Anyone suffering with Gallstones in pregnancy - need some advice

[hopefull2424]

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice. I was admitted to hospital one night last week as I was in pain and had raised liver enzymes and also high infection rate showing in my blood tests. The hospital discovered hat I have a few small gall stones but they are unsure if I also have obstetric cholestasis as i'm itching a lot.

Im due to have weekly tests for my liver function for the next few weeks whilst they decide on the diagnosis.

Im still struggling with the pain in my side which the hospital are putting down to the gallstones. I went to see my gp yesterday about it who was useless. Just sent me away and told me not to take gaviscon as this can make the itching worse. This however does not solve the constant heartburn problem or the pain.

Im a bit unsure what to do next to be honest ... Do I call the drs and go back with the pain? I am seeing he midwife tomorrow so do I just wait and ask her the best advice on gallstones and there treatment in pregnancy.

Im not due back for my bloods again until a week on Saturday as we go on holiday on Friday.... But I dont want to go away in loads of pain. Or should I ring the assessment unit who diagnosed the problem to see what they advise?

At the moment I get pain in my side after most meals - it doesnt really matter on what I eat. They told me to ry a low fat diet which I have been doing but its not made any difference at all.

Any advice at all would be appreciated. This is my third dc and I have never been through anything like this before. I should also say im 24 weeks tomorrow x

Hi!

This is my first time posting but I couldn't not jump in with my experience of gallstones. I didn't have them during pregnancy (am pg with DC1 now) but a couple of years ago I had an episode of pain so severe that it sent me to hospital. For a couple of years previously, I'd had the same pain to a lesser extent on and off and had been told "it's heartburn" and given antacids. The hospital eventually diagnosed gallstones and said I'd need surgery.

Shortly after, I developed severe jaundice (symptoms: dark/orange urine, yellowing eyes, yellow skin, itching) and was admitted as an urgent case as it was becoming clear that I had developed obstructive jaundice (small stone stuck in my bile duct). It was the most immense pain I've ever been in and is apparently more painful than labour - so I was told by many women! Long story short, they did a procedure to shift the lodged stone and I went home and awaited surgery to remove the GB for good. The fat-free diet was HARD because for me ANY amount of fat set it off, so I was down to 1.5g per day and obsessively watching my intake for fear of ending up back in hospital.

If it is gallstone related, I would have thought that they'd be able to rule out obstructive jaundice quickly (if it is OJ then you'd have to be in hospital for monitoring as it can cause pancreatitis, though it didn't in me). You might just have had an "attack" and/or passed a stone or it could be pregnancy related cholestasis... You might be best going to speak to your medical obstetric docs rather than GPs as none of my GPs managed to diagnose gallstones!

Re: going on holiday, that's up to you and your doctors. We cancelled a holiday because of it, as I was too fearful of a repeat episode.

My advice to you would be to watch yourself like a hawk and take the hospital up on any monitoring they offer (I found looking at urine colour a really good indicator, though I am no medical expert!). I had a friend with OC and she was in hospital for a lot of her pregnancy for monitoring as it can be serious. With any luck, this will just be a passing attack that won't return but if you do start feeling unwell PLEASE seek medical help as you can go from fine to in agony pretty quickly!

As for the heartburn, I didn't realise it at the time but I'd been having bile reflux (not acid) for quite a long time before the gallbladder removal that was made worse after surgery (nowhere for it to go but up) - so I sympathise with you. If your Doc said to avoid gaviscon, then do what they say. I found that fizzy water helps as it stimulates the bottom valve in your stomach to open and let it all down rather than up, so that might help. Other than that, I really do hope that things get better for you as gallbladders are great until they go wrong!