Gall Bladder Diet?

bethsumnerfairweather

Hi everyone, I am back after being gone for awhile. I have recently (last week) found out I have gall stones and a very icky gallbladder that will hopefully be coming out soon. (still waiting to see the surgeon) After spending a day in the ER in serious pain even with morphine, I am DONE with crap food, no more junk food, no more grease, no more spice! I am watching what I eat very carefully to avoid another attack, sticking to eating 6 small meals a day, as non fat as I can make it and drinking tons of water. Right now I know I am not eating enough calories for a proper diet, but eventually I will be able to change that. The good news is that so far I have lost 7 pounds eating this way and aside from the gb pain and discomfort (which is easing up thank goodness!) I feel awesome! Oh I am also severely anemic and may have to have iron infusions, yay!

So I am wondering if anyone else is going or has gone through this, I am struggling to eat healthy, trying to eat lots of fruits and veggies, it's hard to get protein in this diet, I have had a little bit of chicken and I do have one egg a day. I eat lots of apples, applesauce, low fat cottage cheese, broth, whole wheat toast, and will try to add more fruits and veggies. I don't know what else to eat! I don't like fish, I can't have anything with much seasoning or spice. Also I'm wondering how do I record all this in my log? I left my goals the same, but when I enter my weight every day it tells me I'm not eating enough, which I realize.

Anyway, would love to hear from ppl who have dealt or are dealing with this and how you handled it in your diet. Not the best way to lose weight I know, but I can't help but be happy when I see that scale!

Thanks!
Beth

cerise_noir

What about non fat Greek yogurt? Skyr? Shrimp/seafood? Protien shakes (most are relatively low fat). Turkey, lentils, egg whites, beans, chickpeas, tofu. All are relatively high protien and low fat.

Cherimoose

bethsumnerfairweather wrote: »

I don't know what else to eat!

Following random advice on the internet could have serious consequences. Either get advice from your doctor, or ask them for a referral to a Registered Dietician.

Treece68

Honestly while I was having problems & waiting for my surgery (which was a month) I ate what I could which was a lot of soup and crackers it was not really a diet just food that did not make me double over in pain, so eat what you can.

WayTooHonest

I think it differs from person to person and depends on severity, so I would have this conversation with your doctor. I had one single, huge gallstone after my son was born. 9 years later, I still have my gallbladder, but cannot eat fried seafood without fear of death. I cut out all fried foods for a while and that worked for me. Best regards to you.

bethsumnerfairweather

Thanks everyone, I see the surgeon on Friday thank goodness, so hopefully he will have some good advice!

Akmauser

I regret having my gallbladder removed last June. Not everyone needs to have it removed.

I recommend reading Fatty Liver: You Can Reverse It, by: Dr Sandra Cabot MD.

Amazing book and only reason I had my removed is because I did not know about proper dieting or MFP. One I got my weight under control all pain went away and had no issues with most foods. My trigger foods was beef and anything with caffeine, and was able to eat / drink these types of foods after losing weight, albeit on a lesser quantity.

Removed mine because I was not able to lose any more weight and began to gain all of it back, which in-turn caused the pain to come back. Didn't know about counting calories, etc.

IF you look around the great wide web one learns quickly gallbladder surgery is a lucrative business and almost no doctors mention that an individual can changer their diet. However it all depends on severity and you can always ask for a second opinion and have other tests to find out how bad it is.

Four weeks after having mine removed my wife's was removed. Her gallbladder completely failed due to both pregnancies and had nothing to do with gallstones. They did some special tests to find out if it was actually working properly because the first doctor stated it was gallstones but she was not displaying the typical location for pain, etc.

Edit: Liver has everything to do with the gallbladder. Also forgot to add why it should not have been removed and let me first say that it is different for everyone.

