Severe stomach pain please help

[turnwest]

I m 15 weeks and for over a week now have been getting severe sharp pains in stomach area near belly button. The pains are nt constant and they come and go but they are very bad, I ve never felt anything like it in my life before. I ve been a bit constipated since finding out I was pregnant but had no pain with it, ironically I ve had bowel movements for the last three mornings but pain still there.

I went to the doctor and he said it was probably digestive and to try a vegetarian diet, I ve started to eat nothing but veg and fruit but I m worried about the baby not getting the right nutrients and meanwhile I still keep getting the pain. I m desperate, I really want another child buying can't cope with the pain and I m thinking of termination but I don't want to kill my baby but the pain is driving me mad, I can't leave the house with it and I m so scared and lonely and hungry. Please can anyone help me?

A vegetarian diet is very bizarre advice. If it's that severe that you're considering termination, I'd be inclined to call your midwife and discuss it, and/or visit the hospital.

If GP useless as he sounds, I think I'd go to A&E. If the pain is so bad you are genuinely thinking of termination (really?) then you've got to get some help surely. You say you're scared, lonely and hungry - why hungry? I would ignore recommendation for vegetarian diet too btw, GP sounds deranged.

...by "discuss it" I mean the pain, not to discuss a termination

See a different doctor! One of the things this sounds like is gall stones, do you get a lot of indigestion? any pains in your back? under your ribs on the right hand side? saying that gallstones are funny buggers and can give all sorts of symptoms. it is very common to get a flare up of gallstones you didnt know you had when you are pregnant as pregnancy exacerbates the symptoms. That being the case a low fat diet WOULD be recommended but you need some proper medical advice, see your midwife and see what she thinks.

Im sure you can get this sorted sweetheart, there is no need to even be thinking about terminating your pregnancy, i know you must be in alot of pain, but it is going to get sorted out, ok!

Thanks for the replies I m hungry because the fruit/ veg really is nt filling me up and I m scared to eat anything else. The doctor said protein and dairy stagnates in the gut and will make constipation and pain worse. I m just so sick of the pain I can't think straight but I can't go to hospital for constipation they ll think I m ridiculous. First pregnancy was nothing like this, just normal aches and pains and I really want this baby but I can't do this every day.

Don't be scared, is there anyone in RL you can call?

You bloody well CAN go to the hospital with constipation! it is extremely painful and they can give you something to help ease it, if that is the problem. I presented at the hospital thinking i was in labour with gallstone pain, i promise you, there is no pain on this earth quite like it! Try some gaviscon to see if that helps, that is safe to have during pregnancy, and it is the only thing that helped me, do you find it gets worse when you lie down?

I'd say gallstones too. I wasn't diagnosed until the end of my second pregnancy because the symptoms weren't textbook. It was more painful than childbirth

If it's that painful, the Drs aren't going to laugh even if it is just trapped wind. GO! :)

I asked the doc about gallstones and he said it was nt gallstones because pain was too low down ( on belly button) I ve had no pain in back or rib area. I call my husband when pain is really bad, I m lucky to have a fantastic husband. I might make an appointment with a different doctor, and I ve got an antenatal appointment next tues so I ll discuss it with midwife. Doctor also said try paracetamol if pain gets really pain but only take it very occasionally. So might try one or two, I m sure not eating and stressing out is worse for baby than taking paracetamol everyday.

Thanks for taking time to reply though, it means a lot.

Hmm, I am a vegetarian and have never had constipation (& bloating) until pregnancy. I would say go to A&E, call your mw first if you think it's best... but definitely go and get some help. Constipation and bloating are very painful!

Also afterwards, if you can see a dietician or a nutritional consultant - they should help you in determining the foods to help and which foods to avoid as well as give you a good nutritional balance for you and the baby. I have found that I can't eat certain things as they really cause me a lot of pain from bloating, indigestion, etc.

Really hope it alleviates soon!

This is what A&E is for! Please go! Even if it is as banal as constipation or trapped wind or bloating. Best to get checked out before considering termination, non?

Since it is close to your belly button it could just be your round ligament. My round ligament pain was horribly, undescribably ,awful. At A&E they figured out it was my fibroids contributing to the pain. I could not walk, it was that bad. I could not walk for 3 days... the pain lasted for a week!

As for the diet, i did have constipation, i kept up with meat and fish but always, always cooked them with prunes and never forgot my oranges.

