The Pains of Pregnancy and Emergency Triage
I spent last night at my L&D triage for upper right quadrant pain and contractions. on Wednesday I had this “episode” where i started getting contractions and then out of no where I had one that lasted about 30 minutes and was accompanied by a knifing stabbing pain on my upper right. the only way to help the pain was to drop on all fours. After it subsided I felt the baby moving so I decided to wait and see if it would happen again. The rest of the night was utterly uneventful except for a lingering tenderness on the upper right.
Thursday I had 2 of the same types of “episodes” after the first one I called my docs office and it took them over 2 hours to get back to me. At one point the pain was so bad that had I had someone to pick up Tess from Preschool I would have immediately gone to the ER. The pain once again subsided, the docs office called me back and said if it happened again I need to be seen at the L&D triage immediately.
My parents came by for an unexpected visit (hooray! they live four hours away so this was a nice treat). I was able to rest a bit while they played with the kids. Not long after they left it started again and DH came home to find me on all fours sobbing because of the pain. We would have left right then and there for triage but it was rush hour. During rush hour it can take up to 2 hours to get to my hospital and there was no way I could ride sitting down for that long in the pain I was in. We waited it out and after rush hour I went in to get checked
I did not have an episode while there but I described the pain. 1st they told me that the location was “not baby pain” Well, thank you that is great but something is wrong and it is affecting my baby because I’m contracting and i’m only 22 weeks! they found I was having irregular contractions and gave me a smooth muscle relaxer to calm it down. they took blood and urine but looked no further- I did not even see my doctor. the hospital was so overwhelmed it took 2 hours before I even was able to speak to a nurse. They even sent me home before all my labs were back!! Now I feel like i have to just sit here and hope it doesnt happen again until Monday when i go see my high risk specialist.
Did anyone have this during pregnancy? maybe you had something similar while not pregnant? What should I try to do to dissipate the pain if it returns? I want to know what i might be dealing with so I can be proactive at my appointment on Monday and get the care that i may need
February 29th, 2008 at 11:40 am
Oh how scary! I am glad you are ok for now but I can’t believe they sent you home without finding out what was wrong! Hopefully you can find some answers on Monday.
February 29th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Whoa! Gallbladder? Damn, I hope you get through this one quickly with no further complications.
February 29th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Praying for you fidget!
February 29th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I had pain like that when I had gallstones. It was incredibly worse after I ate, especially if I consumed anything with butter or fat in it. I had the same intense pain like you described, it actually laid me right out on the floor and I couldn’t get up. Did they check your gallbladder? If not, I would recommend having them check it. Hope you feel better! ~Jen~
February 29th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Sounds like gallbladder. They can do a sono to check for stones. If it is, the rest of your pregnancy will have to be a low fat one. It happened to me and I had to have the gallbladder removed right after I had the baby. This is going to sound weird, but my FIL told me when I had the pain to drink some apple cider vinegar. It was so gross but it helped with the pain. It helps your body flush the fat. I hope you feel better.
February 29th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
I’m with the rest of the girls. I had gallbladder issues after my 1st DD and they hurt like a mother-sucker! The pain was located kinda between my breats but more in the back. I had the dumbest things set it off, porridge and liquorice were the worst.
I had mine removed when my DD was 4mths old as the stones kept obstructing. It apparently is common in pregnancy which I never knew until about 5 friends had the same problem.
I would keep an eye on your fatty food intakes and see if that helps.
((Hugs))
March 1st, 2008 at 8:20 am
I hope you’re feeling better today, Fidget:)
March 1st, 2008 at 8:44 am
Fidget,
When I was pregnant with Timothy, the ER wanted to send me home but I just knew something was wrong, so I insisted they let me stay.
It’s a good thing I did - I had severe preeclampsia and if I would have been sent home, they said I likely would have died.
I know this probably isn’t what you have, but TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. Don’t feel bad about INSISTING if you have to. YOU KNOW YOUR OWN BODY.
We are praying for you.
Brandi
March 1st, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I agree with those above, it sounds just like gall stone attack. I have them and they told me they could cause a lot of trouble if I get pregnant. Avoid fatty foods !(I know its hard) I am a bad surgical candidate and they have decided to see if they can manage me without taking out my gall bladder. Get an ultrasound to confirm or rule out. I went from having 3-4 attacks a week to only one in the last 3 years by watching what I eat.
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:47 am
The first thing that popped into my head reading this post was gallbladder attack. I’m so sorry that you had such a craptastic triage visit too…they absolutely blow my mind when I hear stories like this.
Let me know if you need anything.
March 3rd, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Another vote to Gallstones.
good luck!
Had attacks when prego. My daughter is 10 mo and I had it removed on Feb 14. I am feeling fine now.
March 4th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
I just had my gallbladder removed in December after suffering just 3 attacks. I’ve never had children, so I don’t know what labor pain is… but WOW, gallstones attacks are not for the wimpy. I’m glad you found a way that would relieve the pain… nothing would help when I had one. You and your baby will be in my thoughts and prayers!