So, anyone else in here not have a gallbladder?

Brenda_Pancakes

Hello everyone!

I had my gallbladder removed about a year ago - due to stones... Which I'm pretty sure could have been at least partially attributed to my poor diet and lack of exercise at the time...

I was curious if anyone in here has also had their removed, and if so, have you had to modify any of your eating habits since?

My doctor said "I would be up eating cheeseburgers within a week"... and yeah... no... the fat in that kinda stuff kills me now.

Anyone have any thoughts on the subject?

Kayla165

I had my gallbladder removed 4 yrs ago due to gall stones as well. I can't eat certain thing unless I am willing to be in extreme pain the next morning. Since then I can not eat certain types of steak, all beef hot dogs, most fast food, most fried foods, and bologna. It's hard to stay away from this stuff especially all beef hot dogs are my fav. But I would rather give it up than have that pain in my stomach. Hope this helps just avoid the foods that cause you discomfort and pain.

RunHardBeStrong

I had mine out the first week of January. It was so bad I couldn't eat anything without pain. Since surgery the only thing I've found I can't eat is peanut butter but I can eat almond butter. Weird. My understanding is everyone's eating tolerability afterwards varies greatly. My surgueon told me if I find a food I can't tolerate to wait a few months and try it again, eventually your body should adjust to it. Good luck!

rockerbabyy

i had mine removed about 12 years ago due to stones.
for a while i had to really watch the fatty foods, or be close to a bathroom >.> but now i can eat what i want.

laurengaugler

I had mine out 4 years ago, and find that when I eat particularly fatty foods I have major stomach issues. I used to have emergency situations at least once a week. Now that I am eating healthy my problems have definitely subsided. Since I started watching what I was eating again in November, I've only had 2 or 3 emergencies in 4 1/2 months.

nickyrobinson

I had mine out 15 years ago.

As you know, you are still producing bile, but at a trickle, rather than getting a gush when you eat a fat-heavy meal. So it's the fat in one sitting you have to watch out for, not so much the total fat in day.

For about the first 6 months or so, I had t be really careful: 5 french fries was my limit. My husband would order them at a restaurant and give me the last 5, so I couldn't possibly eat too many.

Somewhere in that first year it got a lot better, I think a combination of my body adjusting to it and my improving my ability to deal. I determined by experimentation that certain combinations of foods worked better and timing in the meal also made a difference. This does appear to be idiosyncratic for everybody, so take my particulars with a grain of salt...

For me, having sufficient protein with the fat was important. As was not eating the fat right at the beginning of the meal, but waiting until I had some food already in my stomach. Some other people I've talked to said for them it was having the right balance of all 3 (carbs, protein and fat).

It continued to get easier to deal with over time. By about the 5 year mark, I stopped noticing it at all, with the single exception that I am still careful not to eat too many french fries at once. This didn't stop me from getting fat, mind you, which is why I'm on MFP now!

I do encourage you to play around with your meals and see what works and doesn't work. And be ready for the idea that things may well continue to change over time (hopefully for the better).

Feel free to friend me, if you'd like.

LabRat529

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gallbladderless and happier without it. I haven't had any problems with out mine. I wish I had some advice for you.. but I don't.

hdlb123

I had mine out 4 years ago, and find that when I eat particularly fatty foods I have major stomach issues. I used to have emergency situations at least once a week. Now that I am eating healthy my problems have definitely subsided. Since I started watching what I was eating again in November, I've only had 2 or 3 emergencies in 4 1/2 months.

