Pain, pain, go away

This was a rough week for me. Baby T is still doing great, which is the most important thing, but I have felt terrible. I've always had a fairly sensitive stomach and I get heartburn and reflux easily. So it's no surprise that pregnancy made this worse, I was expecting that. What I wasn't expecting was excruciating gallbladder pain. The Friday before the Superbowl I ate a buffalo chicken pizza for lunch, and pizza for dinner. I had a little nagging pain around my gallbladder but nothing horrible. Saturday I was okay, and Sunday I was okay until around 11 p.m. I ate lots of spicy dip at our neighbor's house during the Superbowl and had trouble sleeping because of the pain and acid in my throat. Monday morning was a little rough, but again, not too horrible. For lunch Monday I had lasagna. About 30 minutes after I ate I thought I was going to fall over. My gallbladder hurt so, so, so bad I could barely stand. I called my primary care doctor and my acupuncturist and made appointments. I don't know how I made it through the afternoon. That evening at acupuncture he put a few needles in my ear and encouraged me to go on a bland diet and not eat anything heavy. He also said that gallbladder issues are common in pregnancy. The baby takes all the good stuff and leaves the mom with the cholesterol and bad stuff. The extra estrogen from pregnancy isn't good for the gallbladder either.

Tuesday I saw my primary care doctor, Dr. S. I had only eaten bread and noodles since the night before and it seemed to help a bit, but I was still in so much pain. I can't even describe it. I felt like my rib was poking my insides or something. All I wanted to do was lay down and not move. It makes it hard to teach 20 second graders that way! Dr. S. felt around my ribs and nothing was painful to the touch, so she thought it was reflux also. She ordered an ultrasound just in case, and prescribed C.arafate to help my stomach "heal." My ultrasound was clear and showed no stones.

The next few days I continued to have horrible pain. I was following the bland diet and eating foods that are supposed to help the gallbladder, but I still hurt so much. It was hard to plan my meals, because I have just been eating whatever tasted good at the time since I became pregnant. I threw a short pity party- then I had to stop and kick myself. Come on! This is what I've wanted for so long, and I'm going to sit and cry because of pain and some diet restrictions? I'm going to feel sorry for myself because I can't eat the ice cream and cake that's in the fridge??? Get.over.it. A million women would trade places with me in a second. I got my doppler out and listened to baby T. This helped me gain perspective. So what if I can only eat bread and noodles for the next 24 for weeks? So freaking what?

Yesterday and today brought some relief. I still feel a dull ache, but it's not terrible. My mom did a lot of research for me and helped me plan some snacks and meals. She came over today and we went to the grocery. I've discovered that eating tiny portions and staying away from processed foods makes a big difference. This is healthier for baby T anyway. I hope as I continue the diet I will feel more and more relief. I recorded the baby's heartbeat on my phone so if I have pain or get frustrated I can quickly remind myself what all this is for. Whatever it takes, baby. I love you so much already!

Here is my 15 week bump pic. He or she is growing in there!