Gallbladder disease/stones

[our little treasures]

I have just finished having u/s and the guy had to call doc in as they couldn't find gallbladder when doc came in he kept searching making me sit lay turn etc. I heard him say it looks like a neck???

When doc left the guy doin u/s explained that it seems my gb is retracted which means it has a disease which could be stones and I would need to see doc this arvo!!!!

So here I am panicked wondering what this means and to make matters worse doc isnt on until mon arvo!!! I am bfeeding and no way want to stop!!!

Mum says its to do with eating too much fatty foods?? I dont eat that much!! I'm only 25 I though only older women / men got this????

[Sarie]

My mum had her gallbladder out a 6 years ago and it's done by keyhole surgery so I don't think it would affect your b/f - though I don't really know for sure.
It may be fat deposits, but again I can't really remember. Try not to stress to much, it sounds like they've caught it fairly early.
Good luck for your appointment!

[our little treasures]

Well I've now found out this can happen as a result from pregnancy and this is when I had my first attack of pain.

[Maghan]

angelbaby8

Gallstones used to be related to fat forty something women. I had my first painful attack at about 22 or 23. I had my gallbladder out through keyhole surgery and I found that quite painful. I am not over weight, I don't eat much fat (been a vego for years) and have a pretty healthy life. My surgeon said that younger women are experiencing this because of "something" to do with the pill??

Anyway some years down the track I started getting stones in my pancreas and had to have a much larger operation. I am just a person whose body creates these stones, and for no particular reason.

Unless the pain you experience is too much to bear or their is an infection in your gallbladder I don't think an operation is necessary straight away. Some of the other gals on this forum would be able to help, maybe Keara could. Give her a message?

[Melissa1983]

Hi Angelbaby8

I found out about 3 months ago that i have gallstones. The pain is worst than labour i reckon :( . And i'm only 22. They told me too it was from pregnancy, just have to wait to get them out.

[Worm'sMum]

Hi,
I've have also just found out I have gallstones and was also a bit worried!? But since talking to my mum and another friend who have had their gallbladders removed, I'm now not so worried. It's removed through keyhole surgery and you're are usually out the next day or so. I think it's generally caused by fatty foods, but can also be from excess estrogen from pregnancy, rapid weight loss, obesity and a few other reasons. Also women between the ages of 20 and 60 years of age are twice as likely to get it than men.

Try not to worry, your doctor will be able to reassure you. :)


And mummyof2 - I agree with the pain!!

[sugar n spice]

Hi
I had severe morning sickness while pregnant with ds #1 when i was 18 after having the baby 6wks later i became really sick and would wake up early hours of morning in agony ( i too agree worse than labour) and my dh would drive to hopsital luckily only 2mins away they would give me an injection of somethings and some gaviscon which helped. Anyway i had my u/s which showed tiny gall stones so i went and had it removed via keyhole 2wks later privately as i couldn't put up with the pain. My dr said the small gallstones are the worse as they can move into the biliary tract which is magor surgery. All that chronic m/s was prob the gall stones. I think you could relate recovery like a c- section if you have had one. I have not changed my diet drasticly as the surgeon said it's not necessary but before i had surgery i could not eat much at all only fruit really.

4 yrs on and i have had no problem, occasionaly i get an indigetion feeling (tightness in the chest) but nothing to worry myself about.

Hope this information helps :)

[Worm'sMum]

Bride83, that has made a lot more sense to me too - I also had severe morning sickness with my DD and haven't felt the same since...I might stick to the fruit until my surgery too!! THanks! :)

[Angel_baby_1982]

My grandfather went in on Wednesday to have his out! He was home the next day and says he's feeling sore but fine!

Good luck!

[our little treasures]

I'm glad I'm not the only younger one as your all mostly younger than me.. I think I'll leave it if I can as want to feed ds for as long as possible!!

[BubbleBelly]

My dad had his gallbladder out when i was about 3. His family has a history of gallbladder problems. It just rotted away! YES ROTTED!!!

I ate his first meal after he woke up from his opperation and he's never let me live it down :D

[MelanieP]

I had my gall bladder out in December of 03 after lots of hideous pain. With the first attack, I honestly thought I was having a heart attack, it was horrible. Since having it out, I have never had any more problems although just recently for some reason I can't eat avocado :( I get the same kind of pains back.

My surgeon said that I had one of the worst gall stones he had ever seen, my gall bladder was packed full of them and what was supposed to be quick key hole surgery ended up taking 5 hours, luckily they still managed to do the keyhole surgery instead of opening me right up, I just have a few more keyholes now :rolleyes:

I ended up being in hospital for a week afterwards as I just don't recover very well from op's, but most of the time you are operated on one day and out the next, but considering I was under for so long is probably why my recovery took longer.

I am 31, so was 29 when I had it taken out and am a bit overweight, but wasn't hugely o/w at the time either so I don't know why docs say its 'fat and forty' disease.

I hope you get better soon and I guess if you have to have the op fairly soon, you will have to express to keep up your supply while in hospital and maybe get some advice from a lactation consultant as to when you can start feeding bub after the op when the anasthetic is out of your system.

HTH
Melanie

[our little treasures]

Well been to docs and she has told me they can't find what the problem is as they cant see the g/bladder so they know something is wrong but they can't make out the black shadows, so I know have to have a CT which was reccomended by the doc at U/S So more waiting.

