Gallstones During the Third Trimester??? Anyone Else?

I had to have my gall bladder out when I was 25 weeks because the pain was so bad, I was in the ER like every 3 days because I couldn't breath and had bloody nose with the gall bladder pain. They said they wanted to wait till after the baby was born but the pain was just too bad! so they took it out when I was 25 weeks and I felt SO much better! If you can wait it out that would be the best thing for you and baby and they can give you pain meds.
Good luck! I hope you can wait it out but I know the pain and be really bad!
Also- my pain started when I was 12 weeks.

Call an Internal Physician or a Gastroenterologist tomorrow morning. There is medication you can take for Gallstones, if you ca't then they can do it Laporscopicly. My sister had hers go bad while she was pregnant and they had to do an emergency removal a few weeks after her baby was born and it ruptured when they removed it, the gross stuff went inside her side to side incision and she lost a lot of blood while they were suctioning her abdomen out. She got a horrible infection, because she is a Jehovah's Witness she refused blood and got down to 68 lbs., her bone, skin, and tissue weight. She is 5 ft. tall and her usual weight is around 115lbs.

The worse it gets the more likely it is that you will have a large incision. If it is treated early then it is more likely to have the little tiny holes the scope goes through. My Gallstone was 22mm and I had mine out years ago and was back at work three days later.

http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/tc/gallstones-wh...

My story is a little different... I had pain & issues w/ food. So, I went to the doc - they told me it was heartburn... I found out about a month later I was expecting. So, I was taken off the heartburn meds - due to unknown side effects on unborn babies.

I did deal with the pain for my 1st trimester and lost about 15# since I always felt sick & couldn't eat much. After my 1st trimester I got to feeling better & made it through my pregnancy. I joked about "if boys make me feel this way - I don't want anymore boys" since it happened to be my 1st boy.

Around Thanksgiving - I ate pumpkin pie & it about killed me (I was in bed curled up like a ball, crying, sweating like mad, but freezing like I was outside in the snow w/ nothing on)... after about 3 days, I was able to eat again & ok. I ate french toast & again same issues... I liked it to spices. So, I cut down on spices... that worked for a while. Then it was fatty foods - I cut them out & again it worked for a while. Then just before valintines day (when my little guy was about 8 mo old) - I wasn't able to eat or drink anything w/out issues.

I drove myself to the doc - who sent me to the ER... I was admitted & had to have my galbladder removed. They did an oral scope first to remove the galstones from the bio duct & then removed the galbladder a few days later. The galbladder was remove using a few very small cuts... I have 3 small scars from it. One under the belly button - it goes up & down & is about 1/2", one under my rib cage - it goes across my tummy & is about 1" long & a really little one on my right side. As long as the galbladder hasn't hardened, they should be able to take it out the same way.

As to when - they don't like doing the surgery when you are w/ child. They are trying to get you through your pregnancy or atleast till the baby is safe (typicaly at least 34 weeks but prefurred 37 weeks). Then they will most likely do the surgry & get that bugger out of there.

Sometimes if you watch what you eat it will help with the pain. Try to cut out spicy & fatty foods... they seem to increase the demand on bio which is what is being blocked by the galstones. So, if you eat less of them, they bio doesn't need to flow through as much & helps ease the pressure & thus the pain.

I don't think the pain is stressing the baby, but that might be something that you can ask your doctor. Also, you might want to ask him how long that want you to go before they will do something (Meaning are they waiting to a certain week before they can do the sugrey or are they hoping you can hold out till the baby comes naturally.) Also, ask them if there is anything you can do to try to reduce the pain other then alter your diet, they might be able to suggest something.

I wish you luck - I do know the pain can be unbearable & my heart goes out to you!!! Just try to remember - the docs are trying to protect the baby as well. So, try to keep in contact with them so they know if anything changes w/ the situation.

