Have you had gallbladder problems?

[todzwife]

My brother had his out at 15. He threw up a LOT. My little sister is 19. When she eats a lot, or lot of fat, she throws up all night.

When I was pregnant w/ #3, I had a horrible pain on my right side, under my ribs. She was breach, I was told her head was probably squishing my gallbladder. Sure enough, when she flipped (about 3 weeks after the pain started) the pain went away.

This past week, the pain came back. It's a dull ache under my ribs on the right side and between my shoulder blade. It's been off-and-on for a week, but has remained nearly constant for the last 4 days. Thankfully, on a scale of 1-10 it's probably a 2-4. More "annoyingly painful" than "holy crap I need to get to the ER immediately" pain.

I have an appointment w/ my GP on Thursday (the earliest they could get me in) I have been watching what I eat, and staying away from fat. I don't eat a lot of greasy foods anyway.

I'm not vomiting. Slightly nauseated some times. I'm REALLY REALLY hoping I don't need it out immediately. I have a 10 month old nursling.

Any advice? Suggestions? Happy thoughts?

[wellyes]

I had that for about two weeks when pregnant, and thankfully it went away on it's own. But mine were attacks - clearly a consequence of eating fat (even just a little). Constant pain.... Maybe it is something else? There are so many causes for abdominal pain. Ugh. Good luck.

[zag95]

I had a major attack, followed by a non-fat, no meat, no alcohol, no caffeine diet- for probably 2 months until surgery. My surgery wasn't too bad- I had it and then went home later that night.....I had pain meds- they cut tiny holes to take it out.......

Recovery time was about 2-3 weeks- no lifting of over 10 lbs. I am so glad I got it out- because I would have hated to have a blocked duct or something much more serious. And I think I was having symptoms earlier, but attributed it to a stressful job.

My dad and mom had both of theirs out..... and myself. Only my brother is left......

[lorinick]

It's likely you may need your gallbladder out. You have a family History of it. As do I. Most of my family had them removed. I actually had my removed, they found a poylop. I had it removed.

It was no big deal and was out walking and vactioning in a couple of days. Also didn't do well with the no lifting thing either. I had a one year old at the time. I waited until he was 1 since I was nursing.

I hope it's something else. It could be many other things.

[Cam&Clay]

I just got home on Friday from an 8 day stay at the hospital for a kidney infection which turned into sepsis and then pneumonia. During all the scans and testing they did on me, they found gallstones. They opted not to do anything about them because I was so sick.

Now that I'm home and have done some research, I realize that some of my digestive issues in the last year or so could be because of these stones. My mother had hers out, and I have heard also that it can be a hereditary thing.

I'd just as soon get mine out asap, but since I've missed so much work, I might look into getting it done over the summer. I've heard that the surgery isn't too bad. Still not something to look forward to...

[ohiomom]

I had the terrible pain throughout all of my pregnancies and it was not fun. I tolerated about 5 g fat/meal max. I did have an US and it was "sludge" not stones so no need to remove since the duct started to behave itself again when not pregnant. I find I do not tolerate a lot of fat at one sitting. Could you get US to see if it is stones or not? That might help you decide if you can wait it out longer or not. Compliance with the diet was easy because the pain was awful -- and great for weight management. NO other bright side at all...
Good luck!

[gatorsmom]

I had a lot of trouble with my stomach about 4 years ago and have been having trouble lately too again. I had numerous tests done by a GI doc who told me that sometimes when nothing shows up on tests that it can be really hard to diagnose stomach problems. I went on Prilosec for 3 weeks and started taking Citrucel for constipation and my stomach issues went away. A scan of my gall bladder found some "sludge" but nothing that needed specific attention. I suspect my stomach was irritated and when I went on the BRAT diet to avoid irritating it further (non irritating foods like bananas, rice, applesauce and toast), I became constipated. An overly backed up digestive tract put pressure on my other organs causing pain. The Prilosec helped heal my stomach and the citrucel started things moving down there again. I haven't had pain down there since. Well until recently so I started taking the same meds and things are working again.

My GI doc said that the gall bladder can irritated too, and can actually heal. If I were you, I'd try some OTC remedies first before doing anything more invasive, but that's me. ;)

[MoJo]

I just had mine out in October.

Unlike yours, my attacks were sudden and painful to the point that I couldn't do anything (including nursing my baby) during them, and they lasted 30 minutes to 3 hours. I'd describe the pain as more painful than non-medicated contractions for childbirth, if that gives you any idea.

Mine didn't appear to be related to diet. But I fit the profile. . . fertile (gallbadder issues often appear during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth), female, forty (well, almost), fair. The only factor I didn't have was family. . . no one in my family has had any gall bladder issues.

My regular doctor prescribed Cimetidine (which didn't help at all) and had me get an U/S which showed the stones. They would have immediately sent me to the surgeon, but I went to the GI doctor first to make sure I didn't have an ulcer or something else. He was convinced it was my gall bladder, and that it should be removed right away. He said every time I had an attack, there was a 10% chance it wouldn't resolve itself, and then I'd be having emergency surgery. I had five attacks before the surgery, and none since.

The surgery wasn't bad, but I couldn't lift either child for several days (and the baby was only 4 months). But I was allowed to nurse right before surgery and as soon as I got home (I just had to have DH hand her to me after the surgery), so even if you need surgery, it doesn't have to mess up your nursing relationship. And FWIW, I was able to eat normally starting just a few days after the surgery.

If you want more info, feel free to PM me.