Gall Bladder Removal and Weightloss

ajsutter0396

I lost 25lbs before having mine out because it felt like I was being stabbed whenever I ate. Not s recommended diet! I was out of work for a week. I work 12 hour shifts, on my feet, moving patients. I did have increased swelling/bloating on work days for about a month. Still had some pain but it resolved over a year. The worst part for me was the gas they use to inflate your abdomen. When you sit up, the gas travels up and lodges under your clavicles. Painful to breathe! Laying back down resolves it. Took a couple of days for that to go away.

StacyChrz

I had my gallbladder out in 2011. At the time I wasn't very active and didn't care for my job so I took the full 2 weeks off. I did, however, switch from prescribed pain reliever to OTC pain reliever after just 1 full day and was able to get up and walk around the house with minimal pain by the second day. I think that everyone reacts to surgery differently, but in general a gallbladder removal without complications can be relatively easy to come back from. I have not found that I have any foods that I cannot eat but my mother can't have anything with seeds, like flax. You'll have to try things out and see how you feel but for me it did not make a major change. I can also say that anytime I am serious about eating healthy and exercising I have no difficulty losing weight so it didn't hamper that either.

AnnPT77

ronjsteele1 wrote: »

Or you can use a product called Stonebreaker by Herbpharm and avoid surgery all together. I have more then a dozen friends who were having gallbladder issues and put a stop to it by going through two rounds (two 30mL bottles) of the Stonebreaker. Several were actually scheduled for surgery and cancelled it after using this. GB problems are exceedingly painful (BTDT. Had a gallstone cause pancreatitis while I was 13 weeks pregnant), but one does not need to have their GB taken out to fix the problem. Digesting fats and having runny stools are a lifelong issue for a lot of people who have their GB out. It's there for a reason......

If you do use the stone breaker - it is NASTY tasting stuff, my friends have found it most tolerable in purple grape juice.

I don't need everyone elses crap for suggesting this. You all gave her your medical information, I'm offering a non slash and cut route. She's old enough to research and choose, so please kindly skip the nasty comments. Whatever you do, OP, I do wish you well and a speedy recovery!

Without offering an opinion on the product:

Note that not all gall bladder surgery is for gallstones or "sludge". OP didn't specify.

For example, mine was done because of symptomatic adenomymatosis, a thickening of the GB wall that is associated with increased risk for malignancy. Because of my history of cancer, they wanted to remove it & send it to pathology just in case. There was fairly extensive inflammatory damage & cholesterolosis - all related to my (then) poor health practices as far as weight & diet. There were actually holes through the gall bladder wall. No pill is fixing any of that.

Pinkylee77

My surgery was because it just quit working. I was off a few weeks but I am a nurse and on my feet all the time. I was up and cooking in about 3 days. Some people recover very fast some do not. It did not affect my weight at all. I had a conservative physician and she did not want me to do too much for a bit after and it was OK by me. I was so sick before I felt great after.

ronjsteele1

AnnPT77 wrote: »

ronjsteele1 wrote: »

Or you can use a product called Stonebreaker by Herbpharm and avoid surgery all together. I have more then a dozen friends who were having gallbladder issues and put a stop to it by going through two rounds (two 30mL bottles) of the Stonebreaker. Several were actually scheduled for surgery and cancelled it after using this. GB problems are exceedingly painful (BTDT. Had a gallstone cause pancreatitis while I was 13 weeks pregnant), but one does not need to have their GB taken out to fix the problem. Digesting fats and having runny stools are a lifelong issue for a lot of people who have their GB out. It's there for a reason......

If you do use the stone breaker - it is NASTY tasting stuff, my friends have found it most tolerable in purple grape juice.

I don't need everyone elses crap for suggesting this. You all gave her your medical information, I'm offering a non slash and cut route. She's old enough to research and choose, so please kindly skip the nasty comments. Whatever you do, OP, I do wish you well and a speedy recovery!

Without offering an opinion on the product:

Note that not all gall bladder surgery is for gallstones or "sludge". OP didn't specify.

For example, mine was done because of symptomatic adenomymatosis, a thickening of the GB wall that is associated with increased risk for malignancy. Because of my history of cancer, they wanted to remove it & send it to pathology just in case. There was fairly extensive inflammatory damage & cholesterolosis - all related to my (then) poor health practices as far as weight & diet. There were actually holes through the gall bladder wall. No pill is fixing any of that.

True, true. Probably more common that it's stones then what you had, but yes, there are other reasons for GB surgery for sure.

SaskyB

Hiya.

I had mine out on Thursday evening (24th). My surgeon has recommended a month from my job as a midwife, and isn't particular about dietary guidelines. I took paracetamol twice today but an egg hunt with the kids was more important than resting. My tummy is still quite swollen and I feel full easily, however that awful pain and sense of being constantly unwell is gone!

