ER Visit, Gallstones?

[Impish]

Ended up in the ER this am.

 

You know you're in bad shape when the dh announces you're going.

 

Long story short, intense pain in lower left back, wrapping around to the front. Ended up throwing up in the waiting room from pain. Apparently, that gets you brought back ASAP, in case you ever need a tip on getting seen.

 

Baby is fine.

 

Dr suspects kidney stone, but u/s didn't show one. It did, however, show gallstones.

 

B/c of the location of the pain, he's going w/the kidney stone idea. I turned down getting knocked out and having them do a bit of exploring. It wouldn't really change the treatment plan, which is wait and see. If I pop a fever, or pain gets worse, or doesn't go away by tomorrow, I have to go back.

 

Despite pain being in the wrong place, he also said it might be the gallstones.

 

I know nothing about gallstones/gall bladder attack, so if anyone has experience, I'd appreciate hearing from you. My primary concern is w/my pregnancy, and avoiding any invasive procedures that could present a danger to the baby. He admitted that it's best to be in the 2nd trimester if procedures can't be avoided, and completely agreed w/me about not undergoing the exploratory procedure to confirm/deny a kidney stone.

 

So, any help w/the gallstone issue would be appreciated, since that is a confirmed issue.

[JFSinIL]

All I remember from my teen needing her gall bladder out was that until we were ready to have it done at the end of the school term, she had to avoid fatty foods and eat as lean a diet as possible.

[Susan C.]

I had a doc say well over a decade ago that I might have gallbladdar issues. I asked what my options were... he said to find out what I couldn't eat, and to not eat it. If I eat something fried, then a donut afterward, it is not good. So I don't do it. Also, too many carbs seem to cause problems (severe indigestion). So I limit carbs. Making spaghetti, I make a thicker meat sauce, and less pasta. Meats and salads and wholesome (not junk) food have kept me just fine.

 

Hope you are feeling better soon.

[dancer67]

Well, I have had two kidney stones. And what you are describing does not sound like Kidney stones. Mine started out in my bladder area, and I could not stop peeing, and I was peeing blood. Plus I was in so much pain I needed morphine.

CT scans do not always show kidney stones or ultrasounds. They can be very small, yet cause A LOT of pain.

My guess is that you have gallstones only. Which they have already confirmed.

Either way I hope you feel better because either one stinks. :grouphug:

[Impish]

I was on morphine at the hospital. Sent home w/percocet. There was blood in the urine, which is why he's thinking kidney stone.

[Unicorn.]

Starting in the back and wrapping around sounds like kidney stones. You should know that they are related issues, and if you have one, you can very well have, or end up having, the other. Drink lots of water, and avoid fatty foods as others have suggested. Try and eat mild foods; think: recovering from stomach flu mild. Chicken, mashed potatoes, etc. Nothing to spicy or acidic. :grouphug: Gallstones and kidney stones suck!

[Catwoman]

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

 

Wow, Imp -- that must have been scary!!! I hope you're not in too much pain and that you're able to pass the stone quickly. I wish I had some advice for you, but I truly don't have a clue.

 

My dh has gallbladder issues, and I know that the things that can trigger an attack are the same things that Susan already mentioned.

[gardenmom5]

oh my, yes I'd rather do labor. with pitocin. hugs. no fun at all. at least mine waited until after I delivered.

 

now they do laporasopic surgery when they need to take it out.

 

avoid fatty food, consider doing some liver cleanse (some theories have them related.) as it might help. thorne is a good brand. (the one my naturopath likes. amazon carries it.) should be safe, but clear it with your dr.

 

 

I'll second the head in a bucket when you drive up for getting fast service. they cleared a room as soon as they saw me coming. I was back within minutes. inner ear infection. don't recommend it though. Of course, dh had to get help to get me out of the car because I couldn't move without throwing up.

[Impish]

Thanks everyone.

 

Honestly, it's the being put under that concerns me. I don't do well w/that...generally, I stop breathing, and I'm worried about the affect anestetic would have on the baby.

 

Thanks for the dietary info.

 

Pain meds have worn off, waiting for the next dose to kick in. Confirms that whatever is going on hasn't resolved itself yet.

[GraciebytheBay]

My gallstone symptoms were chest pain and right-sided pain under my breast. I was fairly convinced I was having a heart attack. I was in terrible pain, cold sweaty, and rapid breathing. I paced around the room trying to wait it out. I finally went to the E.R. and they discovered the stones. I had surgery four months later after trying to eliminate foods and being unsuccessful. I only had one "attack" a month or so, but by the end, I had vague feelings of yuck most of the time. I hope you find out what it is for sure that made you feel so awful!

[amy g.]

I hope you feel better soon!

[Jean in Newcastle]

Just say this, Imp. I hope you can pass them soon.

[dancer67]

But the Dr. confirmed you had gallstones? Guess that could just be an accidental finding. Your kidney stone experience is not similar to mine at all. While in the ER I just could not stop peeing, and I could not stop vomiting. They gave me anti-nausea meds and morphine. I must have passed the stone in the ER on one of my many trips to the bathroom. And then I vomited and all of a sudden I felt better. They did a CT Scan, and no kidney stone showed, but there was evidence that one of my ureters was enlarged. Indicating one either was still there, or it passed.

