12 Weeks Pregnant and Have Gall Stones

I was 19 weeks when I had my first gall bladder attack and it only got worse from there. They had a hard time identifying what was actually going on, so I didn't get an actual diagnosis until I was closer to 25 weeks. They put me on the no-fat diet and they just got worse and worse. They wanted to take it out around 32 weeks but I was so close to the end of my pregnancy that I opted to wait until after delivery.

They induced me at 38 weeks and took my gall bladder out when I was 4 weeks post partum. I had an absolutely miserable pregnancy, and post-pregnancy, with multiple trips to the hospital and extended hospital stays. If I had it to do over again I would ABSOLUTELY have it out during my pregnancy. I felt 100% better as soon as I woke up from anesthesia. I could have enjoyed my pregnancy but instead I was a miserable mess the whole time.

My advice- DO IT! Have it taken out. Your doctor knows what he/she is doing and wouldn't advise it if it were dangerous for the baby. Let us know what you decide!

Not sure if gall stones and kidney stones are kind of the same or not , but I had kidney stones when I was pregnant and I had to drink a ton of water everyday and flush them out , can you not do that with gall stones?

I got them about 30 weeks. It was so painful. They tried to take her early as possible Which needed up being c-section at 38 weeks. I was eating hardly any fat, it didn't seem to matter. They were there and weren't going away. The 8 weeks of gall stones were worse than, recovering from that c-section. They went away on their own after the baby was born. You know how it hurts now think about being 9 months pregnant and a baby kicking as well. She was really small with no fat no her, because I couldn't eat anything, plus 2 weeks early.

I am sorry that I have to admit, I did not have gallstones while pregnant, but I did have gallstones and they were incredibly painful. The pain made me feel like I just wanted to die. I was so happy when they figured out what the problem was and I had my gall bladder removed via laprascopic surgery. Fortunately I didn't have any complications but a girl I knew once that also had gallstones had 1 or a number of them get stuck in the common bile duct on their way to the small intestine (normally they just pass through but it's an excruciating experience, similar to passing a kidney stone). It caused her to develop jaundice and pancreatitis and she ended up needing emergency surgery. I would talk to your doctors about it, but it seems like you should get it done as soon as possible. You don't want the pain of gallstones on top of everything else, you want to enjoy your pregnancy, you don't want to put your baby at risk, and you don't want to get so far along that the surgery gets more difficult because your uterus is in the way.

Also, they won't just flush out with water, because with kidney stones the extra water causes you to make more urine, which helps flush the stones along. Your gall bladder is a totally different part of your anatomy - it's purpose is to make bile which is used to break down fats that you eat. That's why you need to avoid fatty or greasy foods in the meanwhile, because they make the gall bladder more active and cause the gall stones inside to start moving. And you can keep forming more gall stones, so that's why getting your gall bladder out is a permanent solution - you can live without your gall bladder.

Good luck, hope you feel better soon!

I'm at 30 weeks now, and I had a gall bladder attack back in March. It was excruciating! My surgeon was reticent to operate on a prego, so I have been instructed to eat less than 6 grams of fat TOTAL for any meal. I haven't had any more attacks that way, but life hasn't been extraordinarily pleasant either. Your OB/GYN probably wants to wait a little while to reduce the risk of any meds & anesthesia affecting your baby's development. Almost every surgeon is COMPLETELY competent in gall bladder surgery because it's so common. They get lots of practice, so I wouldn't worry too much about complications. Gall stones don't go away on their own, and they can't be flushed out without severe medical risk, so the best option is to have your gall bladder out. In the meantime, eat as little fat as possible (I've lost 15 lbs since March, if that tells you anything), and just be careful!

One other thing, though. Most of my relatives have had theirs out, and their bodies deal with fat a little bit differently now than they did before the surgery. Don't go out right after your surgery and eat a big, greasy burger! Ease yourself back into eating fat very slowly, or you might still find life to be quite unpleasant! =)