Can gallstones give more problems in pregnancy?

jules30 · May 29th, 2008, 08:45 PM

Hi there,

I started this thread a while ago but im taking your reply as a sign and another reason i really should get it sorted out before getting pregnant.

Turned out i did go ahead with ivf and it failed on the first transfer so now before i go back to try again im going to see about treating my gallstones first. By the sounds of it pregnancy does make it worse!

I can really empathize with your wife, gallstone attacks are the worst. I am so scared of eating the wrong thing to provoke an attack and after an attack i cant eat until the pain goes away usually 24 hours+ later. I hope she gets at least some relief until the operation.

**belfie** · May 29th, 2008, 10:29 PM

Good luck to all those trying to deal with gallstones during PG (or get them resolved before). I had my gallstone (a 3.1cm grandaddy!) and gall bladder removed about 6 years ago (strong family history of gallstones around the age of 30). I was lucky in that i never had an attack, but given the size of the stone they were concerned that any attack would be problematic (as the size of my stone was bigger than the size of the gallbladder as meant to be). When it was removed, it turned out the gallbladder itself was inflamed & very scarred, and they suggested that it was best it had been removed (was that just to make me feel better

).

Being PG now, I would suggest that it's vastly better to have it sorted beforehand. Personally I would hate the stress of attacks whilst being PG. Also, I don't know if I've been fortunate, but I've never experienced any kind of issue with eating fatty foods since the removal of the gallstones. The op, as Mother Goose explained very well, is usually laparascopic - so recovery is quite quick due to the small incisions. I had only one incision that was slightly larger due to the size of my stone.

Hope that helps, and good luck for H&H PG's.

jules30 · May 30th, 2008, 08:08 PM

To those of you who have had your gall bladder removed. Does it affect your digestion badly in any way? Like what about weight gain? anyone experienced that and think its due to gallbladder removal? I was thinking since it helps to digest fats does that mean your body then absorbs fats instead of removing it as waste, hence weight gain?

**belfie** · May 30th, 2008, 08:24 PM

From what i was told, it wasn't so much you'd gain weight, but that if you ate a really fatty meal, it might just tend to go straight through you. Essentially with a gall bladder it holds the bile in reserve for when you have those extra fats - then the bladder would release extra bile(and shuffle those nasty stones - ouch!) to help you digest that fatty meal. Once you have no gall bladder, the bile just drips down at a steady rate - with no reserve tank so to speak. So I understood this to mean that a really fatty meal doesn't get any extra assistance from the bile to help it digest (but i'm no medico!).... so you would digest the fat slightly less effectively than someone with a gall bladder.

I've heard some people say that after gall bladder remove they still can't cope with really fatty things too well (which is probably not that bad for you I guess). From my own perspective (and I'm pretty sure all my relatives are in the same boat here) we basically eat what we want, and we're not particularly chubby. Sure we could get fat as butter if we wanted, but I don't think the gall bladder removal would play a huge part to be honest. I would think the only reason ppl might get fatter would be because they did start eating more fat once the fear of gallstone attacks was removed.

Or to put it another way - my DH has IBS, and a meal of takeaway fish and chips makes him feel lousy (stomach cramps, bloating etc). For me, I can have it and feel just fine.... so the gall bladder removal has really made no negative difference for me at all.

Hope that helps

**Mother Goose** · June 1st, 2008, 11:33 AM

A friend of mine had hers out and eats almost no fat yet she still has regular attacks. Gall attacks are not necessarily related to how much fat you consume - that is a common misconception.

In many cases, weight gain post proceedure is often related to people eating more food in general as the fear of an attack is gone.

In my case, I still can't eat eggs or some red meats as they go right through me or I get horrid cramps. Other than that, it has had no effect on my digestive system or abilities. I had my gall bladder out over 12 months ago.

HTH

MG

jules30 · June 2nd, 2008, 12:24 AM

Thanks Belfie and MG. I have asked my GP to refer me to a Gastro doc to see what they have to say about my situation. I would rather not take it out yet see if i can manage with watching my diet. My main concern is the possibility that it becomes unbearable in pregnancy.

**Lisa** · June 10th, 2009, 11:04 AM

Jules - Like many of the other posters, I have had my gallbladder removed. I started getting attacks 4 weeks after my daughter was born in 1997. Years of being on the pill, dieting & pregnancy were put down as being some of the main causes. Since having my gallbladder out, I have had a few other attacks and I have found that I am unable to take some painkillers now that weren't an issue before having the GB removed. I am unable to take codeine or morpheine and end up in agony if I do, the pain is similar to the GB attacks.
I have a friend who did the lemon juice/olive oil thing and her gallstones dissolved and she hasn't had any issues since. That was 9 years ago that she did that. My Mum suggested way back when I had gallstones that I should try it, but I was skeptical as the olive oil scared me as I was basically unable to have any fat in my diet at the time and I was scared at the thought of drinking oil.
My gallstone attacks weren't always diet related. Sometimes if I stressed out a lot or I got really upset it would set off an attack.
Looking back now I wish I had tried anything other than having the operation. I have put on loads of weight since then and I now have irritable bowel syndrome too. I never had real weight issues before the GB operation, yeah I could do with losing some (as most girls want to) but since then my weight has just ballooned and I have found it much more difficult to lose. As someone else mentioned earlier, in the beginning, most fatty foods would just go straight through me too and it was awful... and by fatty foods I mean regular milk etc.
I have another friend who has been controlling her gallstones through diet and has had a pregnancy in between too. Her GB attacks weren't any more frequent or worse throughout her pregnancy, but she was very strict with what she ate.
I hope you find the best thing for you. Wishing you all the best, and loads of success for your IVF.

**JellyBean** · June 10th, 2009, 11:26 AM

Hi Jules,

I saw your post re: the gallstones and wanted to mention a particular product to you. My Mother had repeated bouts of gallstones, until she started taking a natural mineral supplement known as Zeolite, or Natural Cellular Defense, by a company known as Waiora - from the US. It is used widely now for many ailments, and you can read about its use in a breakthrough fertility study involving women undergoing pre-conceptual care, by googling Zeolite & Dr Gabriel Cousens. The results have been quite astounding also for sperm health, as Zeolite effectively eliminates heavy metals such as lead and mercury from the body- which are detrimental to sperm health.

Anyways, my mother was also helped quite significantly by taking a probiotic supplement (you can purchase from the fridge of health food stores- needs to be kept in fridge), and also by adopting an alkaline-based diet and eliminating/reducing acid based foods. Gallstones cannot develop when the body is in an alkaline state, so balancing the ph levels in the body has proved to be critical to ongoing prevention in her case. There are tonnes of websites which discuss the importance of maintaining the ideal ph (alkaline-acid) balance in order to prevent disease, and how to acheive this.

Oh - and regarding what Lisa said about the lemon juice - that is spot on!! People assume that lemon is acidic- which it is outside of the body. But once inside of the body, lemon becomes extremely alkaline. A glass of water with freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1/2 a teaspoon of bi-carb soda first thing every morning is a great way to alkalise the system and make the body an unhospitable environment for gallstones to develop.

I hope this helps somewhat!!
Please let me know if you have anymore questions!!

XX