Pregnant--may need surgery?

[prairierose]

Hi guys and gals,

SOOOO....well I have really good news I wanted to share with you all:

I just found out that I am pregnant (very excited). I have now been C diff free for over 8 months now.

Here's the potentially bad news: I was due to have my gallbladder removed in June ( I have a big stone causing lots of pain ALL THE TIME). I was nervous before about pregnancy due to my history (C DIFF for a year) and now I'm concerned because if the pain continues I may need surgery during pregnancy.

I'm losing sleep over what to do: Wait out the pain till after delivery or get the surgery and increase chances of contracting C diff again. There's also a risk of NOT having the surgery as gallstones can cause major complications.


Just wanted to give you guys an update. Anyone have any wisdom to share?

Prairierose

[Bobbie]

Prairie Rose,
First, congrats. on the good news.

Second, such a shame you have possible complications. I'd ask your OB, internist, & surgeon discuss your best options & also consult a neonatalist.

If you need a surgery & possibly an antibiotic, ask they use the least broad spectrum one as possible. (See Media Reports about all the recent info. re. this.) My ENT told me that pre-op. antibiotics are given because they are "routine procedure" & often are not necessary -- I don't know if this would be true re. gall bladder surgery, however.

Congrats. again. We'll hope all goes well.

[joy240]

hi
I was in the same position last summer...but my gall bladder came out after the birth of my daughter...you want to ask the % of function of your gallbladder to determine if it is necessary during pregnancy and if so did you get the Group B Strep test result...if that was positive than that one dose of genomycin should cover you? I was stressing to cause my gallbladder dr wanted to use anicef, which I heard in the UK was contributing to that other more aggressive strain of cdiff...Any hoot your % of gallbladder function should be over 30% if it is then it can wait until after the baby
Let me know if you need anyother info...breastfeeding,etc,etc

[supersmurf]

Hi Prarierose

Congratulations!!! What excitement.

I don't really know much about gall bladders though, but I just wanted to wish you all the best with this pregnancy. Definatley check with your docs about your options. How have you been feeling otherwise?

Cheers,
Sharon

[Christina]

Congratulations! What wonderful news. I also don't know very much about gallbladders but wanted to wish you the best of luck w/ everything.

Wishing you much happiness.

Christina

[prairierose]

To All,

Thanks for the well wishes, guys.

My obsetrician thinks its wise to wait till after baby for surgery. I don't know my gallbladder function percent. Haven't had the test and I am not sure if it's something they can do while pregnant. I will ask at my next appointment. Thanks for the info Joy240.

I'm nervous, more so since my battle with C diff. I know I may need an antibiotic during pregnancy and possibly during labour so that freaks me out a lot. But, I am trying not to stress too much for the sake of baby.
I'm feeling good, other than the gallbladder pain, but hey I lived through a year of C diff so I think I'm actually tougher now when it comes to pain. At least I'd like to think I am. Still have the post infectious IBS, but I think the pregnancy may be helping in that area. Never thought I would look forward to pregnancy constipation!

Thanks for all your responses.

I'm checking in all the time so I'll keep you guys posted on how this all goes.

prairierose

[jennie]

Hi Prairierose,

Congratulations, wonderful news.

I had my gallbladder out a few years ago. I can only imagine how tough it must be for you to know what the best course will be. I hope that your physicians are guiding you through it, and have answers for you.

I too was told to have the surgery, but could not at that time. I had many small stones, which I seem to recall I was told are more of a problem than the bigger stones, because the little guys can get stuck in the bile duct.

As it turned out, one of the stones got stuck, I had a night of agony, and was told to show up at the ER and be admitted. That was early on a Saturday morning. I had an interview for an awesome job coming up on the Monday, asked if I could wait to have the surgery. They said, well not really, but, okay, as long as I did not have another attack. (It seemed that the stone had got itself through the duct, the pain thankfully did not return.) Went to the interview, got the job, they said, when could I start, I said the next Monday. Rushed about, the pre-op work-ups etc, had the procedure on the Thursday morning, was home by Friday morning. Started the job as agreed. Was so excited about it all, it did not seem to matter that I could not really stand up straight, or not for too long a stretch. At that time, as a foreign student in New York newly out of grad school, having been offered a great job, I guess there was a lot of motivation to have it done, and get through it as fast as possible. Not that there was any choice in the matter, it had to be done.

It is major surgery, but if it is done laparascopically, it is relatively easy to get through and recover from. Are they able to do this "key hole" procedure for you?

But, I was given a shot of IV antibiotics, I think it is routine for this procedure. They give it to you when you are under anesthesia.

Problems with the gallbladder can also lead to d. It can give you d. before, and it can give you d. for a while afterwards. Not much one can do about that, it seems to be par the course.

It is somewhat impolitely (and incorrectly) said that women who are "fair, fat and fertile" are more likely to have gallbladder disease. No-one seems to know why it happens, it may be because of taking the Pill. But, I want to tell you that having the op was a huge boost to my health, I felt great very soon afterwards. I had not known, or realized what was dragging me down, why I had indigestion, pain, would feel out of sorts. All of that went away, I bounced back within days.

I do not know what it means having to consider the op when you are expecting, and what the risks are. But knowing what a struggle you had with c.diff, how could one not worry? Would they give you Vanco to take alongside the antibiotic, if in fact it is routinely given?

One thing I remember very clearly (although I think this has to do with how much functionality of the gall bladder there is): avoid high-fat food. If you avoid those foods, an attack can be averted, or you have some chance at preventing it. They also told me to not go long stretches without eating a small low-fat or fat-free meal, because the gall bladder contracts.

Best wishes to you.

[jennie]

Prairierose, hi, our posts must've missed by a few minutes. Just seen yours. Am very glad for you that they say you can wait. To add, that if and when you need to get it done, it is not a major deal to get through. Few days rest, a bit of shuffling, slow walking about, and one feels fine.

[hilldk]

Prairierose,
Congratulations on the pregnancy! Something you may want to discuss with your doctor if you start having D after the gall bladder surgery is Questran. I'm on it now for, hopefully, the end of my c-diff--no problems yet since I got off of vanco and then xifaxan and started the Questran. I've read several articles though that said people who have their gall bladders removed take Questran to alleviate the D. My mom had her gall bladder removed two years ago, and she said she would have uncontrolled urges (similar to what I described to her with c-diff) and have to run to the bathroom for fear of having an accident for months after the surgery. She doesn't have the problems now, but had she known about the Questran, she would have tried it. It's just something to consider with your doctor--sometimes you have to ask them about things rather than them just telling you!
Good luck!
Kristi

[prairierose]

Jennie and Kristie,

Thanks for your responses.

Jennie, thanks for the info on the aftermath of gallbladder surgery. The surgeon I spoke with before I found out about my pregnancy said he would not give any antibiotics due to my history with C diff and it would be done laproscopically. So that's a good thing. Now I just have to make it through the pregnancy without antibiotics.

Kristi,
I took Questran during one of my C diff relapses. It didn't do much for me, but it's nice to know it can help post gallbladder surgery. I hope you are at the end of your C diff battle.

All the Best,
Prairierose

[joy240]

Just so we know Questeran is a drug that is used to lower cholesterol...before lipitor. It is used with Cdiff as a binding agent it will actually bind the A and B toxins that are produced with CDiff..Doctors use it in cases of CDiff rather than immodium because immodium can cause toxic megacolon. Even though it appears to the Cdiff patient as though it is not doing anything it actually helping to keep the toxins under control with the help of Flagyl or vanco. Be sure to also ask question if you have ever had any problems with cholesterol.
So they tell me I know toooooo much for my own good
jo ; )