Gall Bladder Removal and Weight Loss

ilovebacon33

After an almost 2 year battle with gall bladder problems, I had it removed in April 2014. Since having my gall bladder out, it seems I gained weight, and I am having a hard time losing it.

Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, what advice can you share?

cityruss

You're gaining weight because you are eating more calories than your body is using.

It has nothing to do with the removal of your gallbladder.

Lose weight by eating less calories than your body is using.

WBB55

No, I actually found it super easy to lose after my gall bladder was out, since I found I couldn't eat fatty food anymore without having... issues.

AlphaHowls

I was very ill at first, so I lost weight after surgery and my doctor wanted me to walk a good bit stating that was the best medicine. I also never knew it was my gall bladder until I ended up in the ER. The doctor stated that I could also eat what I was eating before surgery...THIS IS NOT TRUE. You are definitely processing at slower pace without the gallbladder to help you and only you can figure out how that feels now. (By the way, it has been three years now). I also quit smoking at the same time. Second story, I had a bad accident midway through and gained my weight back. I am now working on getting the weight off. Add me if you like. Walking is the best exercise to ease and help though.

choppie70

I had my gal bladder out over two years ago. Actually, that is why I started to lose weight. When they did the scan of my gal bladder they noticed I also had hydronephrosis (swollen kidney) and the Nephrologist said it was because of extra weight. I lost over 25 lbs in the 4 months after having my gal bladder removed. Unfortunately I gained most of it back when my dad, grandfather, and uncle passed away in a 3 month span AND I had to have several surgeries to remove a 22mm kidney stone stuck in my ureter.

Now that I am back on track, I have been able to lose close to 12 lbs in about 6 weeks.

The only thing I have not been able to tolerate since my gal bladder was removed is McDonald's cheeseburgers.

bbontheb

I had mine out Dec 2013 and then was very sick from foods, but also gained 25 lbs. I now have to be on a low FODMAP diet due to the stomach issues that have gotten pretty bad since then.

labohn91

Some people can't eat fat after having it removed, they need to run to save their pants. I had not problem after mine was removed.

orchidbutterflies

I had my gallbladder out about 5 years ago. It took a whole year of me having attacks before they decided it was my gallbladder and needed to come out. I still ate everything the same after surgery (fast foods, fatty/sugary foods) and the only difference was no attacks. Obviously I gained weight because my diet was terrible. If I remember right, from my surgery weight to my highest weight after that I gained about 40-50lbs.

Since February of this year I have lost almost 80lbs.

psuLemon

A lot of people cannot eat a lot of high fat items after their surgery or they have bathroom problems. If that was your case, you could have made up for those calories (and then some) through carbs since fat will satiete you more than most carbs. But having your gallbladder removed, in and by itself, won't cause you to gain weight.

CoreyTrumanOsborne

I am a pre-nursing student and I had my gallbladder out in March. I gained about 20 pounds post-op. Not directly because of the surgery but my hunger increased as well as my cravings. Because of the gallbladder malfunction, I started craving fats because my body wasn't absorbing them before. Also, when you first have your surgery, since you no longer have a gallbladder, the bile that your liver secretes that was stored in your gallbladder is now literally DUMPED into your small intestines. That, in turn, can make you hungrier, eat more and gain weight.

Other medical conditions that could cause weight gain: Stress(body produces cortisol which promotes fat storage), Cushing's syndrome, Hypothyroidism(slows metabolism), Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), Syndrome X and Hormonal changes in women. I

ilovebacon33

cityruss, have you had your gall bladder removed?

besaro

i lost the majority of my weight before having to have my gallbladder removed , however haven't had any problems keeping the weight off. it really shouldn't be a factor. in fact, 99% of the perceived excuses posted on the forums are merely that. Adjust or dont. just stop trying to find an excuse.

ilovebacon33

After surgery, I never experienced the "bathroom issues" that people experience after gall bladder removal. Thank goodness!

