Gallstones

[sophisticat]

I've just been to the doctor today, and he's pretty sure I've got gallstones as I've had 2 attacks of really bad pain in the last month and for the last week I've just had an ache in my side where my gallbladder is. I basically got told to avoid fatty food and deal with the painful attacks with.... guess what.. paracetamol. Paracetamol didn't touch the pain the last 2 times. I wanted to call an ambulance both times but my other half convinced me not to. I thought I was having a heart attack the first time, but my other half thinks I'm a drama queen (because I once spend a night in hospital with suspected appendicitus and it turned out to be bad constipation) and I'm really annoyed with him now because it could have been really serious.

Has anyone had gallstones when pregnant or not? Is it likely to go away once I've given birth? Do I really have to just "deal" with this pain? I am scared to eat!

 

[moonbeam_sea]

I've been having gallstones for quite a while now (was suppose to get the gallbladder out but then fell pregnant). I know the attacks and that annoying ache all too well! I'm surprised they didn't give you anything stronger. I was given Vicodin when I went in for a really bad attack to the ER. I've only had to use it twice since then as I'm doing ok on my modified diet, but it would totally be horrid without it. It cut the pain enough that I could at least sleep through it. If your OH hasn't been through it, he doesn't understand. That horrid persistent pain is the most awful experience ever! (And I was induced with my son and had no pain medications whatsoever during his birth, so I like to think I have some idea about levels of pain...)

From what I've been told by my doctors that the gallstones won't go away. If you are successful with a modified diet, you may be able to avoid surgery, but that is the only way to completely stop the attacks. After a nasty series of attacks during a 2 week timeframe during my second trimester (during which I made my afore mentioned trip to the ER), I had to make some pretty stringent changes to my diet (which was already pretty much a low fat diet at that point). Now I’m eating pretty much a max of 10-15 grams of fat per day. Also, the only way I was able to get away from the achiness and attacks was to go to eating all of my food in very small portions throughout the day at the suggestion of my doctor. I eat a tiny portion every hour. This works pretty well for me. I've had a few times where the achiness has returned, but on those days I avoided eating anything more and only drank some liquids, and I felt better by the next day.

I really hope you can find something that works! I hope you can get something better for the attacks, too! If yours are like mine, 8-12 hours of solid strong pain (occasionally with vomiting) is just ridiculous to expect anyone to just “deal” with without some sort of stronger pain medication. I understand there are risks to the pain meds, but sheesh!!! You think that would be the sort of thing you could decide for yourself when it was worth it or not. Good luck, and I sure hope something works out for you!

 

[Feemee]

I can sympathise with you!! I ended up calling an ambalence the first time I had an attack which was at 22 weeks. Iv been back to the doctors who kept saying it was my ibs playing up. They have now booked me for an altra sound on my gaulbladder end of march to see if it's gaulstones. I'm guessing not alot can really be done while pregnant but I would be glad to know either way. Iv been taking a rennie before I go to bed and touch wood I havnt had an attack for 2weeks. (don't know if that's anything to do with the rennies or not) or just the low fat diet. No idea
xx

 

[tink28]

i have them, got them with this pregnancy at 26 weeks and after 2 weeks of attacks (which i had no idea what they were due to the pain being transferred to my back) i got taken into hospital by ambulance at 28 weeks and diagnosed. i was admitted to hospital for 5 days. its the worst pain ive ever experienced so i sympathise with u.
one of the gallstones had blocked my bile duct and got stuck, they nearly had to operate to remove it but luckily it passed on its own. it affected all my liver function results aswell.
i like u was scared to eat but have been on a low fat diet for 12 weeks and not had an attack since, if u would like me to help u out with a diet plan and meal ideas PM me and i will tell u what ive been eating, low fat isnt as bad as it sounds.
as for the pain, unfortunately there isnt much u can take other than paracetamol although i was also given codeine while i was in hospital which did help take the edge off it slightly more. so they may be able to give u this on prescription.
to be honest if u do get a bad attack i would call an ambulance or get yourself to the hospital, as i was told to do this again straight away if i had anymore attacks. not meaning to scare u but if your liver functions are affected it can be dangerous whilst pregnant so they need to monitor u. hopefully the diet will keep any future attacks under control tho as it has with me.
im having my gallbladder removed after the baby is born, even if i dont have more attacks, as im scared to go back on a normal diet while i still have them and the consultant told me that if im ever pregnant again they could flare up again even if they calm down in the meantime. so i dont want to risk it

 

[michmash]

I've been diagnosed with gallstones at 30 weeks and my OB insisted that I go directly to hospital when I have an strong attack... since I always end up vomiting with each attack. Even the pain is sometimes too much for the baby so you would need to go to the hospital so that they could monitor the baby and see it's progress. I've been given Buscopan though to control attacks and Tramadol in case I would have an attack. Both are pretty strong but OB said they're safe during this stage of my pregnancy and I just can't go without them cause I'm having attacks pretty much every week. Sometimes twice a week.

