Gallstones During Pregnancy

342 Replies
Shelly - March 7

Yourtrish,I can totally understand how you feel,you may want to read some of the "earlier" posts.I was 16 weeks pregnant when I had my first attack,went through the pregnancy and got mine removed 3 months after my c-section.Tami on the other hand got really sick,it was blocking her liver and had hers taken out and she did great.If it is unbearable they can take it out during pregnancy,the best time for that is in the second half of your second trimester.Let me know if you have any questions,btw my meds during pregnancy was Lortabs for the pain and Levsin to helpduring an attack.My baby is 7 months old and very healthy!!!

 

Louisa - March 8

Hi Ladies, How is everyone feeling? My son was born February 3rd after being admitted to hospital at 36 weeks pregnant. The pain was unbearable I was put on Demerol every three hours and percocet in between shots of Demerol. Just about the end of my 36 week I was induced. During labor another attack occurred, more medication for pain was given and an epidural to help offset some of the pain. Once my son was born the gallbladder pain disappeared. unfortunately the pain came back in less than a week. A ma__sive attack occurred where I did stop getting sick for eight hours. The only medication that helped for the illness was a prescription that is used for Kemo patients that last for 24 hours.. I will have to find the name out just in case any other lady experience the same problem. The CAT scan and a few other test showed that gallstones had entered my bile duct and blocked the entrance into my liver. Two weeks after my son was born my gallbladder was removed. For the ladies that have already had their surgery could you let me know how your healing and what kind of foods to avoid. At this point I'm sticking to toast and special K. There have been a few times when I have had stabbing pains in my upper back. Has anyone else experienced the same? Shelly, It's great you keep this thread going!

 

yourtrish - March 8

Hey ladies. Thanks so much for your support. It's been a rough ride and I was starting to feel so lonely since it feels like no one understands. My mom pa__sed away when I was younger from cancer and my husband's mother kept telling me how she glowed during her pregnancy and how she never felt better, so I just feel like a failure sometimes. I know it's not my fault, but it makes me feel bad that I'm so sick all the time and I'm worried my baby is somehow going to be affected. I'm so happy to hear that your babies turned our healthy and you are all starting to feel better! It gives me hope :)

 

Wendy - March 8

Hello Ladies~ Just want to update you on my deal. I was diagnosed with Gallstones at 23 (almost 24) weeks. I had posted questions on here asking if anyone only had one major attack and then was fine for the rest of the time. Unfortunately no one on here was that lucky. I am now 31-1/2 weeks along and have had NO other attacks. I am on a NO fat diet as everyone else is but that seems to be the trick for me. I have actually gotten to enjoy my pregnancy now and I really hope to make it through to the end. The only medicine I was told to take was Zantac if something does occur again. And I was also told to go to ER if the pain lasts more than 1 hr. It is so great to have this forum and to see everyone's stories. Good luck to everyone. I will try to keep you updated with me as well. I am planning on getting me gallbladder taken out 2-3 months after I have my C-section.

 

Christi - March 9

Hey Wendy...sounds like my situation a little. The zantac seems to be doing the trick for now, except i do get a mild attack if i forget to take it at the same time as the previous day/night... I'm just glad it's not affecting the baby right now..he's just kicking away almost constantly.

 

Wendy - March 9

Thats great Christie. I only have to take Zantac as needed, so I am actually not taking anything right now. It is making me wonder if maybe there is a possibility of the stones pa__sing. My surgeon said the stones never go away and the only way to be better is to get your gallbladder removed, but I've been doing some research and it seems that there are a very small amount of people who's did go away. Before the surgery is done, do they do another US to make sure they are still there? Does anyone know who did the surgery?

 

yourtrish - March 10

Hi ladies, I really need your advice. I has another attack last night. It wasn't as bad as my last one (my liver enzymes (ALT, AST, etc.) ended up in the 600s (normal 0-40) the last time), but it was definetely uncomfortable and lasted for an hour last night from 12:30 am - 1:30 am. I opted to not go to the emergency room because the pain stopped suddenly when I started getting chills, and I eventually fell asleep. The thing is, since I woke up, my stomach has been really sensitive and I'm scared of having another attack. I'm also scared to eat, so since I'm 15w pregnant, it worries me that the baby is not getting the nutrients it needs and on top of all that, I'm worried that my liver is freaking out again and that it will affect the baby. Does anyone have any advice? What to eat? If I should go back to the emergency room (my surgeon had opted to wait until after birth for the surgery last time I was hospitalized in Jan.2006)? Thanks so much...this is so stressful!

 

Tammy - March 11

I have had many gallblladder attacks in my pregnancies but I hardly ever get them anymore. since I used a lemon juice and olive oil cleanse. See this website: http://www.kitchendoctor.com/healthconditions/gallstones/gallbladder.html I also drink lemon and water a lot to keep the gallbladder cleansed. IMHO, a lowfat diet makes things worse by keeping the gallbladder inactive so more stones actually form. I haven't had an attack in years.

 

Yesenia - March 11

I aswell have gallstones at 21 weeks and pain is getting worse. I just mainly eat more liquids and less solid heavy food that helps for the pain

 

Anna - March 17

hello ladies, I hope everyone is doing well. My body is finally adjusting to life without a gallbladder. I had my gallbladder removed at five months because I would throw up all day and my stomache was always sore. To answer Wendy's question. I actually knew I had gallstones a year before I got pregnant. I had one horrible attack and never had another one. I actually saw a surgeon and everything at that time, but I was scared to have something removed out of my body. I was actually fine and was eating everything up until I got pregnant and everything broke loose. It got to the point that my obgyn would not prescribe me anymore pain and morning sickness medicine because I needed my gall bladder out. I think that they really do not disappear but some people's body may adjust to them. The surgeon said that there were many people with just one attack and never had another and were able to live with them, he said that the only way to get rid of them was to have the gallbladder removed. I did have complications with preterm labor in the end of my sixth month and on but my baby is very healthy, very big, and very beautiful. I actually had to be induced at the end. I really admire those that are holding off till after their pregnancy to have it removed. My doctor just didn't want to put me or my baby in a life threatning situation if I was having so many problems in the beginning.