The first one I had was not as bad. I had to pee all the time, but I was not violently ill, and I must have passed it at home.

Drink a TON of water. And I mean like a few gallons.

If you can catch the stone(I never could) they can tell you what kind you had..

Drinking lemonade is the best thing to prevent them from recurring.

I wouldn't wish this pain on anyone. :grouphug:

[Lacie]

My kidney stones started out with right side back pain that wrapped around to the front, severe pain, throwing up, and some dizziness. I had 2-3 days of pain while the stone passed into the bladder. And then it took another 2 weeks for one stone to evacuate, the second time it took 1 weeks. I had some blood in my urine and I went to the bathroom often, just not much at a time.

 

It sounds like kidney stones to me, I have no experience with gallstones. I hope you get it figured out soon and feel better.

[Impish]

Feeling better this am, thank goodness. Still achy, but nowhere near yesterday.

 

The radioligist confirmed the gallstones. They did a whole abdominal u/s, not just kidneys...first thing they checked was that the baby was ok.

 

I'm just glad that at this point, a return trip isn't called for. ER dr told me that if I was still taking the pain meds today to come back in. More than happy NOT to have do that!

[Stayseeliz]

I had gallbladder pain for two years before they figured out what it was. That stuff is no fun! Acidic and greasy foods were my biggest triggers. I did better with bland foods!

[Impish]

interesting.

 

What really baffled me is that I had OJ the day before, and was still tossing it up last night. Who knew OJ stayed in your stomach so long?! I'm wondering if it was the oj combined w/shrimp sauteed in garlic butter.

 

Weird presentation if it was a gallstone issue though. Not impossible, according to the ER dr, but unusual at least. Which is why he figured it was a kidney stone.

 

Either way, I'm so glad that the pain is nothing compared to yesterday!

[Word Nerd]

My gall bladder pain was on the right side. It felt like someone was stabbing me through my ribs and out my shoulder blade. The pain was relentless and also made me throw up on several occasions. I had two attacks while I was pregnant with my older DD, and when it kept happening and became as frequent as every other day a couple months after she was born, I had surgery. Incidentally, being afraid to eat lest you trigger a GB attack is a quick way to lose a lot of baby weight.

[Reesegirl]

I also had gal bladder attacks that caused vomiting and severe pain...funny thing, my husband also insisted that I go to the ER too over Thanksgiving weekend about 5 years ago. 5 days later I had my gal bladder removed. I know that my attacks were brought on by eating the wrong foods, and know that they say to avoid fatty foods, but what really triggered my attacks were foods with gas in them, oninons, peppers, garlic, and acid, such as tomoato products. So, it doesn't surprise me to hear that orange juice upset you all day.

[Susan C.]

Imp, I've heard that many people have gallbladder stones and don't know or feel it. So if you get better, it might be the kidney stone that was bothering you and you can do a wait and see about the gallbladder.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Imp, I've heard that many people have gallbladder stones and don't know or feel it. So if you get better, it might be the kidney stone that was bothering you and you can do a wait and see about the gallbladder.

 

This was me. I found out that my GB was impacted with tiny stones when I had my first kidney stone attack and went in for a CT scan. I just had it removed last Friday, finally. Glad not to have to worry about that ticking time bomb anymore! (Tiny stones are more dangerous because they can travel, while big stones cause lots of pain but can't really go anywhere.) I was told, and I read online as well, that many people don't even know they have gall stones until they have a scan for some other reason. Even after seeing the gall bladder in the scans, I ate pretty normally for the next year and didn't have any problems.

 

All that is to say that what happened to you sounds like what my kidney stone attacks are like. I only had lots of vomiting with the one, and that was the big one (the one that got stuck and caused all the drama). The smaller ones aren't fun either, but they mainly cause a slow, pulsing pain wrapping from front to back, with some minor (for me) nausea.

 

With all my doctor and ER visits over the last few months, I was told repeatedly that the only real way to confirm a kidney stone is via CT scan. You CAN see it on ultrasound or x-ray, but you might not. I think ultrasound is the least effective scan method, so that's probably why they didn't see any stone for you. I can't imagine they wanted to give a pregnant woman a CT scan, or even an x-ray for that matter!

 

Did they give you a little strainer to urinate through to see if you can catch the stone? If you can catch it, they can analyze its components and tell you more about why you're forming them. I agree with the others who said tons of water (2-3 liters a day is what I was told to aim for) and citric acids in your diet, mainly lemon, as fresh as possible, as much as possible. Long-term, depending on your stone type, you'll likely be told to reduce salt intake and animal protein intake, but you should be able to keep dairy as a regular part of your diet. And of course, keep drinking lots and lots of water. If you're prone to making them, you'll keep making them unless you change your diet. Blargh :(

 

Glad you're finally feeling better. I hope your ordeal is over for now.