Anyone here have their gallbladder out when pregnant?

[Piecey]

After a night in the ER, it seems that I have several gallstones and my gallbladder needs to go.

ER Dr. wouldn't really talk to me, as my OB wasn't on call, so I have to wait until Monday morning.

Just wondering if anyone here had it removed while pregnant?
Would appreciate any info (I'm Google'ing, though! ) from first hand experiences!

TIA...

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Not me personally, but my room mate in the hosp. did. I think she said she was 5 months pregnant when they did it. Her baby was cute and fine, big little guy for sure. My ds looked like a scarecrow next to him.

Would they be doing it laprascopically?

 

[Piecey]

No idea.

ER Dr. said it was pointless to talk to whoever was on call, because they weren't my Dr. (and they let me sit in L&D for 2 hours with no help before discharging me to the ER.. he was not impressed with whoever was on call this weekend) so said I need to call MY OB first thing Monday morning and discuss it.

Just wondering.. as DH is automatically saying "No" because of the risk. I don't know, though.

Thanks for the post, though. I'm in my 5th month and the ER Dr. said this is where we'd want to do it, for sure!

 

[Kathi OD]

DDIL had her gallbladder out when she was pregnant with her first child. They did it laprascopically and had no complications, either with the gallbladder surgery or the remainder of her pregnancy. DGD was born at term, weighing well over 8lbs. Today she is a very, VERY normal 2 yo.

 

[HelenePA]

My OB's didn't take me seriously when I was having gall bladder attcks this last pregnancy.. idiots.. anyway. I didn't have mine out while pregnant but I did get a script for Tylenol 3's to take the edge off the pain.. God Bless ya.. The pain is amazing. This is the main reason I'm happy not to be pregnant anymore

 

[Piecey]

Thanks Helene..

I called the after-hours OB line on Thursday night because I didn't think it was HB (which is what they thought it was during office hours)... they told me that "HB was a part of pregnancy and I should get used to it."

I wanted to go "I've had acid reflux and if this is heartburn, you can have my baby!" but the OB on call was just a witch so I let it go.

Definitely the most pain I've ever been in. I woke DH up crying my eyes out at 2am.. he took me to the ER at 3.

They gave me Reglan and Tylenol 3s, though, in the ER. Need to go get them filled, ASAP!

Google'ing foods right now to avoid/foods that help. Making a list.

Don't ever want to feel like that again.


ETA-- Anthony is super cute!!

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

They do this surgery lapriscopically now. I had mine out 8 years ago and it was SUPPOSED to be lapriscopic, but I had complications so they had to do it the old fashioned way.
It is definitely a good thing to get it removed as soon as possible....mine went undiagnosed for over a year. They kept treating it as heartburn and acid reflux. The gallbladder attacks were so painful! I had thousands of gallstones and it took 2 surgeons to do the surgery.
Good luck! It is supposed to be a very "routine" surgery nowadays.........

 

[happygirl]

I had mine taking out two weeks after the birth of my daughter. They wouldn't take it out while I was prego.

 

[bengalbelle]

I didn't but my SIL did. This was around 18 years ago, so I'm sure the procedure has come a long way, but everything turned out fine. My niece is 17 and has had no problems resulting from the surgery.

She did try to manage it by watching what she ate (poor thing hardly ate anything) but she was having too many attacks.

Good luck! I started having attacks right after I had my second child. I can't imagine that pain on top of being pregnant

 

[englishteacha]

I just had my gall bladder out. Part of why they took it out now was because if I got pregnant, it would certainly act up then! My niece had horrible gall bladder attacks when she was pregnant, and they wouldn't take it out then. 3 weeks after giving birth she had hers out. If they feel they can safely remove it now, it might be a good idea. I was sick for 10 weeks with mine before they took it out. My situation was different from yours, though. I didn't have gall stones. My gall bladder just didn't work.

 

[DisneyGoddess]

I had my GB out when I was 17w pregnant with my daughter and she'll be 2 in February. It was a pretty easy surgery recovery wise. The one thing I demanded was a u/s as soon as I woke in recovery for my own peace of mind. The hospital was wonderful about it and the machine was right there waiting for me when I woke up. I also recall the anesthesiologist used something that would still block the pain and have the amnesia result, but it would be easier for the baby.

If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to PM.

 

[Mom loves Disney]

I had problems the entire time I was pregnant. Every time I would go to the E.R. they would send me to labor and delivery saying I was having contractions. Mine went on the entire 9 months and they could not figure out what was wrong. Finally a week after having the baby I went back to the E.R. and had surgery right then. I lost 25 pounds while pregnant due to the problems I had. Don't let it go on to long, it can mess with your pancreas (Sp?).

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

I DID! I was 17 weeks along and had to have mine out ASAP.

I was terrified but everything went fine. The surgeon I had says he has done thousands of GB surgeries and over a hundred on pregnant women. I did have a risky pregnancy so they kept me in the hospital overnight for observation in the OB ward. My OB came to check on me during his rounds the next morning and cleared me to go home.

I understand that most people have their big gallbladder surgery scar inside their belly button but I have mine above mine because of the way they had to go in around DS.

Another DISer kami2199 (I may have the numers wrong) had this done too but her experience was quite different than mine.

