No Fat Diet

I see you said you live in Canada so I'm not sure how much of an option this is for you, but I would see if I can get a second opinion and find a doctor who is willing to take out the gall bladder sooner rather than later. That's no way for anyone to live. I had mine taken out in April of this year as my episodes were getting progressively worse and more frequent. After one exceptionally miserable weekend, I knew there was no way I could continue like that. Best of luck to you.

Thanks so much for the advice everyone. I will check out those recipe sites. Hopefully I can find something. Most lentils do have some fat in them, and even spinach does. There's not a lot, but it adds up to 5g really fast! I think the hardest part for me is identifying the foods that actually have no fat. It's amazing how many things have a small amount in them.

I have seen my family doctor, the ER doctor, and 2 surgeons about this. The surgeons are the ones that I have to convince and I have a really hard time fighting for my best interests in those sorts of situations. They both want me to see a liver specialist first (even though my high enymes might be caused by the gallbladder). I need to be more persistant and less easily intimidated and I'm going to keep going to the ER everytime I have an attack, which the ER nurse said could speed things up.

ER docs are not going to give you the comprehensive care you need. Go see the specialists ASAP so they can run the tests they need to do and treat you. This is no way to live.

Thanks so much for the advice everyone. I will check out those recipe sites. Hopefully I can find something. Most lentils do have some fat in them, and even spinach does. There's not a lot, but it adds up to 5g really fast! I think the hardest part for me is identifying the foods that actually have no fat. It's amazing how many things have a small amount in them.

I have seen my family doctor, the ER doctor, and 2 surgeons about this. The surgeons are the ones that I have to convince and I have a really hard time fighting for my best interests in those sorts of situations. They both want me to see a liver specialist first (even though my high enymes might be caused by the gallbladder). I need to be more persistant and less easily intimidated and I'm going to keep going to the ER everytime I have an attack, which the ER nurse said could speed things up.

ER docs are not going to give you the comprehensive care you need. Go see the specialists ASAP so they can run the tests they need to do and treat you. This is no way to live.

Specialists are hard because I live in a small town. There's one specialist in a town that's a 3 hour drive from here, who is probably the one I'm going to be seeing. Other than that, I'd have to go 4 hours in the other direction. That's all stuff that my family doctor arranges too. I should hear back soon though, so cross your fingers for me!

Sometimes you have to be a pain in the *kitten* to get doctors to do their job right.

*fingers crossed* Just don't be afraid to put your foot down and demand more answers and better care hon. Otherwise, most docs will just drag their feet.

I definitely need to work on that. I'm going to be calling tomorrow to follow up, and I have a new appointment on Monday.

I know it's not related to your topic, but I have a congenital heart defect that none of my doctors caught until I made them send me to a cardiologist that specializes in electrical issues in the heart. It took about 6 months of tests and running around to finally get a diagnosis and treatment, but I knew something was very wrong with me for a long time. Treatment worked like a charm too, and I was back to feeling great and normal (no palpatations, intermittent shortness of breath, etc.)

You just have to fight sometimes to get things done. There's no reason to live miserable when your condition is treatable.

You're so right. I know I need to fight more for this. Not sure why (I suspect its a low self esteem thing) but I've always been really bad at making my own well being a priority. With medical stuff especially, I feel like I must have to wait because other people are in worse condition than I am. I'm starting to realize that that's not always the case. For example, after the surgeon came in to talk to me for less then 5 minutes, he spent a bunch of time arranging a follow up with a drunk guy who broke his leg and was swearing at nurses all day in the ER.

That makes sense, but try to remember that letting things like this go can lead to serious problems down the road. It's okay to be selfish sometimes, even if you have to fake it. Good luck to you no matter what you decide! I hope you can get some relief.

I had a gallbladder problems in the past. It was very deformed and full of stones. I was in horrible pain for months. I was scheduled for the surgery but imy gallbladder was in such a bad condition, the doctors were afraid it would break during the surgery. They decided to calm it down with medication and most important the diet.

I'm from Russia, just FYI. Our medical system and ideas are different from American. Therefore, the treatment is different too. I'm just sharing my experience. Traditionally, our doctors believe in healthy eating, and certain diets for certain sickness, especially when it's about the digestim system. That's the reason we have very well balanced diet from the childhood, our school meals are approved by medicals, no pizza, no hamburgers.

My main medications were antispasmodic medications like drotaverine and pain killers. But the main thing was the diet. Our doctors call it diet # 5, and they precribe this diet for the patients with the hepatitis, Cholecystitis or gallstones. Basically, everything should be in steamed or boiled, nothing too fat, too hot, too cold. Food should be very easy to digest. Nothing fat at all. Definitely no raw veggies or fruits because its difficult to digest and causes acids. Some can be raw like banana. Lots of fluid oatmeal. No soda, no fried food at all of any kind. Mashed potatoes, mashed carrots, steamed rice, steamed fish. Soups.

http://www.dieta.ru/medicdiets/diettable5/. It's in Russian but you can translate in with google translate. American doctors don't follow the diet, I guess they are more radical.

I was on this diet for a year. And didn't have the surgery. My gallbladder changed to its natural shape and gallstones went out (painfully).

Good luck.

I saw a doctor at the ER today. I had an appointment to see my regular doctor that took 2 weeks to set up, but I missed it cause I was in the ER. Waited 6 hours to see a surgeon and he says he wants me to see a specialist too. Still no appointment for the specialist or the surgery. I only had 8g of fat yesterday, spread out through the day. Not really sure what to do.

Is there some reason why you can't go to where the specialist is, rather than waiting months for said specialist to visit your town?

Sometimes you have to be a pain in the *kitten* to get doctors to do their job right.

*fingers crossed* Just don't be afraid to put your foot down and demand more answers and better care hon. Otherwise, most docs will just drag their feet.

Absolutely. Please keep pushing to see the specialist and get proper treatment ASAP. You can't keep on with a diet this low in fat for very long without its causing other health problems.

Good luck to you.

Thansk to everyone for your interest, ideas, and concern. I've called around a lot, and wept in front of multiple receptionists. I have an appointment with another surgeon (I had a brief consult with him yesterday when I was in the ER, but it didn't go well). I'll see him tomorrow, and my husband and I have come up with a list for reasons that I need to get the surgery right away (nutrition is one of these points of course). I also got a referral to a dietician and one of the doctors suggested I stay away from wheat too. I'll keep you all posted.

Fantastic! Good for you for standing up for yourself.

Thank you for keeping us posted!

+1

Hang in there hon. Just don't be afraid to go all b!tch-mode if you have to. Doctors can be really insensitive a-holes sometimes.

Have you ever tried using digestive enzymes? I personally have a deficiency of lipase and can't eat anything with fat unless I take a lipase supplement. I live on an extremely low-fat diet, but I'm just fine.

Fat-free protein options for vegan: brown rice protein powder. Any protein powder really. I like to make microwave breads out of it because it tastes kind of chalky in smoothies.

Hope this helps!