finally someone is taking me seriously updated!!

[birthmommom]

Ok...so I have been having this really horrible sharp stabbing pain in my right upper abdomen. i have called the midwife office several times and the triage nurse keeps giving me an attitude and saying that is probably a muscle.
I cannot get across that this is NOT A MUSCLE!!! tylenol, ibuprophen, icyhot nothing helps.

So finally I give up and call the midwife after hours. She tells me to stay home in bed for the weekend and if it gets really bad to call her back. So I did just that on Sat. and it felt sooooo much better. Sunday it was aggrevated again. So Monday I call to get an appt, the nurse is rude AGAIN and gets me an appt for Tues (yesterday) I went b/c all day on Monday was awful, so bad that I almost had dh take me to the ER.
I see her yesterday and is concerned that I am still having this pain that is super sensitive to the touch. She schedules me for an ultrasound for my right upper quadrant for tomorrow (thurs) and says that she wants them to check my gallbladder. then I tell dh and he finally realizes that I am not being a baby and remembers that his mom had her gallbladder out and calls her. Sounds like the same thing.
so we will find out tomorrow but it sooooo frustrating to know that something is wrong with you and you are not being a baby, and no one listens.

Here are my symptoms:

severe stabbing, almost ripping pain in my right upper abdomen
very sensitive to the touch
hurts all the time , standing, walking, sitting, bending.
area is also kinda itchy

New symptoms:
nausea
slight constipation
severe headache.

just needed to rant and if this is what the midwife thinks it is they are going to get a letter from me on how I am very upset with the actions of the nurse and her tone of voice.

[Dea]

Even if it's not your gallbladder, the nurse still should be called out for treating you so badly. Pulled muscle or not, you have every right to be concerned, and it's HER JOB to take your concerns seriously!
Complain and complain loud! How many other people is she doing this to?

In any case I hope it's not your gall bladder! That would be horrible! I hope they can figure it out easily!

[Sheal]

Does it happen after you eat fatty foods or high fat foods? The enzymes in the gal bladder are what help break down high fatty foods in the intestines. If the gall bladder is not at par the symptoms you are describing are what happen.

Sheal

[flapjack]

Gallstones are way more common when you're pregnant. They should, hopefully, advise a change of diet (a specific one) and with any luck they'll pass naturally. Mine did, when I had gallstones with Skye.

[birthmommom]

it feels bad all the time whether I eat or don't eat.

I don't usually eat a lot of high fat foods...I don't think anyway.

We shall see tomorrow...if I can make it that long...it really hurts. :

[nausicaamom]

I ended up having mine out last summer, but the attacks were absolutely awful. Scared the hell out of my husband when I told him I needed him to take me to the ER with one, they gave me 5 units of morphine and it didn't even begin to touch the pain. I think it's a different deal when it happens during pregnancy, a lot of women never have a recurrence of symptoms after they deliver. and hopefully it can be controled pretty easily for you with diet.

[smokeylo]

2 of my cousins had gallbladder surgery right after pregnancy! I'm so sorry you're having to deal with so much pain.

[ColoradoMama]

Originally Posted by birthmommom

it feels bad all the time whether I eat or don't eat.

I don't usually eat a lot of high fat foods...I don't think anyway.

We shall see tomorrow...if I can make it that long...it really hurts. :

Not in your ddc, but your post caught my eye. I had a problem with my gallbladder with my first pg that was missed for a while. What you describe sounds exactly like my symptoms. Gallstone attacks can be brought on by dairy. Actually, when I asked the nurse her response was exactly that one word, "dairy." I went on a vegan diet immediately and didn't have a problem with the stones through the rest of my pg. Good luck. I hope you find answers tomorrow.

[LoveChild421]

I also had gallbladder problems- although early in this pregnancy. I saw my naturopath and he put me on some herbal and homeopathic remedies and I haven't had an attack or the awful nausea since then! Just wanted you to know there are alternatives to surgery (the gallbladder is a very important organ- you don't want to get rid of it if possible.) So you might want to check into seeing a naturopath about it. Drs can't do much for you except offer surgery or antispasm meds.

[lovetobemama]

Don't have any info to add, just wanted to say that I am thinking of you and hoping that things are figured out and healed soon!!

