be two months his birth. I'm curious as to why they waited (wondering how all of this is going to pan out for me). Did you have your stones removed or the whole gall bladder? I'm wondering why my OB didn't refer me to a Gastroenterologist (his answer was that they couldn't do anything until after I deliver). I dislike my OB. He gives me as little information as possible and tells me to stay away from the internet because it will cause more anxiety. So far, speaking with all of has helped me tremendously and allowed me to know what diet is right for this. It's made a huge difference. I'm going to ask for areferal when I see my OB tomorrow. Yuck! I don't like him. He's way too cavalier. Thank you Louisa and Shelly for responding. love, Rachel

Hi ladies,were to start? Louisa,I am sorry about your dad,I can imagine that at some point you actually want them to go with so much suffering,Tracy was the same,the last 3 weeks were horrible,I kept pushing her pain b___ton for her b/c she was to weak to do it and pretty much in lala land.Sometimes she knew we were there.The last 30 hours of her life I remeber almost wishing for her to go b/c the pain was so bad,but knowing that her final moments,all of a sudden she was conscious and aware of everything she said she didn't want to go.I guess I can't get over her death b/c of that.It's hard to make peace then.When my grandma pa__sed I was happy for her.She was in her late 80's and was starting to have alzheimers,she was to proud for that.Anyways on the day of her death she had her lunch,then she had chocolate pudding for dessert-her favorite- went to take a nap and never woke up.Now that is something I can accept and live with. Rachel,I am happy that me writing about Tracy helped you a little,I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing-I didn't want to turn your grieve (sp) in an about me story,if you know what I mean.To answer your questions,...first I think you should be firm with your OB and tell him you want to see a surgeon NOW,to decide when after your delivery to have the surgery.And maybe he can give you something to help you through the last weeks,b/c for me it did get worse.Also you want him to notifi the hospital staff about your condition so they can monitor you if you get an attack during labor. I was induced at 39 weeks so I wouldn't have an attack while being in labor,especially on my way to the hospital.The reason it took longer for my surgery was b/c I ended up with an emergency c-section.If it would have been a v____al birth they could have done it 2 weeks after.I did have my gallbladder removed,if you only do the stones-and they hardly ever do that_you have a chance for them to come back.Also by leaving it in there it increases the chance for gallbladder cancer.If you are going to b___stfeed you may want to wait a little longer to have the surgery,long enough for your milksupply to be well established and the baby having a proper latch.You can also try a pump,you will be sore after surgery which will make nursing more painful,try a boppy pillow,that will help a lot.Don't wait 3 months like I did, Jesse grew very fast and at the time of my surgery he was 14 pounds,needless to say...I was not allowed to pick him up for 2 weeks,my mom took care of him,but I tell you that was really hard!!! I am not sugarcoating anything,I think it's better to know and I wish I would have had somebody to help me.I will say it again.let me know anything you want to know and I will try to help as much as I can.Or if you just want to talk,I also listed my e-mail address.Hope you ladies get to feeling better.talk to you all tomorrow!! * HUGS*

I am 17 weeks pregnant, and I have already been through the ringer. They found a tumor on my ovary (8 weeks), and it was getting bigger at the 4 week and 2 week respective follow up appointments, and was necessary to remove. Due to the size and the pregnancy I had open surgery on Dec. 13th. Long story short, I recovered from surgery very quickly, it was a very sore and painful process, but I was happy to find out that my tumor was benign. On Dec. 22nd I had a symptomatic gallstone attack, but did not know it. I was in so much pain and I thought perhaps it was the back pain that I expected to come on during that time in my pregnancy. I thought- there is no way I can make it through all this pain. (I have vicodin from my first surgery, but I only took 1/2 dose 3 times the first day home from surgery). I didn't want to take that for pain, tried to rule out other things, and just prayed for the pain to stop. I had woken up crying from the pain and felt like I could not breathe. I laid in misery crying for 45 minutes at 1 in the morning before I finally was able to get some sleep. (I thought- if this is from constipation boy am I in for it...) The next evening I was with my family, and in a nutshell they ended up running every stoplight and sign on the way to the ER as I screamed in pain. I have never ever been in so much pain. It was at least a 10 on the pain scale. My diagnosis was gallstones- "numerous- we didn't even count them." I spent lots of time reading and researching the implications of this. The ER doc knew my OB and said he would fill him in on the details, but I would likely need surgery. (Makes for a fun Christmas diet "clear liquids and bread for the next 24 hours") I just had surgery on my tumor, and my doc does not want to do it again. If I have another symptomatic attack he will send me to the surgeon and I will have another surgery- Open surgery at this point he said. I discusses many of the concerns, and problems that everyone here had as they chose to have or not have their surgery. I am convinced that I should have it now, and he would do it if it weren't for the fact that I just had one surgery (It was complete anesthesia, recovery, hospital stay, etc.) I discussed the problems with waiting, my concerns about the eating situation, and just the plain fact that I was scared to eat anything for fear of another attack. I have had several people warn me that the attacks can be more painful that labor itself, so I am hoping to breeze through labor :) Oh, and at my follow up appt from my ER visit they found my BloodPressure just slightly high. (I am very active and will be going back to work 1st week in January) The thing that I find really stinks the most of all for this is that I had to take time off from work, and I have been saving it all for my maternity leave. Due to company policy they used my sick time, PTO, and personal holiday pay to cover the time I was gone- all paid out to zero- can't use that for my leave anymore. My FMLA days (84 per 12 consecutive months) are starting to be used up, I can take personal leave after I use the remainder...and we just were not anticipating this. Not that anyone ever does I guess. At least I still have my short term disability. I have needlessly rambled. As I was screaming in the ER the other night my mom was with (they called my husband to come immediately) and she felt so bad seeing her baby girl (I'm 26) in pain. I was yelling how she was only getting one grandchild from me. I know we will have more and I am already completely in love and would do whatever it takes for my baby, but boy....I am only halfway there. Oh- and for those of you on this wonderful bland, nothing good to eat diet, maybe you will understand the pain even more as I have experienced complete morning sickness and nausua all day long and have lost 16 pounds so far. I have to prepare all my meals separately these days, and on the plus side I am no longer constipated due to all the fruit I eat :) Thanks for letting me vent. Although gallstones are common in pregnancy it is hard to find a local person to share my times with. I am very happy that my baby is on track for all the growth measurements, and is moving, strong heartbeat through it all. We are planning on our next appt (Jan 13th) finding out if we ordered a boy or girl :) so are extremely excited for that. I told my doctor after my appt yesterday that I will hopefully not see him before then!! (I am on a first name basis with the OB staff at my clinic after all my appts and follow up appts...I have had more visits that a healthy pregnant woman requires her whole 40 weeks. Anyhow. Happy new year to all. I am thankful that I was able to learn more about the gallstones through your experiences.