I eat about 1100 calories a day. I do not eat foods high in sugar or carbs. I walk or I swim almost everyday.

1966spen

I sort of went a bit mad after my gallbladder was removed cos I could eat without fear of pain so put on weight. 6 months later I joined mfp and I've lost 23 lbs by controlling calories.

psuLemon

ilovebacon33 wrote: »

After surgery, I never experienced the "bathroom issues" that people experience after gall bladder removal. Thank goodness!

I eat about 1100 calories a day. I do not eat foods high in sugar or carbs. I walk or I swim almost everyday.

Do you use a food scale? Can you open your food diary? The majority of time, we find the issue is, people are not accurate or consistent in their logging.


A few of my friends lost weight after a gallbladder being removed due to the inability to eat fats.

ilovebacon33

besaro, I AM NOT LOOKING FOR AN EXCUSE. I SIMPLY ASKED IF HAVING MY GALL BLADDER OUT COULD BE THE PROBLEM.

cityruss

ilovebacon33 wrote: »

cityruss, have you had your gall bladder removed?

Yes.

psuLemon

psulemon wrote: »

ilovebacon33 wrote: »

After surgery, I never experienced the "bathroom issues" that people experience after gall bladder removal. Thank goodness!

I eat about 1100 calories a day. I do not eat foods high in sugar or carbs. I walk or I swim almost everyday.

Do you use a food scale? Can you open your food diary? The majority of time, we find the issue is, people are not accurate or consistent in their logging.


A few of my friends lost weight after a gallbladder being removed due to the inability to eat fats.

Just going to bump this for @ilovebacon33 in case they didn't see it.

WBB55

ilovebacon33 wrote: »

besaro, I AM NOT LOOKING FOR AN EXCUSE. I SIMPLY ASKED IF HAVING MY GALL BLADDER OUT COULD BE THE PROBLEM.

It's not the direct cause, if that's your question. If you're gaining weight it's because you're eating more calories than you're burning. You might be eating more because you're not experience pain anymore. But the removal of the organ does not CAUSE you to gain weight.

besaro

my apologies, it sounded like an excuse. cause even if it is the cause, then you would need to make adjustments accordingly in order to lose weight no?

PrettyCreature

I've had my gallbladder removed last year. I can't diggest everything the same anymore, but still manage to eat about the same food as before. Of course i'm eating healthier ! Though, since my operation, my hunger as grown ten times more, and it's driving me nuts ! I don't know if this will ever go away, but if you had have the same problem, what did you do? Will the extreme hunger go away at one point? All this operation thing drained me kinda...I need advice, since i'm obviously trying to lose weight, trying to eat the right amount of calories, but at the same time, it's like I need more to gain back energy, etc. It's complicated !

ariamythe

On the bright side, losing the gallbladder means losing about 1/5 of a lb.

Tahlia68

I had my gallbladder removed 3 yrs ago and I lost weight. It's never effected my appetite and I was told to be really careful of greasy, fatty foods which I don't eat anyway. The only thing I did notice was very yellow, oily (stools) to put it politely lol Hope you find an answer. Best of Luck!!!

girlfighting50

ilovebacon33 wrote: »

After an almost 2 year battle with gall bladder problems, I had it removed in April 2014. Since having my gall bladder out, it seems I gained weight, and I am having a hard time losing it.

Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, what advice can you share?

Not sure if you ever resolved your question/problem to your satisfaction, but I am looking into the same thing. I had my gallbladder removed last August, so almost a year ago. I did not have any dietary issues prior to surgery - the stones I had were due to a specific type of anemia and the resulting rapid breakdown of red blood cells, not from dietary problems. I knew I was at risk but had no symptoms, until a couple of sudden attacks of pain. My stone-filled, badly scarred gallbladder was removed, followed a few days later by a Sphincter of Oddi procedure as well. Since October, I've gained weight that seems harder than ever to get rid of. HOWEVER, I'm also in menopause as of this year so two issues at the same time.