[birthmommom]

so last night I went to the hospital b/c the pain was unbearable. I stayed the night and got pain meds and IV fluids.
This morning I had my ultrasound and they said that my gallbladder looked fine and so did the other organs. So the dr insists that it is a muscle thing. She gave me a muscle relaxer and told me to get a prenatal cradle. Hopefully insurance can help with that b/c they are $50 plus shipping. I feel like they are missing something but I will follow her advice and if it doesn't get better we will start again.
She also found that my potassium was low and i am severely anemic, so now I am on iron pills and Zantac for the nausea.

I am wearing my belly band that i bought and I am feeling ok so far. I just really want to be a normal functioning person again. We are going to fill the prescriptions tonight.
Wish me luck.

[applecore]

It is possible that you injured a muscle/muscle group somehow. If that is the case, you could try homeopathic arnica. Here's hoping that you get some relief soon!

[mama_nym]

: Sorry you're still not knowing for sure what it is. I hope the prenatal cradle helps a bunch and you're pain-free soon!

[slgt]

Birthmommom, i once had a similar-sounding pain, well before pregnancy. It was sharp, stabbing, made me catch my breath, made it hard to be upright for any amount of time. This went on for days and I finally got it checked out. They did a full round of ultrasounds looking for ovarian cysts, since it was in that region...in the end, I am fairly confident it was some bizarre muscle pull just based on the way it finally dissipated after several weeks. However, it was completely debilitating at the time. You probably know that a pull is from microtears, sometimes bigger ones, in the muscle fibers. Some of these muscles are so small and discrete to begin with that a little tear can be very painful.

With everything pushed around inside, it is possible that it's a muscle...if you can rest in a position that sort of relaxes that area - curled up, slouching, etc. - and it starts to lessen after 4-5 days, then likely it was a pull.

But it is worrisome and it is good to keep an eye on it - I hope it goes away soon and without further problems!

[loraxc]

I had a one-day episode of severe pain in my right abdomen right along the breastbone below my breast. It was AWFUL but after building from the morning, it was over by 4 pm. My MW thinks it was indeed a gallbladder attack. The good news is that it was a freak one-day thing and has not happened again since. (Crossing fingers.) I believe you! IT HURT.

[Jlcampbellkidz]

I had something very simular durring my last pregnancy but it was accompanied by severe vomiting. Trust me, that makes it worse. I also recamend seeing an ICPA certified chiropractor. You will feel amazing after an adjustment and reg. visits durring pregnancy have proven to shorten labor and put baby in a better position. Most insurance will cover.
www.ICPA4kids.com

[smokeylo]

Birthmomom,

Since we know it isn't your gallbladder (what a relief!) I was thinking that this sounds a LOT like costochondritis, which I experience a few times a year. The first time I had a really serious episode I thought I was having a heart attack (I was 16!). It can be so painful and I imagine that the boob growth and rib cage changes we experience during pregnancy might bring something like that on. Fortunately plain pain relievers and heat therapy help, so I'm hoping that the muscle relaxers you will take will take care of it.

Obviously I can't know if this is what you're experiencing, but if it REALLY doesn't feel like a muscle it might be this thing. Hope this helps. xoxoxo

[loraxc]

I feel dumb b/c I missed the post where you said the u/s did not show it was your gallbladder. I do NOT want to be the bearer of bad news, but I was told the u/s was by no means 100% reliable, especially if the stone is small or it's just "sludge." The good news (?) is that even if it is your gallbladder, it may just go away and not bother you again.

We also talked about costochrondritis for me, but I don't know...your experience does sound so similar to mine. (I also felt like I was going to throw up.)

[birthmommom]

so after working yesterday and being in the same pain I did a little searching on the internet. I think that this is the problem...

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...64/ai_77035411

Now granted i am not a dr, but I think I am going to go for a second opinion. Esp b/c the ob may not know to look for this. I am going to also ask them when I have my appt. on Wed.
If this is it it looks like the only treatment is local anesthetic.
I don't think it is costochrondritis b/c it is not a chest pain and not in that area it is more to the right.

I also found that since I had or have low potassium that it causes nausea/vomiting and you get low potassium from several things, one being lack of intake. I have not eaten much over this pregnancy,but not for lack of trying.

I just have to get through this weekend before I can make an appt with a family dr. I just want this to go away.

Thank you everyone for you support and suggestions.