Also Gallstones won't go away without surgery so most likely you would need to undergo surgery after the baby's birth.
And it's important to stay on a no fat - low fat diet to avoid attacks. Still there are some things you can still eat - just be alert on the calories. Dairy products are strictly prohibited! Skimmed milk is sometimes an exception.

Don't hesitate to contact me in case you would have any questions. I would love to help!

 

[sugartush08]

I have gulstones too! I have been having attacks since Nov but I always thought it was heartburn. I never had heartburn before. I was having an attack once every 2 weeks. They lasted about 1 to 2 hours with vomiting until the last one. It was almost 12 hours and I went to the hospital and they gave me demoral and gravol (I was 32 weeks at that time). I'm now on a low fat diet. I can not eat anything that is more then 3 grams of fat a serving. I have been cheating recently but not going crazy like I was with fat before. This low fat thing is not as bad as it sounds. There are alot of options out there for this. They want to remove it but since I have not had an attack in 6 week due to the diet I am thinking about just maintaning the diet but we will see! If you have any questions just ask me and I will help as best I can!!

 

[PeanutBean]

I don't have gallstones but I do have a dicky gallbladder. My mum suffered badly with hers, had it removed, and still manages to sometimes get little stones in whatever is left there! If the stones are too big to pass they will need sonicating, I don't know if this is something that can be done during pregnancy but I would imagine not. If they are tiny you might pass them (and this could be the cause of some of your pain).

There is a way to clear out your gallbladder but again I wouldn't want to do it during pregnancy. You're supposed to take epsom salts to clear your gut out completelky (BAD idea in pregnancy!) then drink 3 teaspoons of olive oil mixed with 3 teaspoons of grapefruit juice. It is supposed to cause the gallbladder to contract and push out the grit thus preventing the formation of stones. In theory! Apparently my Granny used to take the oil/juice thing. BUT if you have stones now I don't know that would be a good idea anyway, especially if they are too big to pass now. It's more a maintenance thing.

Yes to less fat and also less sugar as this too can irritate the gallbladder. My gallbladder simply can't handle too much fat and if I eat a meal that is too rich I am just horribly ill a few hours later. I can well imagine that paracetamol won't touch gallstone pain. There are other meds that are acceptable at certain times of pregnancy. I would ask for another opinion as to what can be taken. I've had some codiene which is contraindicated in first tri and in the last weeks but at 27 should be ok for you so you could ask about that.

 

[rachael22]

hi ive had an ultrasound on my gallbladder and no stones where found and ive had 4 major attacks since mid dec! can i ask wen u said you felt like you was having a heart attack what did it feel like? because i had this to with my 1st attack i was so scared! im getting aching along both shoulders, where my gallbladder is. between my shoulder blades its like on my spine, ive got constatnt wind to and burping all the time, im not in as much pain now to what i was, but still aching and none the wiser to whats wrong hope u feel better soon Xx

 

[sophisticat]

Thanks for all your advice everyone, sorry to hear so many of us have to deal with them! I am worried about going on the low fat diet as I get most of my protein from dairy products (I don't eat meat and rarely eat fish) and I've read that beans and nuts can also trigger attacks, so that's two of my other sources of protein gone! Might have to start forcing myself to eat fish (even though I can't stand it!) so I can get some protein.

Rachael the pain starts like a crampy/achey feeling in the back of my ribs under my right shoulder blade, then moves around to my front and the pain is all around my back, side, under right ribs, behind my breastbone and in my upper abdomen. Feels like a band tightening around that area as well. It also feels like my right lung can't get enough air into it and the pain in my chest is worse when I breathe in. That's what I would call an "attack," this lasts for about 8hrs. Then after the last attack (last tuesday) I've just had a dull ache under my right rib and going through my chest to my back under my right shoudler blade.


My GP seemed to think it's most likely gallstones, but shouldn't I have been referred for an ultrasound to check? I think if I have another attack I'll just go to A&E as it seems like it's the quickest way to get anything done on the NHS!