[sugar n spice]

Good luck with the ct scan. You should still be able to breast feed with gallstones just express before the surgery so there is enough milk while your under and while the drugs are in your system. Onece your out you should be fine. I didn't breast feed but my surgeon asked if i needed a cot for my baby to bunk in and thay if i breast feed then express. I wouldn't put it off if it is urgent

[Michele Crocker]

Hi,

I was 25 when I had my gall bladder out. I started to get these strong pains after I gave birth to my first child. I found out that up to 5 percent of pregnant women have trouble with their gall bladders after having children. My problems are also because gall bladder problems in my family are hereditary. My Nan had hers out and then my sister at only 16 had hers removed as well.

Michele
Mother of Christopher, Luke, Melissa, Jayden and baby girl now due on the 2nd November

[Moorish]

I think "FAIR, FAT & FORTY" is the term used to discribe the "typical" gall bladder sufferer.

However, I started having the same pains about 7 weeks before DD#2 was due (I was 24). It had me on my hands and knees on the floor in pain and the only thing to relieve it was to throw up. As I was pregnant through winter I just assumed I was unfortunate enough to keep getting the gastro bug that was going around.

It wasn't until DD was born that after a few more attacks over a few weeks I finally got checked out & was sent for an untrasound where they found lots of little "pebbley" stones at the bottom of my gall bladder. I was in emergency surgery 4 days later, DD was 13 weeks old & I had managed to express 3 bottles of breast milk for her & frozen it. She screamed for 9 hours straight & not the midwives or my hubby could get her to drink. I was able to feed her again after 9 hours tho & she stayed in hospital with me while I recovered (2 days).

My doctor said it is VERY common ocurrance during/after a second pregnancy. Please don't wait to get this checked out - the main cause of the pain is not necessarily "fatty junk food", but any food that has a fat content (my attacks were sparked by eating 1 toasted cheese sandwich with 2 small slices of cheese in it). Also, spicey food also sets it off as well. As for the surgery, if it's only a few larger stones, they can be "blasted" & left to pass, but if the stones are smaller & many, keyhole surgery is often performed & the gall bladder removed. (I have a 4cm scar under my belly button, a 2cm scar at the very top of my tummy & 2 smaller 1cm scars which are barely noticable, add these to the appendix scar & my stretch marks & it's nothing to worry about!

I really hope things go well for you and please let us know what your doctor recommends for you. :)

[Mummaof2]

I had gallstones after i was pregnant with my DD 5yrs ago.

I actually had them that bad that I was having pethadeine injections on average 1 a fortnight over 2mths while waiting to be operated on. I had been admitted to hospital 3 times as i became jaundice which sped me up the waiting list to have my operation. So 3mths after having my DD i had my gallbladder removed by keyhole surgery on my 21st birthday.

I did have to stop breastfeeding becuase the pethideine injections and antibiotics i was on could have gone to my DD but my milk also dried up. I was very lucky that she took straight to the bottle.

I would'nt worry too much till you see the doctor...but if the pain gets too bad and your finding it hard to get comfortable or to even breastfeed I would go straight to the hospital.

Good luck and I'm sure it will all work out fine.

[TLCC]

I was 26 when I had my gall bladder out but that was before my DD was even a hint!!

I didn't have stones but incredible pain (yes worse than childbirth). I had a nuclear scan and it found my gall bladder was only working 3%. I had 3 attacks over 18 months before i finally had it removed via keyhole surgery. That part is okay, I stayed in for 2 nights and home to rest for 1 week but generally it was okay.

While i was waiting for surgery, sticking to simply NON FATTY foods is the trick. Unfortunately I didn't get an attack after eating something fatty, its just a matter of time thing, so it could be just a sandwich and that's enough to tip me over the fatty limit to cause the pain, so it's best just to eat as healthy as possible to minimise the risk of pain.

I haven't had any trouble with foods since although can't really stomach too much fatty stuff (not a bad thing i guess). My family has a history of it ( I since found out) and I too was amazed at how common it seems to be.

If your not having attacks you could probably afford to wait a bit to have it out (if thats whats needed), so you can BF a bit longer, but see how the next scan goes.

Good luck and I'm sure it will be okay for you all,
Cheers,

[our little treasures]

well had ct and have 1 large stone stuck to wall and 2 sml ones, i actually had sever attacks at 20wks preggars with 2nd and 30wks then had a few after ds born then i had 4 in a row that made me realise i better see doc.... my gosh the pain is severe.... had one go for 8hrs yesterday i told hubby no way was he going to work..

[TLCC]

ah,, Angelbaby8 Sorry to hear your having so many attacks, What did the doc say?? have they recommended taking it out??

The surgery itself isn't bad and your recovery should be relatively quick although it will make it hard with a newborn, you'll have to be careful breast feeding for a bit because your stomach will hurt.

I've heard before you can take something which is supposed to help dissolve the stones??? Not positive what it is, but maybe something worth investigating if you want to buy some time before surgery?

[Foxymoron]

angelbaby8, you poor thing! I can't imagine the pain. I do hope they get them out for you pronto! Your Gallbladder is a storage spot your liver sends bile to, where it becomes more concerntrated. Sometimes the bile becomes overly concerntrated, and bile salts and insoluble minerals begin to crystalise, hence the development of gallstones. Your Liver sorts fats etc and stores some fat ( among it's many funstion), which is why I think people think gallstones are weight related. It's very common in women who have had children, lucky us :rolleyes:
Are you preggie at the moment? If not have they given you something for your pain?
Take care xx