Your doctor sounds rubbish. I would try eating whole foods - plenty of meat, eggs, vegetables. Stay away from dairy/fruit incase that is the problem at first. But seriously if it's that bad I think you may need a trip to A&E, like others have said - gallstones, fibroids etc are strong possibilities. Hope you feel better soon xx

I would also say to see another GP or go to A&E. I had gallstones, and I didn't feel the pain in the "right" place until I was very ill (after 6 months of increasing pain), which made it harder for them to diagnose. Eventually I was admitted to hospital for a week with a gallbladder several times the size it should have been, and over 30 gallstones. That was after my 3rd visit to A&E, when I had previously been told I had IBS or constipation. The pain was as bad as contractions. They can do an ultrasound scan to identify if it is gallstones, and as someone else said a very low fat diet can help to manage the symptoms.

Hope you can get an answer soon, and sorry you are feeling so rough.

What did your gallbladder pain feel like catsbycat, where was it located? I m beginning to wonder if it is gallbladder related.

turnwest gallstones are notorious for giving weird symptoms

Id get pain in my tummy generally, when i was pregnant i had symptoms that suggested i was in labour, so i went to hosp as emergency, send home with indigestion remedies.

It does tend to be under right ribs, but not always, can be any tummy pain, between shoulder blades, lower back - its weird.

Have you noticed more pain after a high fat meal?

It was horrible. It is 12 years ago now, but I remember really sharp, grinding pain in my abdomen, which was not one sided but more central. It had me on all fours and unable to stand up at times, other times all I could do was groan and rock back and forth on the floor (sounds pathetic, but it was that painful). I had quite a lot of vomiting. Once I knew what it was, and I came out of hospital, I avoided any foods that had more than about 3% fat, and never had any more pain until the gallbladder was removed 6 weeks later (they had to wait 6 weeks for the swelling in my gallbladder to go down). A lot of the women on my dad's side of the family have had gallstones, as it turns out.

Forgot to say, the pain often came on in the late evening / middle of the night, as it tended to be triggered by eating, so most often I had it a few hours after my main meal, though it could happen during the day too.

Well I have nt really eaten much for last 24 hrs because I ve been feeling very sorry for myself. Today it's been giving me sharp stabs of pain every 5 to 10 mins but it's bearable. Yesterday morning I was doubled up on the floor, could nt move, pain was worse when moving though. I just had to lie in the same position until pain wore off about an hour later. I ve been terrified all day of it happening again.

Anyway I m so hungry and fed up of just eating veg and fruit, I ve eaten burger and chips ( homemade with lean meat so not quite as bad as takeaway) for my dinner. I guessing there is enough fat in what I ve eaten to trigger a gallbladder attack if it is gallstones. So I m just waiting. I ve got appointment on thurs with different doctor as well, for a second opinion. Going to mention gallstones.

Did any pain medication help with pain? I have t nt tried taking anything yet because of baby.

Have had lots of belly button pain which is worse when constipated and have been told its a umbilical hernia. Not sure if this helps you? Or if your belly button is sticking out? I spent all of Saturday curled up in pain and crying so understand your pain.

Glad you've eaten some fat and protein as that is exactly what your growing baby needs. I hope your appointment on Thursday goes well and they can figure out whats going on, the level of pain you are describing is not at all normal!

I have suffered with Irritable bowel on occasion and although generally the pain was lower down and more cramp like I remember being doubled over and unable move, the first time it happened I went to hospital and was admitted overnight as I didn't know what it was, now I know it will pass I can usually ride it out, till it ends with me having a really upset stomach but end of the pain.
Really hope u get some answers as I found even just knowing what it is can be a comfort and help u cope, how about ringing NHS direct, my sister has used on number of occasions to give her peace of mind.

Glad you're getting a second opinion. You do really need to know what it is, as then you won't have the fear of it being an unknown. Glad you have eaten too, as being hungry could have been making you feel worse. I hope you can get some answers on Thursday.

mcbaby I m sorry you re in pain too, it really is awful, I hope your hernia gets sorted out soon. I ve been straining on the loo a lot recently so an umbical hernia could be a possibility. I think I will feel slightly better once I understand what is causing the pain.

Diet wise, I ve decided to go for a compromise until I have a diagnosis, less fat more lean meat and fish and lots of fruit, hopefully I won't have gallstones, don't know how I d manage a gallstone diet in pregnancy.

Thanks for all the help, I feel so much more positive than I did when I started this thread, and I think I might have just felt the baby move for the first time, not completely sure though.