Gallstones...is it just me or...?

Ok ladies, is it just me or does it seem like there are quite a lot of ladies who need to get their gall bladder removed after having a baby?

I've just found out that I've got them and have started having pretty bad attacks (no mince pies for me this year :(). OK so I'm a bit of a plumpie (but have always been a strong, healthy plumpie, kwim) and I have a lurking suspicion that it was actually my pregnancy and/or all the upheaval of surgery, infection, antibiotics etc after DD2 was born that has tipped my body over the edge. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

Also, I'd love to know what your waiting period was like, esp if you have your gall bladder removed in the public system. I would also love to know whether you had any issues with your liver at the same time as your gallstone problems?

in the information I was given at the time mine was removed apparently it is very common, especially after multiple pregnancies - it didn't go into the whys and where fors though.

i went private so the waiting period wasn't there (I think it was about a week at most) - I do know someone who waited 18mths in the public system but she was trying to avoid it also so I don't know how long after diagnosis she agreed to go on the waiting list.

I didn't have any liver problems diagnosed or even suggested at the time.

I hope you don't have to wait too long and that you can avoid too many attacks between now and then.

Hi Marydean I had my gall bladder removed after my first pregnancy, had gall attacks on and off for a long time and omg i think they are the most painful things ouch ouch ouch.
I so sympathise with you and definetly dont eat satay chicken :sick:
I waited around 2 months in the public system, i was on waiting list due for op in 5 months time but got a call one night to say there was a cancelation in two days if i was available and luckily i had a great boss at the time so i jumped at the chance. I had no liver trouble but my sis had liver and kidney trouble with her gall bladder.
I hope you dont have to wait too long.

Ok Abb, will steer clear of the satay!! Did your sister's liver and kidneys sort themselves out once the gallbladder was removed? Is she ok now?

Yes she is very healthy now, had a bit longer stay in hospital to keep an eye on the liver but its been over a year now since her op and she is fine..

I had my gall bladder out after first birth (8 weeks) using public health. During and after second birth i then develped reflux problems. Similar kind of pain. This was, and still is, treated with medication. I think the daily vomitting for 4 months is what damaged my eosophagus beyond repair.

I had my gallbladder taken out pre-pregnancy when I was about 21. It took 3 different doctors and 2 1/2 years for them to diagnose me! And in the end all it took was one little ultrasound to see the single MEGA stone in my gallbladder.

I didn't have any trouble with my liver at the same time... but a few years earlier I had been diagnosed with a viral infection that caused inflammation of my liver for about 5-6 months. Killed my immune system for about 2-3 years, but I haven't had any further trouble since then though.

I went through the private health system and still had to wait 2-3 weeks in excrutiating pain (I can't take painkillers) before I could have the surgery. The surgery was keyhole and went really well, except that my gallbladder had to be sent to pathology because there was something strange about it that my surgeon had never seen before. Turns out the stone was so big that it was totally blocking my cystic duct and had caused acute inflammation and the beginning of necrosis of the tissue in one end of the gallbladder. Ewww.

And now for the weird bit... I asked the surgeon to record the entire surgery (one of the instruments in keyhole surgery is a camera) and I have it all on video tape, lol.

OMG KL I can't believe you took no painkillers during those weeks of acute inflammation :o. I think I would've asked them to put me into an induced coma LOL! PMSL about the video - i just have to ask WHY???

Goodmorning All

Marydean - Just thought i would let u know that i had my GallBladder taken out at 29wks pregnant - not something they wanted too do but they didnt have a choice as i had 3 really bad attacks (morphine didnt even work) and they didnt want the risk of an infection starting which would of affected my liver! mine was apparently brought on by pregnancy! they said it is a very common thing in pregnancy!
I went thru private and on the morning i was taken to hospital for my 3rd attack they booked me in for a operation later that day!

