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Original poster

Gallstones during pregnancy!!

13 replies

LoissD94 · 16/07/2021 17:50

Hi all,

I am currently 31 weeks pregnant and have just been discharged after a 4 day stay in hospital due to a gall bladder attack. I believe I had one at 23 weeks as well which I called an ambulance for due to the pain being excruciating but that time they just sent me home after giving me a lot of antacids and it died down. Since then I’ve been on omeprazole which significantly helped my reflux problems but on Monday I felt unwell and had what I now know to be my 2nd gallbladder attack. Doctor told me to go to A&E and had a scan which confirmed gall stones. I was admitted due to the pain etc and discharged today 4 days later.
Anyway the surgical team don’t want to operate until I’ve given birth so they just sent me home with pain relief that doesn’t even help with the pain because it’s not strong enough but it’s all I’m allowed.
My midwife has got me an appointment with a maternity consultant to discuss the pain due to the gallstones and what might be done in terms of my pregnancy but I am wondering if anyone was induced early for example due to having to seal with ongoing pain from gallstones or ongoing attacks?
I feel like I have 9 weeks left and not sure I should really be taking codeine regularly for that longer time period especially when it hardly touches the pain! Also don’t know how I’m meant to cope with the pain for that long!

Any experiences of this I’d really appreciate hearing from you!!!

OP posts:
EKGEMS · 16/07/2021 18:28

Almost 21 years ago I was in hospital at 30 weeks pregnant and had to have the old technique for the gallbladder removal due to a large gallstone blocking a duct. I ended up having complications and had a csection a few days later. I remember that intractable pain before surgery! Take the codeine. Follow your discharge instructions and if it gets to be too much call their service.

Red44 · 16/07/2021 18:35

I had gallbladder attacks throughout the second half of my pregnancy, I had to sleep upright etc. I had my gallbladder out when the baby was 3 months old.

Original poster
LoissD94 · 16/07/2021 19:05

Did they induce you earlier or anything or just leave you to have a normal delivery and birth?

OP posts:

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Red44 · 16/07/2021 23:52

I was induced at 38weeks and had a fairly easy, normal delivery. They decided it was better to wait to take the gallbladder out after the baby was born, The pain was unbearable and I ended up at a & e a few times, keep going back and getting help with the attacks. I was on omeprazole until after the gallbladder was removed. It was the Worse part of pregnancy and having the attacks with a newborn was awful .

Cloudninenine · 17/07/2021 07:41

Gallbladder pain is worse than labour IMO.

I was induced early for unrelated reasons - i’m not sure if they would induce early for this, but you could ask?

My top tip is once your baby is born, attend A&E next time you have an attack. You’ll then be treated as an emergency and won’t have to spend weeks on a waiting list.

Original poster
LoissD94 · 17/07/2021 08:47

Yeah I think they may consider inducing me early too - I’m seeing a maternity consultant in a couple of days. I’ve just been sent home on omeprazole and with paracetamol/codeine! I’ve still got pain from my last attack which was 4 days ago now! Dreading having another!

OP posts:
Original poster
LoissD94 · 17/07/2021 08:49

Thank you!! I’ll definitely consider that. I’ll see what my maternity consultant says on wedded my pregnancy and the surgery! So far I’ve only seen a surgical team who didn’t really care about my maternity care!

OP posts:
Flora1985 · 30/04/2023 14:39

Hi OP, what happened with this in the end? Did you have surgery right after pregnancy? I'm in a similar situation but only 21 weeks so still have a long way to go!

Thanks

Ocularpatdown · 30/04/2023 14:42

I was induced at 36 weeks due to repeated gallstones issues as was at danger of developing pancreatitis at end. Baby was a good size though and no adverse effects for them although I was really ill and exhausted by that point.

Original poster
LoissD94 · 30/04/2023 18:20

Hiya. Sorry to hear you’re going through a similar thing as I remember how hard it was! In the end I went to be induced at 38+5, not sure how I lasted that long but I was already dilated so didn’t need it and just had my waters broken. Baby was fine, although had to be kept in 24 hours after birth for monitoring due to me having lots of morphine during my pregnancy (they didn’t tell me this before though!). Anyway he is happy and healthy at 19 months now. I ends up having emergency surgery 3 months after giving birth due to going in so many times after giving birth with attacks a doctor finally felt sorry enough for me because it was affecting me caring for my baby. If I hadn’t have got him to agree the nhs had put me at the bottom of a waiting list of about a year!!! I’d booked to have it done privately because I was so desperate but the emergency nhs surgery ended up happening just before!
hope you manage to get sorted ASAP asking giving birth! X

OP posts:
Flora1985 · 30/04/2023 20:17

Thank you so much for your reply OP, and I'm so glad to hear you got it sorted after birth (though thank God for that one doctor moving you up the NHS list - phew!!). Presumably you've been fine since - no attacks? I've been riding mine out at home rather than going into A&E because I basically have a pathological fear of the A&E waiting room (plus it's hard to get to A&E with a sleeping toddler at home) so probably haven't helped myself as I won't be much on their radar, but last night's attack was so severe (and I've had them for years now) - including vomiting for the first time with even more intense pain than usual - that I'll probably have to go in next time. Did anything help you stave off the attacks during pregnany, or did you just have to ride them out with codeine as best you could? Thanks again! x

Original poster
LoissD94 · 01/05/2023 06:44

Luckily, no attacks since except a few episodes of bad heartburn but I take omeprazole daily for reflux which seems to keep any symptoms at bay. I would have loved to avoid A&E but my attacks were so bad I couldn’t move or breathe because of the pain and they didn’t ease up so I’d end up on IV morphine as soon as I got to A&E and it just kept happening which was scary whilst trying to look after a few week old baby.
Unfortunately nothing really eased my symptoms that’s why in the end I was desperate to get it out but I know other people have managed to find out their triggers and that’s helped to reduce their attacks… I had to ride it out during pregnancy, I had oral morphine at home because of how bad it was they said they’d rather prescribe me that than regular codeine but think different doctors say different things. I also ended up in hospital a few times whilst they tried to manage the pain so it was hard. How many weeks are you now? X

OP posts:
Sugarcube84 · 01/05/2023 07:00

Try buscopan as well it helps with the spasms which cause the pain, I was in for 10 days with mine it’s horrible. Also if they haven’t already said a low fat diet might help and magnesium

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