Diagnosed with Gallstones at Second Trimester!

For the past few months since I knew I was pregnant I felt terrible attacks of pain just below my right rib. The pain felt like somebody is constantly stabbing me on my right abdomen just below my rib. The pain is so horrible that sometimes I felt like ripping my abdomen apart just to make sure there really isn't any knife lying there inside me. At first the pain was not really very pronounced. In the first few months, It felt like my whole belly is painful with no particular location where the pain actually is. I thought it was just gas pain so I eliminated all the gassy foods that I can think of. I told my OB about it and she assured me that abdominal pain is not really unusual during pregnancy but she said if it gets really worse I will let her know. A week after that, I emailed my OB and told her about my pain this time becoming worse than ever. I was miserable!  :( I have talked to different women who got pregnant before and they told me they never felt anything like the kind of pain that I am having. Their usual pain is back pain, general malaise, leg pain from the added weight in pregnancy but never a constant stabbing pain below the right rib.  :(

At this point, I was determined that this is not normal anymore and insisted to my OB to get tested. I told her this time the pain is more obvious on the right side and the attacks happen usually after I eat and the pain would last the whole time after I eat. I noticed having more pain when I eat meat but basically almost every type of food I eat regardless if it's meat or not, I still have this pain. I rate my pain as 9/10 sometimes 10/10. Lying down helps relieve the pain but not much really. I end up crying over the pain most of the time and my husband becoming so concerned. It doesn't help that my job entails me to be up on my feet most of the time which just aggravates the pain even more. The pain sometimes would make it so hard to walk that I go limping at work especially when my unit gets so busy.

My OB ordered stat Ultrasound on my abdomen and on the same day that I got the test they gave me the results that I do have multiple gallstones. :( I am relieved that I finally knew what was wrong with me but at the same time sad that I have to go through this until i reach my term. :( They don't recommend any surgeries at this point so as not to put me on preterm labor. :( The only thing i can do is to modify my diet.

Gallstones are common during pregnancy. The hormones in pregnancy can cause the bile to sludge thereby causing it to form stones.

Gallstones actually ranked 6th of the Most Painful Medical Conditions in the Planet and Childbirth being the 7th according to an article in Discovery News. Wow! I can't believe that I have to go through this pain the whole pregnancy and expect another kind of pain when i give birth!

Everytime I have people come up to me asking me about my pregnancy and telling me to enjoy it, I really cannot comprehend the word enjoying pregnancy at this point. :( How can I enjoy it when all I feel is debilitating pain in my belly. :( The baby inside me is fine though with that I am very relieved and she would not be affected with this condition. It is just going to be me enduring the pain until I deliver. huhuhuhu God bless me! 

Apple juice cleansing helps relieved the pain but drinking a liter per day is not really very healthy. I gained so much by doing that but at least the pain went away. The sugar actually is too much that it makes you gain more weight than usual. I was scared to do the purge at the end of the cleansing by using epsom salts because some people said it may block the bile duct completely which I may end up having an emergency surgery. :( Then I discovered Apple cider vinegar. I just have to get used to the taste but that vinegar really helps a whole lot! The pain is much more bearable now and because I have less pain already, I enrolled myself to Prenatal Yoga classes. :) 

My Baby Blueberry is a Cute Little Strawberry!

November 26, 2013 - Houston,Tx

Me and my husband went for a regular routine check up at the clinic which requires me to do a chest xray. I was the first one on the line for the xray and a nurse has taken my vital signs already when she started asking me about my last menstrual period. lol. Honestly, I haven't even thought about it at all being so busy with our recent move here in Houston at that time just after a very long vacation for my wedding and honeymoon plus the stress about going thru the whole unpacking and rearranging stuff in our new apartment is really taking a toll on our seemingly smooth life. Then again, the nurse asked me the same question and I thought about it and realized that it's been a month already since I had my period! Pregnant women cannot be xrayed unless totally necessary that is why they want to make sure I am not. So the nurse escorted me to the lab instead of the xray room. She gave me a cup to pee and told me to wait a few minutes. She told me to wait outside the door for her. A few minutes later she came back and told me to go back to the clinic and wait for the doctor to talk to me. At that time I knew it was already a positive pregnancy test. If it was negative I'm pretty sure we will go straight to do my xray but that didn't happen. I walked back to the clinic thinking how stupid can I be not to even notice that I am late already. hahaha. My husband on the other hand was clueless sitting there at the waiting room.