This exactly. If I know we're going to be going for fast food,I pop immodium before we leave or it will be horrible. I can't handle chips, fast food (McDonalds especially, 5 fries and I'm running for a bathroom) really heavy meals bother me, as does caffeine.

sjeagle30

I had mine out in 2001. The crazy thing is that since then i have stedialy gained weight. I have talked to others that have had theirs out also and most have had the same problem. My dr says he doesnt think it would cause weight gain but I beg to differ. The purpose of a gall bladder is to store bile to break down fatty foods. Well if we dont have them broke down then what happens? I am sure a large part is getting older and more sedintary but i still think it plays a roll.
I have had a few episodes that feel like a gall bladder attack but im not sure what it was. I was in horrible horrible pain a few different times and it finally subsided and havent had anything lately but who knows!

sjeagle30

I had mine out 4 years ago, and find that when I eat particularly fatty foods I have major stomach issues. I used to have emergency situations at least once a week. Now that I am eating healthy my problems have definitely subsided. Since I started watching what I was eating again in November, I've only had 2 or 3 emergencies in 4 1/2 months.

This exactly. If I know we're going to be going for fast food,I pop immodium before we leave or it will be horrible. I can't handle chips, fast food (McDonalds especially, 5 fries and I'm running for a bathroom) really heavy meals bother me, as does caffeine.

I most definately do have that problem where anything I eat....esepcially fatty foods send me right the bathroom. maybe tmi but im just sayin

Mellowmar98

I had mine out 2 1/2 yrs ago and at first I really needed to watch what I ate, now I can eat certain foods in moderation.

shiseido_faerie

I had mine out when I was 11 - i'm 32 now, no issues that i'm aware of, I don't have weight issues, I do sometimes have IBS type issues (maybe that's related) *shrugs* I think it's been such a long time for me that any issue would really seem pretty normal to me because I don't really remember what it was like before.

arickim

I eat all the same things as I did before having mine out. I do know that when I eat all that grease and spicy food, I better be home!!!!! Been 12 years now.

tracpo

I had mine out 4 years ago, and find that when I eat particularly fatty foods I have major stomach issues. I used to have emergency situations at least once a week. Now that I am eating healthy my problems have definitely subsided. Since I started watching what I was eating again in November, I've only had 2 or 3 emergencies in 4 1/2 months.

This exactly. If I know we're going to be going for fast food,I pop immodium before we leave or it will be horrible. I can't handle chips, fast food (McDonalds especially, 5 fries and I'm running for a bathroom) really heavy meals bother me, as does caffeine.

I most definately do have that problem where anything I eat....esepcially fatty foods send me right the bathroom. maybe tmi but im just sayin

This as well - I find when I eat too fatty of a meal (or even a burger or steak) it causes major stomach issues. I also have it if something is too carb-heavy. Sometimes I eat the stuff and deal with the after effects but since I've focused on cleaner healthier eating again lately I don't seem to have as many problems.

7funnygirl7

Had mine removed about 7 yrs ago~ 6 months after having my son. Til this day "spicy" foods still bother me...uugghh!

Sox90716

Mine was removed with my spleen 27 years ago.

MystiqueASAP

I had mine removed almost 20 years ago. For the first few years, foods high in fats caused extreme discomfort, especially if these foods were eaten for the first meal. Now, the only thing that bothers me is dairy products with the exception of lactose free and some fat-free dairy.

redbird99

Had mine out in the late 80s. Never had a problem eating anything, from day 1. Unfortunately!

x_biggirl

Hiya,

I had my gallbladder removed two years ago, unfortunately docs had left it so long i got a liver infection. My doctor said that i was the youngest person he had ever done the procedure on for some reason that didn't scare me at all and i continued to eat bad up until joining MFP. However, I've been suffering with diarrhoea, sickness and intense abdominal pain after a bad weekend..the doctor kept telling me I had IBS but after doing my own research it's the fact that i don't have a gallbladder any more and when in taking all this sugar my body can't handle and that's how it will react from now on.

moglie1914

I've had my gallbladder removed almost 4 years ago now and it was really hard for me to eat the foods that i was use to eating and ended up losing quite a bit of wieght. Its really hard for your body to digest fatty food like meats and chineese food so I try to aviod greesy foods. I looked up online diets for people who dont have gallbladders and they recommend staying away from foods that come from animals cuz its hard on your body to digest it without a gallbladder.