I feel like I have an opportunity to start good habits over as my digestion requires retraining. Recommendations so far have been probiotics, Vitamin D, smaller meals, lower fats, consider gallbladder failure as a symptom of being coeliac (I have autoimmune disease), reduce carbs and sugars, and apple cider vinegar... Sounds easy enough .

choppie70

DancingDarl wrote: »

I had mine removed through belly button laproscopically. It took me a full two wks to walk and move with ease and after a month half i was able to dance. Unless it must come out asap i would suggest overhauling your diet do a liver and colon cleanse at least..
My gallbladder attacks (pains) continued after surgery and recently my new doctor has discovered paracitic infections that would have explained my gallbladder issues coming out if nowhere. Eating vegetables and fruit while cutting the crap processed foods sugars will help you recover and who knows surgery could be avoided. I know i wish i never had mine removed and i wish doctors these days could explain what causes these issues so people can learn to avoid them.

When I went to my surgical consultation, the surgeon told me that once you have a gall bladder attack, there is almost 100% chance that you will have another attack. My MIL was told she needed to have hers removed about 5 years ago. She refused and is eating as clean as she can - she has pretty much cut out all processed foods, eating organic, gluten free, etc, and she will still have attacks weekly.

Plus, not all gall stones/kidneys stones can really be prevented. My gall stones and kidney stones were caused by Hyperparathyroidism. One of my parathyroids was producing too much PTH and it caused my body to leech calcium which caused stones. I had to have the parathyroid removed.

heatherc369

I have never had stones, my GI doc just told me my GB was sick and needed to come out. I also have ulcerative colitis which has caused proctitis so for me I guess its hard to tell which thing is causing which pain. I have my appointment with the surgeon April 5th, I know hes the one to voice concerns to but I cannot help it, I have been trying to ask everyone I can about it to get ideas of what to expect, I know my story could be nothing like anything I have read or heard...but I am just a curious person and cannot contain myself from researching lol

ronjsteele1

choppie70 wrote: »

DancingDarl wrote: »

I had mine removed through belly button laproscopically. It took me a full two wks to walk and move with ease and after a month half i was able to dance. Unless it must come out asap i would suggest overhauling your diet do a liver and colon cleanse at least..
My gallbladder attacks (pains) continued after surgery and recently my new doctor has discovered paracitic infections that would have explained my gallbladder issues coming out if nowhere. Eating vegetables and fruit while cutting the crap processed foods sugars will help you recover and who knows surgery could be avoided. I know i wish i never had mine removed and i wish doctors these days could explain what causes these issues so people can learn to avoid them.

When I went to my surgical consultation, the surgeon told me that once you have a gall bladder attack, there is almost 100% chance that you will have another attack. My MIL was told she needed to have hers removed about 5 years ago. She refused and is eating as clean as she can - she has pretty much cut out all processed foods, eating organic, gluten free, etc, and she will still have attacks weekly.

Plus, not all gall stones/kidneys stones can really be prevented. My gall stones and kidney stones were caused by Hyperparathyroidism. One of my parathyroids was producing too much PTH and it caused my body to leech calcium which caused stones. I had to have the parathyroid removed.

Your MIL is an exact case for using Stonebreaker. If it works like it has for all of my friends the have used it, two weeks will usually take care of the issue. Once in awhile a 3rd week might need to be added but two usually does it.

HyperPTH can definitely be an issue but had they ripped your GB out and not found the cause you'd still be having health issues b/c HPTH causes so many other issues as well. Nice that they were able to find this! When a friend of mine had her PTH gland out for it she improved significantly health wise! Hope that's been the case for you as well!

firef1y72

I had mine removed way back in 1992, one of the first in the UK to have keyhole. Had a bad reaction to the drugs so stayed in a few days (this was back when they liked to keep you in hospital for a week after having your first baby). Was then not allowed to lift/look after my 10month old baby for 2 weeks and struggled to eat much at all for about a month.

24 years later I still can't eat much in the way of fat, but am managing to lose weight fine (and managed to put it on quite easily too).

dmack073082

heatherc369 wrote: »

I have been struggling with my weight for years, but I am finally getting close to my goal ( currently only 18.5lbs away yay!) But after recent tests/ doc visits my GI doctor told me that I need to have my Gallbladder removed, instantly I freaked and starting going on YouTube and watching recovery videos and reading forums. I have read a mixture of results from weight loss to weight gain and no change at all.

I was just wondering if any of you on MFP have had yours removed, if so ..how long were you out of work? How long until you could exercise again? Any noticeable weight loss/ weight gain?

thanks in Advance

I was out for 5 days. You will lose weight because they will tell you need eat and drink mostly liquids for a few days. You can do cardio, but the doctor will tell you to gradually ease into it. I was not allowed to lift weights for 8 weeks.