The doctor called me inside her clinic and sure enough she congratulated me for being pregnant and will soon be a mom! Wait....What?! I was not actually ready to embrace the whole idea that there is actually a living person growing inside my belly already. I don't know how to react. It's not that I am not prepared. We actually planned it already but I didn't expect we will have this blessing so soon. :p

I left the clinic feeling like I just took 3 shots of Tequila. lol. My head was spinning and I could not put my feelings together.  For the first time in my life I felt so unsure, scared and I don't know what else to think about. I walked down the hall and found myself inside the restroom facing the mirror with my face looking so flushed. The girl looking exactly like my split image stared back at me and wondered if the news that I just received was real or was I just dreaming? lol. I splashed water into my face and cleaned up before I left the restroom.

I walked down the hall towards the waiting room where my husband was with short steady strides and my heart pumping like crazy. Aaron greeted me with a smile and asked if I am all done. I told him yes and left. When we were in the car I told him I have something very important to tell him. He looked so serious all of a sudden and I told him that he is going to be a father soon. I saw a hint of smile in his eyes but faded away fast when he thought that I was just kidding. I told him it's for real and our life will soon change forever with this coming baby. This time I saw him smile so broadley as if he owned the world. That smile took all of my fears away and this time I became totally excited just like him. :) We went to Jollibee for lunch to celebrate this new milestone in our life!

      Ultrasound at 7 weeks and 2 days

3 weeks after the news, we scheduled an appointment with my OB. An ultrasound was done and sure enough we saw our little blueberry on the screen with its heart beating so fast. It's heartbeat sounded like the most beautiful music we've ever heard. I felt a rush of emotions just seeing that tiny dot on the screen. My husband was smiling all throughout the test even if what we saw onscreen only looked like a tiny blueberry on a black and white screen. 

Fast forward 7 weeks after our first appointment we had our nuchal translucency test done (a test done to check for signs of Down's Syndrome)  then at 20 wks an Anatomical ultrasound where we can see the gender of the baby. My husband said that he is pretty sure that we will be having a baby girl even if he really loves to have a first born son. I on the other hand would want to have a girl but I really have no idea what it would be. The gender wait is finally over and we found out just less than 15 seconds of my anatomical scan, the tech asked us if we are ready to know the gender. Sure enough, our baby is going to be a Girl! :)

Our little Blueberry is actually a Cute little Strawberry! I was elated! hahaha

          Ultrasound at 12weeks 2days

My grumpy little baby is camera shy at 24 weeks and the tech unable to get a good facial profile because she just refused to have one done. This pic with her back towards us refusing to face front! lol

Blurry profile with our baby being so uncooperative during my repeat U/S for Anatomical screen.

Still a Girl! lol recheck of her gender at 24 wks! my husband was cracking up. I told him better luck next time!

Skeleton looking profile. Still unable to get a good shot of her facial profile because she keeps on covering her face with her hand. I guess this baby really hates the camera so badly. hahaha

It was a whole new experience for me being pregnant. For the first time in my life I felt overly protective to a person whom I haven't even met yet. This past few months I have learned to love and cherish the growing life inside me and will be looking forward to hold her very soon.

My next ultrasound will be for my BPP (Biophysical Profile) at 32 wks! I hope this time she will be more cooperative and will let us see a glimpse of her face. Oh I just can't wait! :)