 

[theresarhuebb]

I've just been to the doctor today, and he's pretty sure I've got gallstones as I've had 2 attacks of really bad pain in the last month and for the last week I've just had an ache in my side where my gallbladder is. I basically got told to avoid fatty food and deal with the painful attacks with.... guess what.. paracetamol. Paracetamol didn't touch the pain the last 2 times. I wanted to call an ambulance both times but my other half convinced me not to. I thought I was having a heart attack the first time, but my other half thinks I'm a drama queen (because I once spend a night in hospital with suspected appendicitus and it turned out to be bad constipation) and I'm really annoyed with him now because it could have been really serious.

Has anyone had gallstones when pregnant or not? Is it likely to go away once I've given birth? Do I really have to just "deal" with this pain? I am scared to eat!

yes when i was pregnant with my 1st daughter. never forget the night i woke up in sheer agony 22 of april 2006 my street thought i was in labour!!. i had gallstone attacks every months least once a month. definatly avoid fat food and drinks even a sip of coke caused me agony. woke up always in middle of night mainly, really bad pain in chest, back between my shoulder blades and top of my stomach on right. only morphine would calm my pain. after about 6 admissions into hospital. they kept me in one night and did a scan next day and found i had numerous gall stones in my gall bladder. i had my daughter 3of july. and got my gall bladder removed 22 nov 2006. gall stones are the worst pain ive ever felt in my life and i have to say i rather go through birth a billion times that have to go through that again. im 24 now and got tiny scars from where it was removed. and i do suffer with bad wind and bloatness but to be truely honest id rather have that than gall stones!
so yeh avoid fats eat healthy and ring and ambulance when you do get an attack. also take paracetamol even when you not have pain so that when it is at its peak its not as bad. 8 in a day and its safe x

 

[tink28]

theresarhuebb- surprised to hear coke caused u pain as it has zero fat in it, i guess everyone is different tho. i know alcohol also aggravates it and that isnt high in fat. ive been fine with coke since my attacks. i think dairy products were my trigger.

 

[sugartush08]

tink28- I spoke to my surgeon who wants to remove my gallbladder and he told me to avoid caffeine, minty and spicy things as they could lead to an attack! I also spoke to a dietician and she told me she never heard of those things triggering an attack. Who knows!

 

[moonbeam_sea]

That's the funny thing about them, how the attacks can be triggered by different things for different people beyond the common fat trigger. I can eat all the dairy I want as long as it is low fat stuff (low fat yogurt is fine as is nonfat milk for me). For me, the biggest thing is portion size. A large bowl of anything even something non fat will trigger an attack. Weird, isn't it?

 

[tink28]

very weird- u wouldnt think so many things could trigger it, i guess everyone is different. i have heard coffee can cause attacks tho so i guess this would be due to the caffeine?
its such a horrible thing to have

 

[michmash]

I really can't understand what triggers my attacks as it's always in different cases. I have been eating a small bowl of cereal every morning with skimmed milk and nothing happens to me though there was this once that it also triggered an attack. Another time I've had one of those 'goahead' biscuits and it killed me! Just because it had a yogurt covering. Also chicken broth caused an attack once It is so frustrating!

 

[PeanutBean]

My gallbladder is only affected by fat as far as I can tell, and not all fat. The worst things are animal fats (with the exception of butter which for some reason I can eat all day long) so cooked cheese is generally a killer and I can't eat any of the hard cheeses without being ill - Cheshire and Wensleydale for me - too much cream wrecks me too; pastry (only a small amount of shortcrust which is high in fat or lots of puff pastry); food fried in sunflower oil (weird!). Any kind of processed fat does it too, so I can't eat any ready meals at all (which is fine as they are disgusting anyway); plastic cheese (you know like cheese strings or something) would have me in A&E; takeaway.

 

[BaybeeMama]

I had a gallstone attack which actually caused me to have pancreatitis..... 2 weeks ago. I stayed in the hospital for about a week and a half. It was so painful!! I had an infection on my pancreas because of that. I had to stay in there till all the pain was gone. I have to wait 6 weeks after i have my baby to have my gallbladder removed.

 

[twinkle22]

oooo i had those they are the most painful thing ever i would much rather be in labour lol my bouts lasted upto 3 days my triggers were cheese, chocolate ,red meat now there is a trick that i learned to stop any further pain but you must do it at the 1st bout of pain now you need to make your self be sick to the point where the bile comes out aswell as this is where the sourse of the pain lies i suffered for 4 year before having mine removed and did the vomit thing before the pain intensified to the point of a 3 day spell i know its not nice but the pain is worse good luck