Marydean, the killer part was no painkillers after surgery, lol. Actually, as long as I stayed laying down and still the surgical site didn't hurt much. But I did get shocking referred pain in my shoulder anytime I tried to sit up even a little. Did anyone else get that? The hospital staff didn't explain what caused it, so I had to wait a week until my post-op visit to my surgeon to find out that I wasn't going crazy, that the pain was real, but that it wasn't really shoulder pain, but instead it was irritation of my diaphram. Turns out that the carbon dioxide that was pumped into my abdominal cavity during surgery didn't all come out and when I tried to sit up it was rising and irritating the phrenic nerves and telling my brain it was my shoulder hurting. Our bodies are so weird sometimes!

As for why the video? Lol. I guess it was for 2 reasons. The first is that I am scientific by nature (did a science degree and am now a surgical vet nurse) so a part of me was curious about what exactly was being done inside my body. And the second reason was that I figured the surgeon would have to do an extra good job if he knew I was going to watch it afterwards :ROFL:

KL, thanks for sharing, hun. OH I love the idea of scrutinying the surgeon by getting a video - that's classic!! BTW I knew about the shoulder pain, it happens a lot after any sort of laproscopic surgery. It just goes to show that where gas is concerned, better out than in!!

I had my gallbladder removed after DS. I didn't have any problems before or during pregnancy, after DS was born i just felt as if i had bad heartburn - my first "attack" happened when DS was about 8 weeks old. DH had to call the ambulance it was so intense, i felt as if i couldnt breathe. It was so scary! I was rushed to hospital and had to stay in intensive care overnight. They didn't find anything and I was released the next day.

Over the next few weeks/months I experienced more attacks and finally my doctor found huge gallstones and i was able to be scheduled in for the following week (this is the German system, i can't speak for the Aus system sorry!!). The attacks were so painful, i kept saying i would rather go through birth again than have another attack. I was perscribed medication, but it didn't help.

They planned only to take out the stones, but ended up removing the whole gallbladder because it was infected. I was told by the doctors at the hospital they were the largest stones they have seen in a young woman my age and I was very lucky my other organs weren't infected too.

they said it was probably caused by pregancy, but im sure my diet had alot to do with it :shhh:

yes gall bladder stones/attacks etc are quite common with pregnancy my doctor told me after i started having attacks... I waited 6months from my first attack... And the worst i found was the 4-5days after surgery (i had a lap too) the pain was horrendous i would never wish it on anyone!!!

Gall stones are very common post pregnancy. I had an attack when DD was 6wks. Gall bladder out at 8 weeks post partum (private system). My liver enzymes were crazy high after my attack but settled after I had my gall bladder removed. I had another attack about 4 months later and my liver enzymes were so high I was jaundice. I had an ERCP a few days later to see if a stone was stuck in my bile duct.There was no stone but my bile duct was narrow so they put a stent in (you can keep producing stones after gall bladder removal). I haven't had any further gall baldder issues (although I did have a big internal bleed post ERCP) and my liver enzymes are pretty good now. They are still slightly elevated at every blood test but they think that is normal for me.

In regards to waiting lists, it depends on the hospital and your symptoms. A friend of mine has been on a waiting list for 2 years because she is asymptomatic (no symptoms). A friend of mine was on the list at another hospital and was called up after 6 months but had to postpone because she was pregnant. Hopefully you won't have to wait more than 6 months.

HTH

MG

I had my gall bladder removed when I was about 22. Pre babies.

I was having attacks for 3 years & the doctors kept telling me it was heart burn, I couldn't understand why the heart burn tablets weren't helping at all. I cant have anything stronger than panadol as I'm allergic to codiene so it was a very painful time for me. I was often at the medical centre in exruciating pain in the middle of the night just begging for some relief!

I was diagnosed after moving from the city to a town on the central coast where the local doctor said it sounded to him like gall stones & sent me for an u/s. As it turns out my gall bladder was full to the rim of stones!

I was booked in for keyhole surgery to remove my gall bladder, I went private & I think I waited about a week or 2.

Because I had asked the doctor what gall stones looked like, he kept one for me LOL It really is a stone! The one he kept for me was about the size of a 20c coin, I dont know if thats considered big or small & I dont know if that was a bigger or smaller one from my stones removed.

I haven't had any liver problems but its awesome not having to go through those attacks after suffering for so long. You'll be a brand new person!

Wishing you all the best