Could this be gall bladder?

[DeChRi]

Two days ago I ate tacos at about 5pm with my fam. By 7pm I had some yucky stomach/chesty cramps. My 10pm I was throwing up. I was pretty sick that night, camped on the bathroom floor. I never had a fever or anything. Woke up this morning and felt tons better. Ate egg white omlet and oatmeal, ran errands with fam, at a small bland lunch. I took a good nap, woke up and had some more food. I started getting that chest ache, through to my back and cramping up my shoulder. It was really bad and I had to sit at the store this evening. We came home and I was starving. I sat down an awesome dinner DH cooked, dug in, then halfway through I had to jump up and run to the bathroom and puked it all back up. I feel okay now. Still no fever or aches.

So i am talking with my mom and she says...I bet it is you gall bladder. Turns out both my grandmothers, my aunt, and my mother all had theirs removed. My mom had hers out when pregnant with me.

She noted that the sick feeling out of nowhere, cramping and stuff, is very common. Esp with no other real flu-ish symptoms. Of course I would rather just ride out a flu big than have surgery, but am just curious is anyone else has experience here?

[Manessa]

Sounds a lot like a gallbladder attack to me. I started having mine 6 weeks into my pregnancy with my ds. They would come and go (usually about 1 a month), but inbetween I felt fine. I didn't have mine out until ds was 1 year old. That being said, I have heard that you can sometime become septic leading to an emergency situation. You might not want to put off getting it checked out. I had a friend have hers removed during pregnancy, and everything went really well. Hope you feel better soon

[7swans]

That does sound like a gallbladder attack. Which side is the pain concentrated on? If it is your gallbladder, spicy and fatty foods may trigger attacks. I really didn't want to have my gallbladder removed so I toughed it for a while by drinking grapefruit juice with epsom salts (though I'm not sure if that would be safe during pregancy) and using a magic bag over my tummy. The salts and the heat help dilate the bile ducts, which makes it easier for the stone to pass through. After several months of frequent attacks, I had to have it removed because it was affecting other organs. The recovery was a PITA, but I'm happy about it now. They detected my stones by ultrasound so definitely talk to your doctor!

[at_the_hip]

It is very possible, especially in the absence of diarrhea or fever. My dh had major problems with his gallbladder (including stones trapped in his bile duct and infection, but that is another story). They were always asking him if he was vomiting, because it is very common - although he wasn't.

It is worth being checked out if you think it is a possibility. Eggs are a definite no-no, except the whites. Low-fat soups and sandwiches, as well as spaghetti with tomato sauce were basically what hubby ate while waiting for surgery.

[at_the_hip]

I forgot to add - for my dh, the pain was severe. Not cramping stomach/intestinal type pain, but severe severe pain that even narcotics barely touched. We took a taxi the worst night but we SHOULD have taken the ambulance for how severe it was. He was writhing and it was awful. I don't know if that helps you or not.

[AnabellasMama]

sounds like it mama
I had gb issues during my last pg starting around 35wks. I had horrible pains, was passing out from the pain, violent vomiting and ended up at the er bc I was so sick. Sure enough gb. I had it out before getting pg with this babe and I SO DO NOT MISS being that sick and this pg again! btw surgery and recovery was a breeze.

[etsdtm99]

I had a gallbladder attack on thanksgiving (before i got pg this time) it was horrible. the pain was very very intense for about an hour, i was crying, and throwing up and just when we were going to go to the ER (which i didn't want to do because it was a holiday) it stopped.. and i have been fine since then.. I did read some stuff online and change my diet.. i no longer eat eggs or red meat (or pork, pretty much i only eat lean chicken) and i have limited fatty dairy.. i am eating a lot more fruits and vegetables too.. i had been feeling MUCH better until i got pregnant, but now its just morning sickness.. I never did see a doctor to confirm any of this, but there is just not much else that pain could have been ..

