severe gallstones during pregnancy, help!

[mama2jonah]

My freind is eight months pg and has been told by her doctor that she has gallstones and will need an operation immediately after the baby is born. She's in a lot of pain and is very frightened.

What are some pg friendly options for dissolving gallstones? Has anybody heard of using peppermint oil or magnesium? What else works?

[peggy]

I had severe gallstones at the end of my second pregnancy. It is extremely painful!! I don't know anything that dissolves gallstones naturally. I do know a low fat diet relieved my symptoms greatly until I was able to have the surgery.

Good luck to your friend!

peggy

[Kalinka]

mama2jonah, My co-worker had horrible gallstones too. She finally ended up taking Milk of Magnesia and it really helped her a lot. One thing that you could do is take dandelion root (and leaves), I was able to find it in our local health food store.

This is info from a website about good herbs to take while pregnant.

Young dandelion leaves are excellent sources of calcium and potassium, this will vitalize your kidneys and reduce edema

The whole plant can be used to treat various ailments associated with liver and gall bladder, constipation, fluid retention, joint inflammation due to gout or rheumatism, eczema, acne, warts, night blindness, mild hypertension, fever and congestion.

The roots are also used as a liver tonic and digestive stimulant. They promote the flow of bile from the gall bladder which aids in fat digestion. They are mildly diuretic and mildly laxative as well as useful in rheumatic conditions. The roots can be dry-roasted and ground to use as a coffee substitute. A fresh root decoction (tea) can be taken as a liver cleansing tonic to treat chronic toxic conditions in the body such as constipation, joint inflammation, acne, eczema, and gout.(1) Follow the directions above with or without adding the leaves. The tincture can be used similarly. Capsules containing dried root powder may be helpful for diabetics to control blood sugar levels. The recommended dose is 3 capsules (500mg) per day.

hope this is of some help and I hope you find some relief. Good luck

[J&G's mom]

Oh honey, your poor friend. I had gallstones at the end of my first pregnancy (my Jonah) and they are the worst pain I have ever felt. It took days and days for them to diagnose it, so at least your friend knows what is wrong with her. We tried some herbal remedies (of course, I can't remember what they were now) but they didn't seem to work for me anyway. I was in my ninth month and so instead of my midwife attented homebirth we decided after my fifth or so attack that we would induce (3.5 weeks early) and if all was well (meaning not being in labor and having a gallstone attack at the same time) we would head home and finish the birth there. Well, the induction didn't take and we decided that the babe and my body were not ready so home we went. I had another attack, got that to go away, tried to induce again, didn't take, went home. This happened all week and finally one of the inductions with potocin took and I went into fast, strong labor. The option of going home went out the window and my son was born 1.5 hours later. My dh got there 10 minutes before he was born. He was 2.5 weeks early. Went home the next day, Tuesday and on Friday had another attack. They told me to come in and after a long wait (thanks to a rainstorm and lots of accidents) I went into surgery. When I woke up my milk had come in and I was crying for my baby. I went home the next day and my mom stayed in the hospital with me to take care of Jonah since he wasn't actually a patient. When I went for my followup appointment the surgeon told me that my gallbladder was empty and that I had passed all the stones. I probably would have made more and eventually had to have my gallbladder out anyway but not with a 4 day old baby. So if you friend does end up having surgery after her baby is born she should demand an ultrasound to make sure she hasn't passed all the stones, if she has at least she can put off the surgery untill her baby is a little older.
So that's my story...
Hope it helps, J&G's mom

[mama2jonah]

Thank you all! I appreciate your concern. I will tell my friend about your posts.

[ekblad9]

I also had gallstones with my fourth pregnancy. I couldn't eat anything fatty at all. That was probably a good thing! Anyway, I didn't end up having surgery after the baby was born and so far (knock on wood) I've been fine with this pregnancy. Hopefully she can put the surgery off a bit. Tell her I said good luck!

[rainsmom]

I had gallstones, though not while I was pregnant. To avoid them I couldnt eat anything over 3g of fat, sometimes less than that. And when I did get an attack I would soak in a tub of hot/warm water. It was SOO painful!

I had laser surgery to remove my gallbladder, and it was a piece of cake. NO incisions and recovery was pretty quick.


Good luck!