Gallbladder Issues?

radiant05

I was terrible abdominal pain today, upper belly, for about 5 hours straight. I called the OB and they had me come in to run some test and check some things. My OB thinks it might be gallbladder related and I have an upper quadrant ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow morning. I've never had issues with my gallbladder before, so this is new territory for me. 

Anyone else have experience with gallbladder issues during pregnancy or not? What helps the pain? Anything specific bring it on? If you've had issues, how was it treated? 

destinyr61309

Lurker coming out to respond....

I had my gallbladder out about 5 years ago. I got pain (and also nausea) every night around 9. I guess that's when my metabolism kicked in. I had what they call a lazy gallbladder, not gallstones. Stones can cause pain radiating to your back or sometimes even up your shoulder blade. My pain felt like it was just below my sternum. Laying flat the doctor pressed down slightly just below my sternum and it brought instant tears.
Nothing helped the pain for me except for getting the pointless thing removed, and i've heard of women having to get it removed while pregnant. You'll feel much better once it's out, if the doctor is okay with doing surgery...

radiant05

Thanks for the input! The center of my pain was under my sternum, spread out all across my upper belly and also radiated into my back. Water, lying down, nothing helped ease it. It was scary. 

destinyr61309

Yeah, it's really no fun! The sono should show if you've got stones. If they don't see any, I would push for the test to check for the lazy bladder... But, for me it was nuclear stuff they put in your IV. I imagine they won't use that while pregnant, so I'm not sure how they'd check for that... But don't give up until you've got an answer....

Recover from the surgery wasn't much fun. And for a couple months afterward I'd get AWFUL heartburn after eating virtually anything.. But hey, that can go hand in hand with the pregnancy heartburn, get it all out at once

mommatotwo2

Your symptoms sound exactly like my experience with gallstones. Unfortunately there is no treatment other than surgery to remove the gallbladder, which you can live just fine without. I first developed it 4 weeks postpartum and I tried really hard to just modify my diet to remove anything greasy or fatty but at by 9 weeks post partum I was down to water and saltines and still had an "attack" every night around 9 pm, just like the previous poster.

I believe they can do the surgery while pregnant if need be. 

 I've not really had to change my diet after the surgery, but if I do eat anything extremely greasy or fatty, I have some stomach upset for a couple of hours afterward. Overall though, not a big deal and definitely much better than dealing with the pain!

Good luck! 

kyliensc

I had gall sludge when I was pregnant with dd. It wasn't server enough to have surgery but was definatly painful. I cut out dairy and greasy or fatty foods and haven't had to many problems since. If I eat alot of ice cream I can definatly feel it start to act up. nothing helps the pain unfortunately

shainatay4

I have had nt gull bladder out for about 6 years and that was the only way to remove the pain is removing it. But I have heard that they won't touch it during pregnancy unless its really serious. Good luck to you.

SandiaPinaMama

Mine went bad during pg, which is quite common. Had it removed when ds was 9 months old. Glad to see it go.

megpeg

I had attacks when DS was a week old and had it out when he was 6 months. My triggers were acidic foods. I would take a hot shower so my muscles would relax and massage the area so the sludge could work its way through. Usually I would vomit whatever food I had eaten that day that my body could not digest. I still have a hard time eating at restaurants because I have to go to the bathroom right away and it's very uncomfortable and I had mine out 4 years ago.

Catbella769

i had the same pain durring my last pregnancy and my midwife thought it was my galbladder too. it turned out to be HELLP syndrome super early at 22 weeks. The pain for help feels exactly like a galbladder attack. Have your  dr check your platelets and liver function as well. the pain that feels like your galbladder durring HELLP syndrom is actually your liver. HELLP is a form of pre eclampsia. I hope this isnt that case for you!

ehnasto

I had gallbladder issues when I was on birth control. The doctor said it was probably a result of the birth control hormones throwing my body off. They will do a sonogram to see if you have gall stones. I had one really big one that was completely blocking my bile duct. The way it is treated is having the gallbladder removed.

Gall stones are a build up of calcium that cut off the flow of bile to your intestines. Bile is what breaks down fats. The stones can be a result of diet, change in hormones or genetic predisposition.

You may have noticed that greasy or fattier food makes you sick, if it is a gall stone. If they do have to remove your gallbladder, it is an outpatient procedure but they will most likely take more precautions since you are pregnant. There are home remedies online, but I don't know how much I would trust them.

I hope they can help you feel better!

flcountrygirl

mommatotwo2:

Your symptoms sound exactly like my experience with gallstones. Unfortunately there is no treatment other than surgery to remove the gallbladder, which you can live just fine without. I first developed it 4 weeks postpartum and I tried really hard to just modify my diet to remove anything greasy or fatty but at by 9 weeks post partum I was down to water and saltines and still had an "attack" every night around 9 pm, just like the previous poster.

I believe they can do the surgery while pregnant if need be. 

 I've not really had to change my diet after the surgery, but if I do eat anything extremely greasy or fatty, I have some stomach upset for a couple of hours afterward. Overall though, not a big deal and definitely much better than dealing with the pain!

Good luck! 

This!  About a week postpartum I had my first "attack"... After a year or random attacks that were getting increasingly worse my DH found me on the floor trying to breath and stretch out the pain.  He rushe dme to the ER and that's where we found out it was my Gallbladder and stones.  I had it removed within a few weeks. No problems since!