Happy New Year to All.... SHELLY.... I take it that you had the open surgery (since you had to stay in the hospital for ~10 days post surgery). Why did they opt for open instead of laproscopically? ~10 days ago, when they did my ultra-sound, they found my stone to be 2 cm... God, I hope I don't have open. They say that the pain in MUCH more intense and lasts longer (sorry you had to go through that). My O.B. informed me on my visit on Friday (12/30 ... by the way, I lost 5 pounds from the special diet)) that he couldn't refer me to a Gastroenterologist in his medical system because none that he knows will take my MedCal. He then told me that he's the only O.B. in his system that takes MediCal, as a service to the community (should I have bowed down and kissed his feet right then or shall I wait until Savannah is born?)... Sarcasm helps! So, now I have to search in other areas. Although I live in Los Angeles County, I live just over the Ventura County line, way up in the Santa Monica Mountains (much closer to Ventura Docs). MediCal is both a God-send and a pain in the b___t! .I'll start trying toorrow at UCLA, but don't expect a lot of Doctors to be back fromthe holidays. KATIE, you're fortunate to have discovered your stones early in your pregnancy. It is usually possible to have the surgery in your second trimester. Being as huge as I am now, with all of the regular aches and pains of late pregnancy and having to edure the agonizing pain of these attacks is something I wouldn't wish on ANYONE. Even when I'm not having an all-out attack, the pain gnaws (24/7) at me and I'm constantly nauseus. I can't wait to have this pain removed. The O.B. talked about inducing me at 36 weeks (two weeks). Not clear if thats to help eleviate some of the Gallstone pain. SHELLY, even though you didn't have you surgery right after Jesse's delivery, did you get some relief from the intensity of the attacks after his birth? My house isn't done yet. I'm praying it is by the time Savannah comes home. I've got a crew of friends coming up for a work day on Tuesday or Wednesday. Savannah's room is coming along nicely. The rest of the house needs lots of work. Yikes!! I'm scared, excited, worried and very sad about my mom... So many emotions to sort through while dealing with so much pain.I just keep promisinf myself I WILL get through this. That's the best I can do... I'm so grateful for this thread you've started, Shelly. Grateful that you still participate this far beyond Jesse's delivery and your subsequent surgery. Grateful to ALL of you who participate. Love, Rachel

Hi,I am kind of tired but wanting to let you know I am here!!! Really sorry to hear about all your pain,but this is what I told myself all those (9) months that there will be an end!!! rachel,since I am tired and don't feel like typing to much (being plain honest) why don't you read my posts from october and november? It tells you a lot more on how I experienced all of this.The one from october 6 tells you about my labor (not a pretty one but you may be induced and it's good to be prepared....I wasn;t) and then the ones from november are about my laparoscopic surgery,I did NOT have open surgery.Read them and I will be back in touch tomorrow,I am sure after reading those you will have more questions.Rachel,Louisa and everybody else suffering take care and till tomorrow.*hugs*

Hello ladies, I am officially back to work. I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on 11-16-05 8 lbs 13 ozs. Yes, a very big baby! I had been on bed rest since august due to my surgery that sent me into pre-term labor. After being put on bed rest I kind of became a hermit and didnt want to talk to anyone. but my baby is healthy and actually had to be induced because she was late. Go figure, after having pre-term labor and a lot of contractions she would stop after I got off of my meds.