Gall Bladder Removal - Diet

porffor

Hi all,
I had my gall bladder out some 12 years ago now but never got any info on diet etc, I had worked out that cheese set me off into pain before it was removed but that was about the level of my knowledge.

I have become intolerent to beans (which is a shame as I like them) in the last 12 months and end up with cramping tummy / upset toileting (tmi sorry).

Now, I've had bread the last 2 days when I don't eat it often and have had an upset tummy the last two days. Also had wholemeal today which I used to eat a lot but not recently... and am in pain again this evening.

I wondered what I should be avoiding and if there are any good lists of 'problem' foods that I could work through to see what I should and shouldn't be eating.

I'm a bit worried I may be forcing my body into stronger reactions through my ignorance. :blushing:

Thanks for any help. :flowerforyou:

LabRat529

I haven't had any problems with my gall bladder being gone, so the info I'm sharing is not from personal experience but is just information about the gall bladder, what it does, and you can use it to help decide what to eat/not eat.

The gall bladder stores bile from the liver. Bile emulsifies fat. Emulsify means it breaks fat into tiny droplets. It doesn't actually digest anything- it just increases the surface area of the fat so that other enzymes can work on it.

Under normal conditions, the liver produces bile. The bile hangs out in the little gall bladder sac. You eat a meal with a lot of fat in it, and the gall bladder contracts, squirting its contents into the intestines to break up the fat.

With out the gall bladder, you still have bile. It is still produced in the liver. It just doesn't have anything to store it, so instead of hanging out until needed, it feeds directly into the intestines.

In theory, no gall bladder means you should have more difficulty handling fatty meals. I haven't personally experienced this. I can eat pizza just fine, for example. But some people do have problems.

Also, depending on how much bile your liver is producing, you might have softer-than-normal stools, harder-than-normal stools, or anything in between. It really just depends on how your body reacts to the flow of bile into your intestines from the liver (as opposed to the squirt it would get from the gall bladder).

Grains shouldn't (at least logically) be causing a problem. I can't think of a logical reason why beans would cause a problem either, unless they're cooked in fat. The cheese makes sense. It's possible that you've got something else going on that's not related to the gall bladder. Perhaps you're developing IBS?

You might visit with a doctor and see what they have to say. It could help.

beattie1

It is possible to develop wheat intolerance (or other food intolerances) after being able to eat that food before. You could try excluding wheat & dairy for a few weeks then introduce one or other in small amounts and see what happens. Wheat and dairy intolerances are common, but others are possible.

xcrunnergirl13

I had my gallbladder out two years ago. No one told me what to eat, but at first if I had anything high fat (especially high in oil or animal fat), or high fiber(like the beans you mentioned) I would get the runs or a stomache ache. After about a year from surgery I could eat just about anything normally again except for straight up oil (such as olive oil on bread or something.) I had just turned 17 when I had my surgery, and I heard that the younger you are the faster your body adapts to the change, but I'm pretty sure everyone's body learns to adapt eventually. Good luck!

porffor

Thanks all - and for the insight into the 'role' of a gall bladder. I will try the wheat intolerance I think, that will be easy enough to do - I haven't had cheese for a good few days so won't be that now.
Only other dairy I've had is milk and I have that every day so can't see it being that. Will also look into IBS as my mum had IBS and later bowel cancer so it's possible that IBS could affect me I guess.

Thanks.

SquashedBanana

Hi! I had my gallbladder removed about a year and a half ago. My mom had hers removed about 3-4 years ago, and comparing what each of us can/cannot eat, I want to say that what diet to follow varies by individual.

For the most part, I can eat what I want without having to worry, but sometimes I'll have issues. I've eaten Taco Bell without problem (which some people can't do even WITH a gallbladder!), but take this morning, when I had a tummy ache and diarrhea within hours of my breakfast (Special K). I still have days where I have digestion issues, but I don't think mine are necessarily linked to any one specific kind of food. (I mean, Special K!? REALLY!?) I've sort of learned to recognize my own personal warning signs of having a "sensitive stomach day." Like this morning, I had the tell-tale tummy ache that I've grown to hate because it means an uncomfortable trip to the bathroom is coming up, but I still went ahead and drank coffee.

On the other hand, my mom has certain foods that she absolutely will NOT eat anymore. French fries, for example, sets off her digestive issues. But she knows she can tolerate other things, like cheese and high fiber foods (which other people without gallbladders definitely cannot).

As a rule of thumb, I was told to avoid things like dairy, caffeine, foods high in fats, foods high in fiber, etc., but I truly think everyone's body responds differently and that you just need to learn what works for you and what doesn't. I've read that some people have chronic diarrhea for YEARS after their cholecystectomies, so knowing that, I feel lucky to only have occasional problems!

porffor

Thanks this could be fibre related as beans are high in fibre too so give me another thought.

Think it's time to start noting pain etc in my food diary on here so I can look back at it and see if there is a correlation with anything.

I haven't had any real problems till the last year in honesty so perhaps its unrelated as suggested earlier, will see my GP on my next day off Uni I think.

Birder150

I lost my gallbladder after I went on a very low fat/low calorie diet in my early twenties. I lost 30 lbs in a month!
Terrible consequences.

Anyway, before it came out, I would have severe attacks after I ate eggs.

pdworkman

Yeah, I agree it sounds more like gluten/dairy than gall bladder. My diary is dairy and grain free.

porffor

My gall bladder issues were during pregnancy - so not related to dieting.

Thanks Pdworkman will have a look at what Im' eating when it flairs up and erradicate whatever it is. It's now 10 hours later and the pain has finally eased, that sort of discomfort i can do without!

r1ghtpath

start a food diary. record how you feel AFTER you eat and see if certain foods trigger it.

i had mine out in 09 and it was a year before i could eat most things without having to literally RUN to the bathroom. 2011 and now i have days that are great and days that are not so great, but never seemed LINKED to anything in particular.........