My eating habits have always been pretty good - i'm not significantly overweight, just battling middle-age spread. I never ate a really high-fat diet or very heavy on red meats. Not perfect, I like wine and dessert but try to keep at least the dessert for birthdays and holidays. No promises on the wine. But I don't think that changed eating habits since surgery are the cause, since I ate what I wanted both before and after, right up until the two attacks of pain.

In the reading I've done recently, I found that SOME people have difficulty processing fats in foods, both the healthy kind and saturated fats after surgery. This can have an effect on how well your body processes certain fat-soluble vitamins like A, D and K. This is due to the fact that after your gallbladder is removed, bile (normally stored in the gallbladder until needed) is sort of steadily trickling into your digestive system instead of being released in a concentrated form in response to fat consumption. Again, some doctors, mostly naturopaths and functional medicine docs, think that your body stores more fat in an attempt to get more of those vitamins into your system (I'm a little uncertain of the details here). They often recommend bile salts as a supplement with meals, because it helps you to digest fats better and absorb more nutrients from your food. Some people, not all, who take them do report weight loss. My doctor has told me that I'm D3 deficient, even though I live in the south AND I take supplements. I decided to try the bile salts, and will start tomorrow. If it makes any difference, I'll let you know.

It may have nothing to do with it, but with exercise and a daily calorie intake of 1250 or under most days not really helping, I'm willing to look at other possible contributors to the issue.

Hope you got some answers!
Paula

mrsmammahunter

When my gall bladder came out I lost weight really fast 15 pounds in 2 weeks then it slowed down

AnnPT77

I had my gallbladder out during the midst of my weight loss, in June of last year. I was lucky enough to avoid digestive problems afterward. I saw no effect on my calorie requirements, weight loss rate, appetite etc., before and after the surgery. (FWIW, in case it matters, I'm also menopausal & hypothyroid. Don't think those made a difference for me, either.)

The only problem I had was fatigue after a couple of weeks: In retrospect, it would've been a lot smarter to go to maintenance calories for a few weeks after surgery, rather than continuing to lose weight aggressively, in order to help my body heal more effectively.

But that's just n=1.

TheFatLadyPortrait

I dont have any answers, but I did have a comment for the condescending " if you are not losing, you're not eating at a deficit" people: no *kitten*, sherlock.
when people ask about causes for being unable to lose weight, they are almost always aware that the reason involves not eating at a calorie deficit. They are trying to find out if something else could be lowering their calorie usage and making it harder to achieve that deficit. It isn't that people think there is some king of fat magnet that holds the weight on or something.

Treece68

I was working out almost every day then BAM Gallbladder pain and surgery no working out during and then after I couldn't get in the swing of things. I did gain but due to not trying any longer. So ... no it does not make you gain weight but yes because you are not working at weight loss any more?

Treece68

Does anyone else get imaginary gallbladder pain? If I eat something fatty like gravy I will get the pain like I had when I had a gallbladder same spot and everything.

rosecropper

@Treece68 yeah I got that pain a lot afterwards. I called it "gall-hole" attacks. Eventually became less of an issue. Took a couple years to be able to eat fatty foods without worrying about pain. Still happens now but very rarely. Doctor said it was likely due to scarring or narrowing of the bile duct after surgery.

mhje1187

I lost 15-20 pounds in the month leading up to having my gallbladder removed because I was so very sick. I've lost another 20 pounds or so since coming home from hospital in April due to post cholecystectomy syndrome. I eat a very low fat diet now and most days don't go over 1200 calories. Before I started taking Cholestyramine I had NO APPETITE and could barely get 600-800 calories in me some days and was so fatigued I could barely function. I would love to have some MFP friends with similar issues to share recipes, etc. Most days I'm so tired I can barely make it for a walk around the block after working all day. And even then I'm still worrying about making it to the bathroom. Proximity of a toilet rules my life & so does being able to control everything I eat so I don't feel awful! I can't wait to recover from this condition and be a better version of me (slimmer too )