Food intolerance post-gall bladder removal

Jess__I__Can

I had my gall bladder removed in April 2012. I didn't notice any food intolerances, but to be fair, I was eating crap and so everything upset my stomach. In the last month or so I have been trying to eat less processed foods and more whole foods, and I noticed that my stomach started being a little nicer to me. Until today. I had a salad of romaine and spinach 6 hours ago, and since then have had to use the rest room 3 times (in an emergency-type situation). This last time, I noticed that my salad had already passed through.

Has anyone else experienced these types of issues? Should I stop eating salad? Please understand I am 100% used to these emergency bathroom breaks, so that part doesn't bother me. Just not sure how healthy this could be.

Edited the correct date; I typed 2014 because I can't math.

_Zardoz_

Not to be rude but have you read and thought about what you have said? So you have one incident and now think you have an intolerance and have somehow related this to your gallbladder or lack of? The problem is in all likelihood going to be caused by something far simpler so In all likelihood you've just eaten a dodgy salad.

Jess__I__Can

OK, so you don't sound rude, I do sound stupid. I should explain that the reason I think it is related is two-fold: back in 2012 my doctor told me I may have trouble digesting leafy vegetables, and since my surgery any time I eat a salad it basically comes out whole. I only see it as a potential problem now because I plan on actually eating salad... I guess we can forget the whole gall bladder thing - is it a problem that my salad comes out whole every time I eat it (not just one dodgy salad)?

jessa271

It can be unhealthy because a lot of vitamins are absorbed through the intestines, like b-12. I had a similar situation for a year after my gallbladder came out (the doc swore it would last 2 weeks). So though I've been much better for 2 years now, there are still emergencies after high-fat content meals. The gallbladder holds a stock-pile of bile for those cases, so if you don't have one, your digestive tract doesn't know what to do.

Salads and leafy greens have a lot of fiber, which can also stimulate the intestines, so it's best not to make sudden dietary changes. Slowly increase your fiber intake & you should be ok. If it continues to happen on a regular basis, you should mention it to your doctor to make sure you're not deficient in any vitamins.

And they tell you the gallbladder is useless... BS! They have NOOOOO idea. Not that I miss the pain!

leggup

Medical advice re: do or don't eat this food is best given by a doctor. One salad-poo-splosion tells me that you had a yucky salad or, more likely, something yucky a few hours before the salad.

joanthemom8

I was very lucky - I had my gallbladder removed 10-12 years ago. Never really had any problems, but I do try to watch the "fat" intake, just in case, as fatty foods can cause problems. Hang in there, it will get better!

palmerdanielle

I had mine out in May, and it's (relatively) common to have digestive problems. I have, but expected to as gallstones run in my family (lucky me!) and so do digestive problems after gallbladder removal.

I have the same issue, even with healthy foods. Basically, when you eat your liver produces bile salts which normally your gallbladder would store and let out as-needed. However, without your gallbladder you liver is basically just dumping out these bile salts. The intestines absorb the bile salts to recycle them, but when the liver dumps so much out, your intestines can't re-absorb all the excess. It goes through your intestines and acts as a laxative, essentially.

This doesn't happen always with every meal, I've even had some meals that were very lean and healthy but still had this happen. I'd recommend going to your doctor. There are medicines that can help. Mine gave me a prescription but also told me to try some over the counter stuff and see what works, eg. immodium, metamucil...
I got a prescription for something called cholestyramine, the common brand is Questran I believe. It basically binds the excess bile salts, it's originally a cholesterol medicine but is commonly taken by people with this issue from the gallbladder removal, chron's, IBS...

Hope that helps! I'm sure there are 'natural' ways to try to deal with this but it's really a lot of trial and error, but I think if there's a solution it's so worth it, because it makes it so hard to go out places worrying if your body is going to deal with whatever you eat or if your stomach will get upset. I've tried the cholestyramine, it worked! It can, in turn, constipate you so it's all about finding the balance. It's not super pleasant to take, but it's better than spending half your day in the bathroom.

Mof3wc

Because there has been 2 years between the gallbladder surgery and now, I doubt the two are connected. Usually it's fatty foods that set off diarrhea with no gall bladder, not salad.

If you just started eating salad, it might just be too much fiber all of a sudden. Try a small amount and see what happens.

Mof3wc

I had mine out in May, and it's (relatively) common to have digestive problems. I have, but expected to as gallstones run in my family (lucky me!) and so do digestive problems after gallbladder removal.

I have the same issue, even with healthy foods. Basically, when you eat your liver produces bile salts which normally your gallbladder would store and let out as-needed. However, without your gallbladder you liver is basically just dumping out these bile salts. The intestines absorb the bile salts to recycle them, but when the liver dumps so much out, your intestines can't re-absorb all the excess. It goes through your intestines and acts as a laxative, essentially.

This doesn't happen always with every meal, I've even had some meals that were very lean and healthy but still had this happen. I'd recommend going to your doctor. There are medicines that can help. Mine gave me a prescription but also told me to try some over the counter stuff and see what works, eg. immodium, metamucil...
I got a prescription for something called cholestyramine, the common brand is Questran I believe. It basically binds the excess bile salts, it's originally a cholesterol medicine but is commonly taken by people with this issue from the gallbladder removal, chron's, IBS...

Hope that helps! I'm sure there are 'natural' ways to try to deal with this but it's really a lot of trial and error, but I think if there's a solution it's so worth it, because it makes it so hard to go out places worrying if your body is going to deal with whatever you eat or if your stomach will get upset. I've tried the cholestyramine, it worked! It can, in turn, constipate you so it's all about finding the balance. It's not super pleasant to take, but it's better than spending half your day in the bathroom.

^^^^ I'm on the same med! If you mix it with orange juice it's far less disgusting.

suprangela79

Just a thought but did you rinse off the romaine and spinach before eating it? There have been so many instances of ecoli in bagged spinach that I triple wash ALL lettuce anymore. Maybe that could be the cause of the sudden need to go...?