Gallstones, eating low fat but struggling to keep calories up

pennygm72

Evening all, I'm a new user of the app, started to use it as a means of tracking fat intake and monitoring food to try and pinpoint other foods that trigger an attack. After months of feeling very uncomfortable I've had 4 attacks in the past four weeks, one requiring a trip to ED. Awaiting surgery and keen to avoid pain as much as possible! Been eating very low fat for past 3 weeks, averaging 17g a day and in the main the pain is very much better than it was eating more fat, however keeping my calorie intake up is proving difficult, I could do with losing some weight so aiming for 1200 calories a day but generally not reaching that goal and obviously above target for sugar and carbs. Unfortunately some legumes and cabbage type veg are also on my trigger list along with spice. Anyone have any words of wisdom for me please? I'm in the UK so could be waiting for surgery for some time yet, want to keep myself as healthy as I can in advance. Thanks

FreyasRebirth

I don't have much for advice but I'm sending my sympathy. I was diagnosed with gallstones a few months after my younger son was born and (I'm in the US) the doctors pushed to have the surgery as soon as physically possible. Sitting in the ER triage, even drinking water made me want to scream.

Do you think eating your fats very, very slowly would help? Like split up a 1.5 ounce serving of nuts into 12 micro-portions?

TheGaudyMagpie

I didn't have much time to eat low fat before my surgery (I had a blocked duct that was cleared but then two weeks later ended up with an infection that required removal), but after the surgery I ate very low fat and did not have much of an appetite. I ate at about the 1,000 calorie level for a couple of months. The surgeon was fine with that as she felt it was within the sustenance level. Depending on your wait, you're probably OK with some low calorie days. I also do not worry about carb targets. If fat is limited your calories will need to come from elsewhere and healthy carbs are a good place for that. So rice, potatoes, yams. French/sourdough bread also tends to be low in fat. Carbs are not unhealthy in themselves and if your calories are within acceptable limits, I don't think you should worry too much about how many you eat.

Best wishes for your life after surgery. I also had trouble with vegetables and leafy greens (we thought I had IBD) but now have no troubles with them (except that I don't normally choose them because I'm so used to not eating them).

pennygm72

Thanks for the sympathy I hadn't thought of doing it that way and to be honest I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try, I'm a full time working single mum of two under 10s and an attack frightens them and means I have to find someone to look after them, even if I don't have to go to ED the pain relief I have to take renders me incapable of being able to safely look after them! I am spreading any fat I do eat over the day, maybe I could try increasing it one gram a day at a time...
Thanks again

kenyonhaff

I'm -1 gallbladder myself. My surgeon (who admitted his approach is not considered entirely orthodox) said when my gallbladder was acting out, it was simply time to remove it. Knowing triggers was a good idea, and absolutely know what acute triggers. But his approach was that eating low fat may or may not help. Some people find a lot of relief, but others...not really.

What happens to you with low fat, high protein foods? Nofat yogurt, chicken, fish, etc.?

pennygm72

TheGaudyMagpie wrote: »

I didn't have much time to eat low fat before my surgery (I had a blocked duct that was cleared but then two weeks later ended up with an infection that required removal), but after the surgery I ate very low fat and did not have much of an appetite. I ate at about the 1,000 calorie level for a couple of months. The surgeon was fine with that as she felt it was within the sustenance level. Depending on your wait, you're probably OK with some low calorie days. I also do not worry about carb targets. If fat is limited your calories will need to come from elsewhere and healthy carbs are a good place for that. So rice, potatoes, yams. French/sourdough bread also tends to be low in fat. Carbs are not unhealthy in themselves and if your calories are within acceptable limits, I don't think you should worry too much about how many you eat.

Best wishes for your life after surgery. I also had trouble with vegetables and leafy greens (we thought I had IBD) but now have no troubles with them (except that I don't normally choose them because I'm so used to not eating them).

That's very reassuring to hear, thank you, rice seems to be my mainstay at the moment along with potatoes, noodles and whole meal bread, will try some sourdough too though, try and liven things up a bit! Also great to hear you were able to eat leafy greens after, I love cauliflower and broccoli.

pennygm72

kenyonhaff wrote: »

I'm -1 gallbladder myself. My surgeon (who admitted his approach is not considered entirely orthodox) said when my gallbladder was acting out, it was simply time to remove it. Knowing triggers was a good idea, and absolutely know what acute triggers. But his approach was that eating low fat may or may not help. Some people find a lot of relief, but others...not really.

What happens to you with low fat, high protein foods? Nofat yogurt, chicken, fish, etc.?

Hi, I know the high fat and high protein mix is a trigger as is a large protein meal, even if it's low fat, fat free yogurt is fine, as are other fat free dairy products, I'm sticking to whole milk on my breakfast cereal too as its not a huge amount and feel I need some fat at least. I have had small portions of tinned tuna with no issue too. Unfortunately waiting times are longer than usual at the minute in the UK for non-urgent surgery, but hoping to have some news soon. Thanks for taking the time to reply

kksmom1789

I just had my gallbladder removed Jan 12, 2017 and I am now struggling with the freedom of eating whatever I want again so trying to stick to my calories is harder. I know it seems difficult but I cut out dairy and ate low fat before my surgery and lost nearly 20lbs and only had 1 attack the 3 months prior to surgery
if you have any questions regarding the removal or anything else let me know

VintageFeline

I believe there are websites you can look up for recipe ideas (I had a friend with suspected gallbladder issues). Could you perhaps drink some calories? Protein shakes, fruit juices etc?

TheGaudyMagpie

Actually you do need some fat and if you have a meal where you do normally eat some fat, that would be a good time to take vitamins, especially D, K, and A. They're fat soluble and there is the possibility of some deficiencies with a very low fat diet. I currently take a cholesterol binder because I have bile malabsorption (common after gallbladder surgery but the binder is an easy fix -- be sure to bring it up if you have bathroom troubles after the surgery). This means that I don't absorb a lot of fat around the time I take it and I was showing some signs of K deficiency. I try to eat a small amount of fat in the evening and take my fat soluble vitamins then, and it seems to help a lot.

I ate and still eat a lot of fat free yogurt. I can eat moderate amounts of fats now but I do have some indigestion with high fat stuff like fried foods so I stay pretty low/medium fat. But the freedom from pain and intestinal issues is fantastic.

pennygm72

Thank you all