I can drink all the caffeine I want as long as I am close to a bathroom. Movie Theater popcorn is a no go and DOES NOT digest at all for me. It will sit in my stomach and go bad eventually leading to about 24-36 hours of violent puking. I can only eat about 4-6 ounces of any type of beef in a 12 hour period. Anything spice has issues digesting as well. However with this said, my wife only has issue with milky products like ice cream.

bethsumnerfairweather

I'm seeing the surgeon today, I have changed my diet, no fatty foods or spice or fried anything. Not sure what he will say, but I am still terrified of having another attack. I still have pain in my back and in my shoulder tip, but pain in abs has gone away except for twinges. I know mine is leaking stuff (bile?) so not sure if that complicates matters or what. I think like you said it's different for everyone. I do know that even when I get it out I don't plan to go back to eating fatty, spicy, junk food, even on a cheat day. Because I know for me it will completely de rail my plan. I have read of some people still having trouble w/ fat after the surgery.

StarBrightStarBright

All people are different and @Akmauser is definitely right that not everyone needs their gallbladder removed. Trust your surgeon but also ask questions.

My gall stones led to pancreatitis and I had to have an emergency removal. In my case it was life or death so I am very thankful that removal was an option.

However, I still have pretty severe side effects from the removal almost 4 years later. I deal with vitamin deficiencies and also dumping syndrome issues.

My personal triggers are: salads, fibrous leafy greens, even iceberg lettuce (but not spinach), fried foods, foods that normally encourage bowel movements like raisins, dates etc,...

What worked for me was eating a diet that was full of lean meats, non- leafy veggies, fruit, cheeses, full fat dairy, quinoa and other starches that have protein sources like pasta made with lentils or beans. Also eating small meals and not having any liquid with my meal. I also realized that I could eat certain trigger greens like kale and celery as long as they were in green smoothies. My vitamix did a good bit of the digestion/mastication ahead of time and I make sure there is protein so it slows the dumping into the small intestine.

Basically things that are recommended for gastric bypass patients have worked very well to control gallbladder removal/bile issues for me. I suspect the same way of eating would have also helped when I had a problematic gallbladder

Best of luck with your appointment!

kksmom1789

Good Luck today with the surgeon I was one of those crazy people that suffered with gallbladder issues for over a year because I wanted to keep my gallbladder so I changed my diet I cut out dairy & all fatty foods I did lose weight but I was still having attacks no matter what foods I ate I had my gallbladder removed in Jan 2017 and it's been the best choice no more attacks I still have to be pretty careful about what I eat not to the point of what I was but if I over eat I definitely suffer for it. but I never had any of those crazy side effects people talk about after surgery so I was thankful for that

TheGaudyMagpie

I had mine out about a year ago and I've felt much better since. The only side effect that I had is what some people call "dumping" and misunderstand to be a reaction to fat. It's actually an effect of the bile dripping consistently into your intestines/bowel, and it's easily managed with a cholesterol binder like Questran/cholestyramine. I get some indigestion (bloated and gassy) if I eat something with too much fat, but I have no bathroom issues since being on cholestyramine. As I had IBS symptoms for years prior to surgery, this has been a very positive change.

AnnPT77

Just to create a well-rounded picture, since people with more extreme experiences, good or bad, seem more likely to post on threads like this:

I had my gall bladder out due to adenomyomatosis (one kind of icky that involves thickening of the GB walls, inflammation, etc.). The negative symptoms I had -upper right chest pain, severe heartburn, etc. - went away pretty much immediately once it was out.

They recommended a somewhat reduced-fat diet for the first month, then gradual re-introduction of more fat. Because I was already starting weight loss by then, my fat consumption was already in the target range, so I didn't make any eating changes. It's been a couple of years since, and I've had zero problems, even when I've had the occasional high-fat meal.

One piece of advice, because in retrospect I believe I did it wrong: I'd strongly recommend eating a maintenance level of calories for about a month after surgery - healthy foods, following medical team recommendations about fats, but enough calories to keep weight stable or nearly so. Healing should be top priority. Sufficient nutrition, including calories, optimizes healing.