csouto

I had mine removed 3 yrs ago, I never had stones but I could never eat lettuce. Since I had it taking out I haven't had any problems. Some times the lettuce still gets to me and fatty foods but I don't eat fatty foods often. So I guess my answer would be no I don't have any problems.
Good luck to you and feel free to friend if you would like:)

dimplzz

Had mine removed in November and they did a muscle repair at the same time. I have had zero issues since mine was removed. Sometimes I wonder if they forgot to take it! I did pay for it though! lol

houzkat

I had mine out in June 2011. At first (like just about everyone else on here) fatty foods and stimulants like coffee sent me running for the bathroom and begging God to let me die of my embarrassment. Haha! It's gotten so much better though. I try not to totally stuff my face when eating fatty foods (it would be counterproductive to the whole weight loss thing anyway) and I limit myself to 1 cup of coffee (not before a "no bathroom access" situation) and I'm doing pretty well. I can tolerate foods much better now and I'm way happier that I was during the 8 years I spent with chronic pain and digestive issues (we just couldn't figure out what the heck was wrong with me). I hope your digestive system learns to pick up the slack as fast as mine has :-)

Ephena

I had mine out about 6 yrs (wow I now feel old :sad: ) ago. It was also due to stones, the doctor thought it was actually from my pregnancy. For a long time after I found I had lots of stomach issues. I did finally discover that adding fiber supplements really helped a lot, but it didn't always. Since I started with MFP and have made so many changes to my eating habits I have very little issue and actually don't have to take the fiber supplements anymore.

RunHardBeStrong

I had mine out in 2001. The crazy thing is that since then i have stedialy gained weight. I have talked to others that have had theirs out also and most have had the same problem. My dr says he doesnt think it would cause weight gain but I beg to differ. The purpose of a gall bladder is to store bile to break down fatty foods. Well if we dont have them broke down then what happens? I am sure a large part is getting older and more sedintary but i still think it plays a roll.
I have had a few episodes that feel like a gall bladder attack but im not sure what it was. I was in horrible horrible pain a few different times and it finally subsided and havent had anything lately but who knows!

Idk...I've easily lost 15 lbs since having mine removed 2 months ago. I don't think having it removed would cause weight gain but I also watched my calories and fat intake before my gall bladder "got sick" and have continued to watch it since. Maybe this is why I haven't had much trouble with "bathroom issues" or pain and also why I've continued to lose. I do know my gall bladder attacks were worse then natural child birth. I would not wish that pain on anyone. Then it got to the point that I was in pain 24/7 for a month before it was removed.

Kimmer2011

I had really severe gall stones when I was pregnant with my older daughter (just turned 13)--so severe that I got pancreatitis and had to be induced so I could have really strong antibiotics. I had it out a few months later. I've had occasional heartburn since then, but I managed to gain all my weight without it, and would regularly eat very fatty, greasy foods with no problems at all.

dorktaped

This is kinda sad but I was only 14 when mine completely gave out. No stones, it just quit working in a matter of about a week. I only had issues for a couple of months afterwards but there are still a few things that don't really agree with me (greasy things like fried chicken).

jfray0

I had mine removed about 2 years ago and it was the biggest relief ever. My problem wasn't stone; I had a problem with anytime I ate a little too much, I ran the risk of my stomach not emptying properly. I would literally have to make myself throw up in order to relieve the painful pressure. If I didn't the pain would last for more than 8 hours and I wouldn't be able to eat again. Scar tissue around my gallbladder was causing my duodenum to be pulled upward so that the opening to my intestines was higher than the rest of my stomach. After the surgery, I have been able to eat whatever I want (which is why I'm dieting now!). However, I also take Prilosec everyday and it completely eliminates any heartburn or acid-reflux.

bjfmade

Had mine out 12 years ago and all is good. I don't notice any problems eating any type of food.

Stacyanne324

I had mine out in 2004 (about a month before my wedding ..yikes). I haven't really noticed much difference or had to modify my diet so I guess I've been lucky.

nickyrobinson

Ah yes, fiber! Made no difference to me, but a number of people sans gall bladder have mentioned to me that eating extra fiber with their fat helped.