[sanguine_speed]

I agree it sounds very very much like gallbladder.

I had gallstones during my first pregnancy, and my mother did too. Unfortunately, there isn't much they can do mid-to-late pregnancy, so you'll probably have to tough it out and alter your diet to minimize attacks until post-partum. I had my gallbladder removed a few months post-partum, as soon as I felt I could manage it. It wasn't small potatoes surgery as it does cut through your abdomen even though it's laproscopic these days, but it's not weeks i n bed or anything either assuming everything goes well.

Hang in there mama. I remember the days .

[7swans]

Just wanted to clarify what I meant by recovery: the surgery itself wasn't so bad, in fact I was up and walking around the same day. If you google gallbladder removal you'll probably find many stories about people having severe diarrhea for months after surgery (sorry if that's TMI). I already had symptoms of IBS before the surgery, so I'm sure that didn't help, but I got sick each time I ate or drank something for months. I ended up on medication for a while, but after about a year and a half things were back to normal-ish (I still have IBS, but it's nothing like what I was going through then). I don't mean to discourage anyone because it certainly doesn't happen to everyone, and I couldn't have continued living with the attacks (they came even when I hadn't eaten anything, so the diet change only helped so much). Now, almost four years later, I'm extremely happy that I had the surgery. I still remember how much the stones hurt and I wouldn't wish that on anyone!

[DeChRi]

Thank you all for the feedback. After the massive dinner hurl last night, I just had light cramping and this kind of gnawing irritating pain under my sternum area. I took Maalox but it didn't do anything. Woke up and still had that light pain. Ate yogurt. Felt okay but kind of like it didnt go all the way down, if that makes sense. I ate another small meal at 10am. Same thing...gave me an irritating pain in my my chest/ribcage area, no puking, feel fine otherwise. So I did another small meal at 12pm. Now I am having that irritating chest, shoulder, back kind of crampy feeling again. No throwing up though. And feel stellar otherwise. If I lay down just right I am okay. If I get up and move around it really sucks.

It really feels like when I eat, it just doesnt move down all the way, causing discomfort, then after awhile it all comes up.

I did call the Dr who agrees it sounds very gall bladder-ish. They are going to check it.

I am not very surgery adverse...I have had 11 surgeries in my life requiring general anesthesia. However, I will have a 10yo, 2yo and infant....of course nursing and such....I worry more about feeling so crappy for so long before feeling like I can get it done without disrupting new baby.

I am 22 weeks now, so not sure what can be done surgically at this point, if it is.

[mischievium]

I'm not as sure about what they can do during pregnancy, nor what other surgeries you've had that might impact how they would have to extract the gallbladder, but I did have mine out in August. If don't know if you are a candidate for the laparoscopic procedure, but if you are, at least for me, the recovery was very fast-- as in, it was an outpatient/ day surgery procedure and I was able to eat solid food (without pain!) that night. I hope you start feeling better soon!

[DeChRi]

Originally Posted by mischievium

I'm not as sure about what they can do during pregnancy, nor what other surgeries you've had that might impact how they would have to extract the gallbladder, but I did have mine out in August. If don't know if you are a candidate for the laparoscopic procedure, but if you are, at least for me, the recovery was very fast-- as in, it was an outpatient/ day surgery procedure and I was able to eat solid food (without pain!) that night. I hope you start feeling better soon!

My mom's came out laproscopically and I remember it being a same day surgery as well. My past surgeries should have no effect as they were all for tumors in my middle ears, reconstruction of those areas, sinus reconstructions and such. Nothing below the neck.

Glad to hear recovery was good. I don't do well on little food or restricted activity. I have a bit of concern about lack of weight gain for the little bits of food I seem to be able to get down. I lost 3lbs in the last couple days (could be water, too) and really prefer to be gaining than losing. With my activity level, I work hard to get 2500 calories daily to put on a 25-30lb in each pregnancy. I feel like I am wasting away here. I started at the low end of my normal weight range, was up 10lb at my 21 week visit, and now am down to an 8lb net gain.


