Pregnancy whilst waiting for Gallbladder removal

[LMS77]

I’m due to have my gallbladder out for gallstones and still waiting for a date. I went to the pre op at the beginning of December but heard nothing from the hospital since. I’ve not had a bad attack since January but previous to that had several. Spent most of September/October in pain. Had 2 visits to a&e.

The problem I have is that we want to try and have another baby (have 2 already). When I mentioned this to the consultant in November he said it was a bad idea and to wait until I’ve had the operation. I’m 43 next month so time is not on our side. I don’t know how much longer I would have to wait for the op and part of me thinks we should just start trying to have a baby now. However I’m worried getting pregnant might set my gallbladder off. Has anyone been having gallstone attacks whilst pregnant? How have you dealt with the pain?

not direct experience but a family member found pregnancy made them worse and had it removed a few months after the birth. I realise you don't want to leave it much longer though, could you try ringing the secretary and asking how much longer it is likely to be so you can plan better?

I have had my gall bladder removed and has issues with the site during pregnancy. I really won’t want to risk the pain and potentially liver issues. Pregnancy will make it worse.

Can you afford to get your gall bladder removed privately?

I’ve put off ringing the secretary as I’m dreading having my gallbladder out to be honest! Keep hearing the horror stories about complications afterwards. I did look into having it done privately but it’s £6400 which we can’t afford.
Have you found having no gallbladder has affected your pregnancy? I’m also worried about it causing issues if I get pregnant too soon after having the operation. I’m ok at the moment as been following a low fat diet and thought that if I continued to do that during pregnancy I might be ok. I do feel it’s a bit like a ticking time bomb though as I’m tired and I can feel it grumbling sometimes. 😕

I had some/lots pain in labour when they gave me synthetic hormones to speed up labour around the site and afterwards but I generally very ill afterwards with Spesis. At least I had access to gas and air. No problems durring pregnancy at all.

Being overweight and reproductive hormones can make gall bladder symptoms much worse.

Tell the secretary that you will take any last minute cancellations.

I had this with my first took them ages to realise it was gall bladder and not Braxton Hicks they said I had a high pain threshold!
Ended up getting induced at 38 Weeks and my gall bladder out a couple of weeks after birth.