 

Wendy - March 18

Anna-Thanks for sharing your experience with me. I am going to get a 2nd opinion this week on Wednesday so we will see how that goes. Hopefully I will get some of my MANY questions answered. The first guy I went to was very im-personal, and I was not comfortable with him. I will be able to hold off until I deliver unless something horrible happens between now and 6 weeks. I am at 33 weeks now and I delivered my son 4 weeks early, so if that happens again, I will only have 3 more weeks. Ideally they want me to be at least 37 weeks so the baby isn't preterm though. Anyway, thanks for your adivse and information. It helps a lot. I will keep you all updated. :) Take care of yourselves.

 

yourtrish - March 21

Hi ladies - so I ended up in the hospital for 10 days with severe gallbladder attacks. They ended up performing the surgery on Friday night (15w pregnant) and told me I had virtually no choice. My gallbladder was extremely inflammed and full of tiny stones, which were very active and determined to keep moving, so in the end, I underwent the operation and am now at home recooperating for the next 2 weeks. The surgery went well, athough I did and still do experience a lot of pain and discomfort. Coupled with bloating and digestion problems from the pregnancy, I think my recovery will take a few weeks until I truly feel back to my self. I am on a zero-fat diet for the next few weeks until my system gets used to my missing organ and my surgeon also gave me the advice to stay away from citrus fruits as well as raw veggies. This is news to me, but very important and a big salad is what triggered my first attack last week so I wanted to spread the word. In the future, I will be allowed to eat a low fat, high fiber diet and according to everyone, the pregnancy is going well. My obgyn told me that the first trimester has risks of spontaneous abortion and your third trimester has risks of premature labour, so if a woman requires surgery during her pregnancy, they typically wait until week 14. Hope this information helps. If any of you have any other questions, please so not hesitate to ask...I know how terrifying this whole experience can be...good luck!

 

yourtrish - March 22

Shelly - just to let you know...the surgeon actually mentionned to me that my attacks might not be over. Apparently my gallbladder has been producing stones since I was 19 years old and I had tons and tons of tiny stones in my gallbladder when they removed it. It was severely inflammed and hard to remove and I actually pa__sed 3 stones just last week while hospitalized. My doctor warned me that there might be still stones in my bile duct and that there is not telling when they should be removed. Under normal circ_mstances, a HIDA test would be performed to see if there were stones or an ERCP, however, due to the pregnancy, they are going to wait out both tests as there are risks for the baby involved. I've got my fingers crossed that there are either no more stones or that I will pa__s them on my own, however, I've been warned to watch out for more attacks that feel like gallbladder attacks (even though I don't even have the organ anymore). If this is the case, there is a small operation that they can perform to go in and open up the bile duct to let any stones that are caught in it pa__s through. Maybe this is your case. Also, have you been staying away from fat? My dietician told me to eat a max. of 45 grams of fat a day (which seems insanely high to me considering I now eat 0) and a high fiber diet (approx. 94 grams of fiber). I've also been told to stay away from raw veggetables (you can eat cooked ones supposedly) and citrus fruits, including juices. Have you done all this as well? I have one question for everyone out there who had their gallbladder removed. I've had severe diareah all day (24 hours now) and was warned this could be a complication. Can anyone tell me how long this will last and if I should treat it with Immodium. I'm worried about dehydration, seeing as I was on an IV for 10 days straight and do not expect to be eating normally for quite some time (melba toast and fat free cheese hurt my stomach last night). Does anyone have any super safe meals to eat? I heard boiled chicken and boiled potatoes is the safest menu....

 

Tami - April 29

Bumping this up for people who may need it! Hi everyone! Sorry its been so long since I've been on. Anna-how is your beautiful baby? how is everyone doing? :D Hope all of you are doing great and enjoying being parents or carrying those precious little babies inside you!

 

Wendi - April 29

Hi Everyone~ Just wanted to let you know that on April 8th, I gave birth to my baby girl. I was 4-1/2 weeks early but all is great. When I first came to this website I was 24 weeks along and had my first gallstone attack. I asked if anyone out there had heard of anyone only having one attack and never having them again and everyone said they hadn't heard of that. Well, I am living proof that it happens. I only had that one bad attack, made it through the rest of my pregnancy without any more and now I am going to plan a time to get my gallbladder removed. I have to wait 2-3 months since I had a C-section so that I can recover from that first but I am SO relieved that I've remained attack free so far. My only secret is that I eat 100% fat free. If it says fat free, I will eat it. I've eaten up to 2% fat in bread but besides that nothing. So, good luck to all of you out there and don't lose hope. Thanks to everyone who have helped me through this pregnancy with all of your advise. This is a great website. Sincerely, Wendy

 

Annadaprincess01 - May 14

Hello Ladies, I hope everyone enjoyed Mother's Day, especially all the new moms. My children are great. My little one is doing good. I just found out my husband and I are expecting another child. Surprising I am 2 1/2 months pregnant and haven't had too much morning sickness. I think I've thrown up once, which is a blessing since I had a terrible 2nd preg. I think I must have had them when I was preg. with the first because I had horrible morning sickness then too. I am just grateful that everything is rolling smoothly this time. I will keep everyone posted.

 

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