I would be happy to answer any questions.

 

[Piecey]

Man, this stuff really stinks where they are basically saying it's not the gallbladder for you guys!

I'm really sorry for those of you that went through this. My ER was required, they said (they're not employees of the hospital, ER Dr.'s are an outside company) to send anyone past 20 weeks upstairs with any pain. (Upstairs being Labor and Delivery)
I sat there for 2 hours just to be sent back to the ER who knew exactly what was wrong..

I can't imagine going through that again and again and them not knowing what was going on!!

(On the plus side, I got to hear my baby's heartbeat for 2 hours! He kept kicking the monitor!)

I'm going to talk with my Dr. on Monday and if she thinks I should have it, I'm going to do is ASAP!

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

I started to have pains with my gallbladder about 3 months into my pregnancy with my first dd. I visited the ER 3 times during that pregnancy because I was in severe pain. They wouldn't take it out until I gave birth to my daughter. I had my gallbladder taken out 6 weeks after the birth of my daughter. My ob/gyn released me from his care and the next day I had surgery.

 

[ChristmasElf]

They do this surgery lapriscopically now. I had mine out 8 years ago and it was SUPPOSED to be lapriscopic, but I had complications so they had to do it the old fashioned way.
It is definitely a good thing to get it removed as soon as possible....mine went undiagnosed for over a year. They kept treating it as heartburn and acid reflux. The gallbladder attacks were so painful! I had thousands of gallstones and it took 2 surgeons to do the surgery.
Good luck! It is supposed to be a very "routine" surgery nowadays.........

Usually. But NOT if you are 5 months pregnant as the baby is too big and will be in the way.
Count on the old fashioned 5-6 inch incision about 4" under the right breast.
You will probably be put on the maternity floor to recover as they keep an eye on the baby as well as you for any complications after surgery.
My situation came on suddenly at 5 months into the pregnancy. I felt like I was being stabbed and lost a lot of weight in 3 days. (great diet, not!)
While waiting to have the surgery, (my Mom and Dad came to stay with our other children) I ate nothing but turkey breast on dry toast. Nothing with any kinds of fats in it as I would have serious pain. I was afraid to eat!
I was in the hospital for 3-4 days and when I got home, I had all kinds of things the Dr didn't want me to do so I wouldn't lose the pregnancy.
No vaccuuming
No lifting
No driving for 2 weeks (this one I ignored)
No strenuous excercise

3.5 months later, baby was born and all was well. Still have that lovely scar however and since the uterus was in the way, the Dr's never did take out the appendix. Usually they take the appendix when they take the gallbladder.

I will say that there are certain foods that bother me now. Anything that has a lot of fat in it I have trouble digesting so I stay away from it. Also eggs are a problem so I stay away from those.

 

[koolaidmoms]

They can do really amazing things. Hugs to you and your baby.

DP had surgery when she was pregnant with DD at 21 weeks. She did not have gall bladder issues but rather a tumor on her right ovary that was the same size as the baby. They had to take it out as they feared it may rupture or twist and send her into labor. The estrogen was feeding and it was growing bigger every day!

They had to go in and move the baby to take it out. They both came through just fine. Other than a big ugly scar on DP (guess her bikini days are over).

 

[Piecey]

Usually. But NOT if you are 5 months pregnant as the baby is too big and will be in the way.
Count on the old fashioned 5-6 inch incision about 4" under the right breast.
You will probably be put on the maternity floor to recover as they keep an eye on the baby as well as you for any complications after surgery.
My situation came on suddenly at 5 months into the pregnancy. I felt like I was being stabbed and lost a lot of weight in 3 days. (great diet, not!)
While waiting to have the surgery, (my Mom and Dad came to stay with our other children) I ate nothing but turkey breast on dry toast. Nothing with any kinds of fats in it as I would have serious pain. I was afraid to eat!
I was in the hospital for 3-4 days and when I got home, I had all kinds of things the Dr didn't want me to do so I wouldn't lose the pregnancy.
No vaccuuming
No lifting
No driving for 2 weeks (this one I ignored)
No strenuous excercise

3.5 months later, baby was born and all was well. Still have that lovely scar however and since the uterus was in the way, the Dr's never did take out the appendix. Usually they take the appendix when they take the gallbladder.

I will say that there are certain foods that bother me now. Anything that has a lot of fat in it I have trouble digesting so I stay away from it. Also eggs are a problem so I stay away from those.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

I just had two pieces of toast and some organic apple juice (gallbladderattack.com reccommended!) about a half hour ago and I'm still feeling good.

They gave me Reglan to take before meals to try to help digestion and prevent problems.. and Tylenol 3's in case I have another attack.

I know what you mean about the stabbing pain... I was crying, freaking out by the time I woke DH up. He had to calm me down, I couldn't stop crying (and in turn taking really, really small shallow breaths) and then I felt a little better but still knew... something wasn't right.

I'm glad they know what it is and will definitely be calling my OB PRONTO Monday morning to get in there and discuss what the best action is.
I figure, ASAP is the best...

I don't ever want to experience another attack like that, ever!

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Gallbladder attacks are worse than labor.

Good luck to you, Piecey.