Hormones cause gallbladder attacks. Try reducing your estrogen- no more soy, (check labels) no more corn syrup, no chlorine in your tap water which mimics estrogen(get a filter)check progestille online (not sure if the y let you take it while pregnant)which ups your progesterone, stop all man made oils like canola, safflower, corn, vegetable, etc, and use raw virgin coconut oil. Take it by the tablespoon 2-3 times a day. it is a precursor for progesterone.
Increase grass fed meats and salads, and fruits only at dessert. DO NOT do the low fat high grain/carb diet that is so often suggested- it does not work. Take magnesium citrate , try for 400 mg daily.
No vit D or iron supps.

I had the same thing happen just recently. I started having severe gall bladder attacks and was hospitalized many times, starting when I was 25 weeks pregnant. My OB and the GI doctor said to always go to the hospital if an attack lasted more than an hour because I could have an infection that could be dangerous (even without fever, which I never had). I did have a serious infection once. They wanted to take the gall bladder right out, which of course they could not do because I was pregnant. After many many painful attacks and hospital visits (never the ER, they always sent me right to maternity) and basically eating nothing because even the "low fat" diet that works for many people who suffer attacks did not work at all I was induced at 37 weeks and had the gall bladder out 10 days later. I would suggest getting the best doctors and the best hospital you can. Good luck.

Dandelion helps break up gallstones (I dealt with them last year and avoided surgery), but it takes a couple of months. For now, I would be really careful about the fat content in your food. You should be alright with small amounts of unrefined coconut oil or cold pressed olive oil, but stay away from all other fats. Especially stay away from hydrogenated oils, peanut, cottonseed, canola, soybean, corn, and vegetable oils. Anything deep fried should be avoided like the plague. Dry roasted nuts are okay, but avoid nuts cooked in oil. I had to give up dairy for a while too, but that may have been related to other gi issues rather than specific to the gallbladder.
Good luck, I hope everything turns out okay for you!

Are you certain that it's your gallbladder? I had horrible pains right at about 29 weeks with my first pregnancy and couldn't sleep, sit, lay down, etc. I finally called the doctor. I was sent to labor & delivery to be checked after I took Tylenol and the pain didn't go away (assuming it was Braxton Hicks). They determined that I had a HORRIBLE bladder infection and was actually in pre-term labor. I was having regular contractions. Bladder infections (if bad enough) can bring on pre-term labor. I was put on brethane (sp?) to stop my contracts. If you know it is your gallbladder, I'd talk to the doc about it. You shouldn't have to endure horrible pain for the last 1/3 of your pregnancy.

I had gall bladder issues throughout my whole first pregnancy. I had the pain and vomitting and even went to the ER several times when I couldn't stand the pain or got dehydrated. They always checked the baby while I was in the ER and he was always fine. You can take certain pain meds while pregnant to help deal with this...ask your doctor. I had my gall bladder out a couple of weeks after delivering my son by c-section. I had it done laproscopically (sp?) with only three tiny little incisions. Best decision I ever made to have that sucker out, I couldn't stand the pain anymore.

As:( don't be scared you the pain is excruciating I know I just got over a kidney stone and kidney infection I went to the er and they gave me pain meds bc the pain was unbearable . My advice to you is water water water. Hydrate yourself no matter how much you gta pee my friend just got over a gullbladder stone the hospital will do wonders with the medicine they give you :) so go they will not perform any surgery on you don't worry they did an ultrasound on my kidney to see the stone. :) best of luck feel better

Did they do bloodwork to make sure it's not your liver? I had pain very similar to yours (at first they thought it was gallstones, they even did an ultrasound), for me, it turned out to be HELLP syndrome.

I totally feel your situation and I would expect more from your doctor. I had the same situation while I was pregnant with my 2nd child and my dr blew it off as panic attacks. Shortly after my daughter was born I went to my general physician and she figured out it was an inflamed gall bladder and I went straight to the hospital for emergency surgery. The surgery was laproscopic (3 holes on the right side of my mid section ... and the gallbladder is taken out of a small cut at your belly button) and the surgeon said he operates on pregnant women a lot. So if your situation is that bad and you and the baby are healthy, I would consider the surgery. That pain is a horrible pain and it can last for days ... it's so worth having a second opinion and having the surgery done. You could try the diet, but you may be past the point of the diet working. Good Luck!