Luckily, baby girl is dancing all over, so I know she is feeling good.

[Tizzy]

I had my appendix out at 24wks with DS1. They had to do it traditionally because it was harder to locate (things are moved around with a growing uterus) and it ruptured shortly before the surgery.
I have to say, the recovery from that was much MUCH worse than from my eventual C/S. But obviously I couldn't have kept my appendix in

[MamaMonica]

Moved to Health and Healing.

[sanguine_speed]

Originally Posted by Tizzy

I had my appendix out at 24wks with DS1. They had to do it traditionally because it was harder to locate (things are moved around with a growing uterus) and it ruptured shortly before the surgery.
I have to say, the recovery from that was much MUCH worse than from my eventual C/S. But obviously I couldn't have kept my appendix in

Yeah, obviously your case was a serious emergency.

Gallbladder, they won't remove during pregnancy generally. They will likely prescribe an altered low-fat diet and narcotic pain medication if necessary. Or, this is what happened in my case.
I also have a painful dermoid ovarian cyst that is being managed with pain meds when needed as laproscopy isn't possible in mid-to-late pregnancy and the risks of narcotic meds is less than the surgery during pregnancy.

[DeChRi]

Thanks again for all of the feedback. The worst is over, but I still dont feel quite right. Struggling to get enough food down without discomfort. I see Dr again Thursday. My chat with the OB said that if it was bad enough they prefer remove gall bladders between 20-24 weeks, which i am. However, even if it was gall bladder, I am not sure I am quite there with it yet. Regarding diet, I eat an incredibly low fat diet and one that is similar to a gall bladder diet. The only thing we could think to modify was some dairy and coffee.

Hoping it is all residual viral and it is a non-issue though. :-)

[Liquesce]

I'm sorry you're suffering with that. If it is your gallbladder, when I was having attacks I read somewhere that some people find a degree of relief in drinking a lot of water when they feel one coming on. It was advice that helped me a lot ... downing as much water as I could stand quickly pretty consistently seem to make attacks shorter and a little less severe than they always were otherwise. Not a fix by any means, but something that eased it a little was still welcome for me.

Also, if you do find you need to have it removed, the best advice in the world is to not go googling. There are horror stories upon horror stories out there, but the horror stories are the exceptions ... it's just, understandably enough, people with a bad experience are a lot more vocal about it than people for whom it wasn't a big deal.

(FWIW, on the good stories front, I had mine out just over two weeks ago, felt a thousand times better even just as I was coming out of the anesthesia, and it hasn't gotten the least bit worse since. I was actually up and eating spicy stromboli again the next day, after a year's worth of apple juice and toast. My mom had hers out when I was a kid and she was in college ... she had it out on a Friday and was back in class on Monday.)

[kamane18]

It does sound like gall bladder BUT could also be a funky virus. Both DH and I (and also MIL) recently had something very similar (although neither DH nor I vomited) and it turned out to be a bug. My sister just had it so bad that she ended up in hospital and checked gall bladder but to our surprise it is fine - crazy bug I guess in her case.

I had an emergency appendectomy at 16 weeks pregnant with #1. NOT fun but of course necessary. Ugh...

[Mamacitac]

Ugh totally sounds GB related. I had mine taken out in 2005 and I had the same symptoms. They're NOT pretty! It could also be an ulcer? But it mostly sounds like a gb attack. I STILL get them even without a gb. They call them "ghost attacks." Freaky!

I hope you feel better!

[sanguine_speed]

Originally Posted by Mamacitac

Ugh totally sounds GB related. I had mine taken out in 2005 and I had the same symptoms. They're NOT pretty! It could also be an ulcer? But it mostly sounds like a gb attack. I STILL get them even without a gb. They call them "ghost attacks." Freaky!

I hope you feel better!

Me too sometimes. Sucks.