I kept up a calorie deficit to keep losing weight after surgery. It was a Bad Plan. I got weak, and fatigued. Fortunately, my body prioritized healing, so I didn't have problems there, but my overall health improvement goals would have been better served if I'd put weight loss on hold for a few weeks.

shadowfax_c11

17 years ago I lost my husband because of a gallbladder that went ignored for too long. He ended up with pancreatitis.

I won't go into gory details but this is not something to mess about with. Please take care of yourself.

pennygm72

I'm waiting for gallbladder removal, I have been eating very low fat since Jan 17 and have reduced my weight by 45lbs ( silver lining) I am very fat intolerant, my upper limit is 8g fat in one meal. I have taken advice from dietitians as I was struggling to meet my calorie goal and on that advice I ignored MFPs macro goals for sugar and carbs, they even advised me to eat jelly sweets ( not sure if you are in the States, if so I mean candy like Haribo) I do eat LOTS of fish, but also chicken, fat free cottage cheese, high protein yogurts, ham and turkey. Good luck, I ended up in ER back in January, and I agree morphine makes no difference!

Akmauser

bethsumnerfairweather wrote: »

...I am still terrified of having another attack. I still have pain in my back and in my shoulder tip, but pain in abs has gone away except for twinges...

I know all about that! Lived with pain 24 hours a day for 8 weeks before they figured out my gallbladder needed to be removed.

allyphoe

I had my first gallbladder attack two weeks after a positive pregnancy test. No non-emergent surgery while pregnant, so I had to wait nearly a year to have mine out.

Dairy was my only predictable trigger; nuts didn't bother me at all. Most other things were fine in moderation. This is really one of those things where everyone is different.

I would have my gallbladder out a dozen times over, despite having had a recovery on the slow side of average. No ill effects, other than the occasional crampy pain where the incisions were; they faded after the first year or two.

Fflpnari

I had my gallbladder out in 2011. My attacks got way worse when I lost a bunch of weight quickly. I would have pain in my upper abdomen that would radiate to my back, miserable. I was in the ER one time and they gave me something for pain that helped. I dont have any eating issues now. Im glad its out. I had pain for years before they figured it out. No one thought a teenager would have the problem... but i did!

ninerbuff

If one is overweight of obese, this has a higher impact on gallstones than what one actually eats. Address the obvious problem first.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

TonyB0588

@bethsumnerfairweather This brings back memories of 20 years ago. On a subsequent visit, my doctor was reading back through my old notes and smiled and said he noticed I hadn't returned for surgery yet.

My Gall Bladder situation took my weight down from 182 to 130 but I finally beat it with a lemon juice purge and a course of herbal medication. Now I've returned to normal, but the fat free eating became a lifestyle change which I still partially maintain.

GailK1967

I was supposed to have my gallbladder removed 10 years ago but I chose to remedy my diet instead. It worked except for the occasional episode where I'd end up. In hospital needing morphine. It turns out avocado set me off, even a tiny sliver. No avocado no gallbladder attacks.

choppie70

My gal bladder was enflamed and filled with stones , so I was in pain 100% of the time before it was removed. My diet did not effect the pain at all. The only comfort was if I pinched my right side a bit. I walked like that for 3 weeks before I had it out!

I have not had any ill effects. The only thing I cannot eat that I ate before is McDonalds cheeseburgers. They will do me in.

LZMiner

Spouse had his out 18 months ago. He didn't have stones...he had sludge. He said the pain of the gallbladder attack was the most intense pain he's ever had...and he's had a heart attack, three stents and a quadruple bypass. Anyway, he's had no issues with food after the gallbladder removal...eats whatever he wants, fried, spicy, dairy...whatever.

Good luck introducing foods back in to your diet, if you're going bland to start! Hope you have no ill side effects and get back to normal quickly!