did you get gallstones after PG?

[rainbowmoon]

i am recovering from a mild case of pancreatitis (possibly caused by gallstones) my dr's at the hospital all tell me it's somewhat common to get gallstones after pregnancy. anyone have this happen to them?

[stayinghome]

yep- in fact my first gall stone pain i noticed when i was about 8 months along. It got worse after she was born. I feel for you- it really hurt!

[Evergreen]

A friend of mine just had treatment for kidney stones. The doctors weren't sure if they were gall or kidney at first, but they wound up being kidney stones. They said both are common after pregnancy and can be caused by too much calcium if one is taking the 'wrong' (whatever that could be) prenatals and getting it from other sources.

Just FYI the medication they told her she couldn't breastfeed while taking was actually compatable, but if they don't know they say don't do it just to be on the safe side. So, if they tell you somehting similar, I would check with an IBCLC or LLL leader.

[azyre]

I started having gall bladder attacks somewhere around 30 weeks and have had several since dd was born, one followed the next day by what seems like pancreatitis in hindsight. It's just horrible. Since that one, I got an US to confirm the gs, and whenever I get the sour feeling in my stomach I am very careful what I eat - nothing acidic, fatty, chocolate and caffeine, no bread, banana's, I just know instantly I eat something if it is going to aggravate it. I used to ignore it and ive paid in spades for being lazy about it. give me pitocon labour anyday over that! it actually really scared me while pregnant - i thought if i cant cope with some "reflux" how will i do labour? but it is really severe pain for me.

Now my baby is nearly 1yo, I'm starting a liver cleansing diet and then i will do a gall bladder flush. i dont want to end up in hospital being pressured to have surgery.

[georgia]

No, but I've had gallbladder issues in the past. YEEOUCH! My mom, grandma and all of my aunts (4) have had their gallbladder out after a pregnancy...my mom had hers out when my brother was 3 wks old! Not something I want to go through....I'm totally laying off fried and/or fatty foods.

Hope you get to feeling well soon!!!

[CarrieMF]

Slow digestion in pregnancy increases your risk of gallstones.

My symptoms started while I was in the hospital after having my first. 14months later the stomach pains were getting worse so I finally told my dr about them. Instead of being caused by food, food made mine go away. The dr figured it was an ulcer. I had a barium swallow(so much fun, : ) and it did not show an ulcer. This confused 2 dr's and myself who were all convinced it was an ulcer due to pain it was and what made it go away. They set up an ultrasound to rule out gallstones, which they figured would be negative. I had a bunch of rice sized stones. Because it wasn't really bothersome I waited 4months before deciding to see a surgeon. What made me go was I was sick of the gross tastes in my mouth and constant burping. By the time I saw the surgeon I was 14wks pg. I had 2 mc's between this pg and the first when it started. The surgeon prescribed me Zantac 300, it was my lifesaver. 2months later I had my first real gallstone attack. I sat on a stool in my kitchen rocking back and forth breathing out as much as I could without breathing in. It lasted 10-15min. I was so unbelievably hot when I had that, then instantly freezing cold when it was over. It did not click that it was a gallstone attack until 2weeks later when I had another one after eating taco's. I told my dr about it then and he said they'd keep an eye on the number of them I had. 2wks later I had one and ended up in ER. Crackers set that one off. I was 27wks pg. If I had another one that bad they were going to do surgery while I was pregnant. I had a bunch of smaller ones and could usually keep them under control and not alot of throwing up/pain if I took my Zantac asap. My next really bad one was 1 week postpartum. I had surgery 3months later. We started ttc as soon as the surgery was over(got pg 2wks later). I was not going through another pregnancy with my gallbladder.

For me I could have never lived through a flush, the attacks were so horrible. When I had the last bad one, thank god my mom was here because I couldn't take care of my newborn, 1 year old and 3 year old. The week before the surgery the attacks were happening every day. It was a stressful week because the nurses at the hosptial went on strike. They cancelled my surgery once, but the next day called back and said it was back on because the nurses had reached a deal. I was prepared to go down and rip into the nurses over it.