Gallbladder ?

Question

What are signs you could be having gallbladder issues ? What symptoms should I look for ? I think the discomfort I’m feeling may be related to that but I’m not sure

Answer

I’m 31 weeks. Fourth pregnancy. No issues before this one. A few weeks ago, i woke up in my sleep to an extreme upper abdominal pain. The pain was mostly central, right below my boobs (although classically it’s slightly to the right). The pain was so intense. I was lightheaded, cold sweating, nauseated, cotton mouth, dizzy. Within 10 minutes of being away, i knew i needed an ambulance (my husband was out of town). They had to carry me downstairs and take me to the hospital. Baby was fine the whole time. My bloodwork and ultrasound (upper abdominal, not for baby) came back normal but they said my presentation is classic for gallbladder and that you can still have issues even with normal results. The pain subsided on its own in 3-4 hours and they let me go after 5 hours 
In hindsight, i think i had a mini attack (that only lasted 30 minutes) in July and I’m pretty sure I’ve had two very mini attacks (5 min) since the major one. 
I’m on a low-fat diet to try and avoid them because removing a gallbladder at this stage of pregnancy could lead to a premature birth... or worse. If it continues to be a problem during pregnancy or after (you’re still at an increased risk until about 6 months postpartum), I’ll likely have to have it removed. 
To rule out reflux/heartburn/indigestion, you could start taking a daily Pepcid and Tums as needed. Your gallbladder won’t be affected by those but in the process I’ve found that they have helped relieve some other third trimester complaints!

Answer

I started having gallbladder issues halfway through my first pregnancy but didn’t know it. I learned later on that pregnancy can cause gallstones, so if the symptoms sound like you, defiantly get it checked out ASAP! The first gallbladder attack I had I was halfway through the pregnancy...... it was like the most intense excruciating heart burn I’d ever felt in my life. Under my right rib cage felt like it was going to explode. It felt like an elephant was stepping on my chest. It lasted almost an hour of me hyperventilating and in excruciating pain until I made my husband rush me to the hospital because I thought I was having a heart attack. Once we got there, the pain stopped and I decided I didn’t want to pay for the emergency room if it was just really bad pregnancy heart burn, so I left. The attacks happened again, once every couple of months. My doctor said it was just gas from pregnancy, even though I kept describing intense pain under my right rib cage, so she prescribed me gas medicine. After I had my son, the attacks came monthly, then weekly, then daily. 6 months after I had my son, I couldn’t handle the attacks anymore. They were so bad that I was terrified to be taking care of my son while I had one. Finally went to hospital, they ran a bunch of tests and found out I had gallstones. Had emergency surgery the next day. Hope you figure out what’s going on with you! Good luck!

Gallbladder ?

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