Gallbladder issues during and after pregnancy

Nicole - posted on 03/10/2010

i had mine removed when i was 21 weeks preg. they told me that it is a common problem. i had to really bad attacks with in a week they told me there was no way i could even wait till the baby was born. now that its out i have to watch what i eat bc if i eat something greasy i have to run to the bathroom as soon as im done eating.

Cathy - posted on 03/08/2010

It's not uncommon to have gallbladder complications during or after pregnancy. The gallbladder's purpose is to aid in digestion and stores bile made by the liver. If stones develop, there is a chance that they can get lodged in the duct and cause inflammation to the gallbladder and that is when you would develop those horrible symptoms of pain and nausea. Once the stone has passed, everything will begin to settle but it is likely that you will have more stones that could cause another attack. Therefore, it is a good thing that you had your gallbladder removed. Due to the fact that you have a drain also, It sounds to me like your gallbladder was in pretty rough shape. Although eating fatty foods can cause more pain with a gallbladder complication, there was nothing you could have done to prevent this from happening. I hope you're feeling better now and can focus all your energy on that beautiful newborn!

Ashley - posted on 03/07/2010

Wow, I seen this post and was like finally there is someone else lol. I had horrible horrible pain with my 3rd pregnancy and they kept chalking it up to prego pains. About a month after I came home with the baby I started having horrible horrible pains and puking everywhere and after a couple trips to the E.R. and some tests run (including ultrasound) they said I had TONS of gallstones and they scheduled an emergency removal of my gall bladder that same week! It's nothing you did to bring it on though! I was told that sometimes being pregnant can just cause them for no reason so go figure. Heres to feeling better!!

Kate CP - posted on 03/07/2010

Been there, done that! Absolutely no fun, either. :( Stay on a low fat diet or you could have the runs for days. It's VERY common and it's nothing that you did or didn't do. It's all about the hormones, honey. The 3 Fs are what cause the gallbladder problems:
Female
Fat
Fertile

Unfortunately when you're pregnant you hit every F in the line up. At least it's done and over with and you won't have to endure the pain any more. To me the gallbladder pain was worse that child birth and I didn't have any pain relief during labor! The things we do for our kids, huh? ;)

Shannen - posted on 03/07/2010

I also had gallstones after my 1st pregnancy but the doctors in my area never said anything about it could have come on quicker because of the pregnancy they only said it was due to a bad diet when younger with lots of fatty foods and also my weight. Its so nice to hear that it was probably diet but that pregnancy tends to bring them on sooner! :)

Stacy - posted on 03/07/2010

I had it done laproscopically, thank goodness. I am feeling so much better now that it is out. I can finally enjoy my son. Thanks so much for all your responses.

Lucy - posted on 02/27/2010

I know your pain! Gallstones are just awful aren't they? So much worse than labour!

I had gallstones after my second pregnancy (although I'm told they probably started forming during my first) and finally had my gallbladder removed with keyhole surgery when my son was a few months old. Now I'm all healed up it's such a relief, I can tell you!

Nobody knows for sure, but the medical community generally consider gallstones to run in families, more so with females for some reason. This makes sense in my case as my mum and Gran both had this problem. Pregnancy also seems to be a catalyst, making the stones develop quicker.

As Becky said, gallstones are really quite common, and although once you have them you can reduce the frequency of "attacks" with a low fat diet, there isn't much you can do to prevent getting them in the first place. It is also recommended that you avoid fatty foods even after the surgery, as the absence of a gallbladder makes it hard for your system to process them resulting in frequent indigestion/ constipation etc,

I hope you're on the mend soon!

Becky - posted on 02/26/2010

Yes! I had problems while I was pregnant with my second son, and just had surgery 2 1/2 weeks ago to have it removed. I had chest and upper back pain while I was pregnant, but I just thought it was pregnancy pains, so didn't really think twice about it. But then it continued after he was born, pretty much on a daily basis, and sometimes so bad I was rolling on the floor in pain. I found taking a tablespoon of vinegar helped with the bad attacks. Not real tasty, but in that much pain, I would've drunk Drano if someone had told me it would've helped! Turns out I had multiple gallstones, but did not have any inflamation, which is maybe why I never got the nausea that I hear is quite common. Anyways, I had to wait a month for my surgery, but it was so worthwhile getting it!

The next few days will be rough, so hang in there! Did you have the surgery laproscopically, or did they have to do a large incision? Recovering from laproscopic surgery wasn't too bad, except that I had a lot of gas pain, and I can't lift my 2 year old son yet.

Anyways, I have been told that it's quite common during/after pregnancy. I have a few friends who had to have theirs out shortly after having babies. Apparently something about pregnancy makes the gallbladder mushy or something and more susceptible to stones. I don't think it's anything you did to bring it on.

It's a relief to have it gone! Hope you recover quickly!

Ioana - posted on 02/26/2010

i had a problem with my gallbladder when i was pregnant with my first baby, i had horrible pain, it wouldnt go away if i switched position, the baby would put pressure on it and even if i would drink only water the pain would come and i would vomit to empty the gallbladder and felt very nauseaus, so after i had the baby my doctor suggested to have surgery and take it out bc i would go through the same thing if i was to get pregnant again, so i went to see a specialist and said that he wants to schedule me to have surgery and i said that i wanted an ultrasound to make sure the stones were there and for some reason maybe i wouldve eliminated them during labor, he said no way you can get rid of them during labor but will give me that ultrasound i requested anyway, so i went for my ultrasound and he didnt find any stones, i proved him wrong and he was amazed, it was truly a miracle, if i wouldve still had stones in my gallbladder i wouldve decided to have surgery bc the pain is worse than labor! ur not the only one.