No Gallbladder - Now what??

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  • funkyspunky872
    funkyspunky872 Posts: 866 Member
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    Had my gallbladder taken out when I was 16 after losing 100 pounds and developing gallstones. I recovered in about a week (because it was just laparoscopic), and I continued eating whatever I wanted as long as it fit into my macros. I've heard that you're not supposed to eat anything high in fat, but honestly, I've never had any problems. I've also heard diarrhea is common, but I just ended up being even more constipated that normal. (I guess you can also contribute that to the pain killers).
  • runs4zen
    runs4zen Posts: 769 Member
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    I had this done a couple of years ago. I was back to normal in a couple of weeks. I have a desk job and worked mostly from my home office so that helped.

    Edited - no real diet changes.

    This! It was done laproscopically, it was no big deal and I can truly say that NOT having the pain is superior to having the gall bladder.
  • shannonichole
    shannonichole Posts: 126
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    I just had mine taken out in emergency surgery a little over a month ago. I'm fairly healthy - maybe little bit chubby so getting it out so suddenly was unexpected. My gallbladder was full of air and they didn't know why. I feel a lot better now then before.

    1. How long did it take you to recover fully from the surgery?
    It took about 2 weeks for the pain to go away. It was mostly shoulder pain from the air.

    2. Did you have to make any permanent diet changes?
    Fats and greasy foods make me feel sick. But I can actually eat more now then before.

    3. Are there temporary diet changes I should be doing??
    I would lay of junk food just for the sake of staying healthy. I don't eat dairy anyways. Your body will let you know when youve eaten something that doesn't agree with it. Your intestines will definitely let you know (so keep some extra clothes in your car just in case):embarassed:
  • wthomson
    wthomson Posts: 4 Member
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    I had emergency laparoscopic surgery when my first son was three weeks old (in 2008). My pregnancy had triggered gall stones and I had been hospitalized during my pregnancy when I had attacks. I used to have IBS - C and ever since the surgery I haven't had any problems. My recovery time was quick - a couple of days and I was back to normal. I didn't avoid any foods, but found that my appetite took a while to recover (due to recovering from surgery, not the gallbladder itself). I was given a clear liquid diet the first day, then soft solids (jello for e.g) than bland food to re-introduce (plain toast with butter).
  • Stinkerbelle84
    Stinkerbelle84 Posts: 328
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    I had my gallbladder removed six years ago, after losing 50 pounds. Luckily, I had no stones but also had no function at all. I recovered in about three or four days, and had laparoscopic. I did not follow the rules and ate whatever I wanted to. I had some problems with being constipated. So much for everything would go straight thru me :( I never had problems with dairy, but had major problems with fiber. Strange. I can pretty much eat whatever I want to now. Everyone is affected differently, so you really just need to learn all over again what your body will and will not tolerate. I do make sure that I drink lots and lots of water now in order to avoid constipation. And alcohol sometimes makes me have to go. Especially vodka and cranberry juice.

    Some of the things that I have learned that I CANNOT tolerate are:
    Iceburg lettuce (all others are fine), cucumbers with the seeds (seedless are okay), spinach (goes straight thru), Sonic cheeseburgers, asiago cheese. Strange list, I know.

    Just take it easy and stick close to a restroom when trying new foods. I do find that hot foods and super cold foods make you have to run FAST to a restroom. Most of my friends are without a gallbladder as well, so this is a pretty common topic in my circle.

    I wish you the best of luck =)
  • jessgumkowski88
    jessgumkowski88 Posts: 189 Member
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    Hi! I got my gallbladder out when I was 18 and had minor complications, due to my situs ambiguous (basically meaning my organs are not in the typical places they should be.) so I had a fairly long recovery time.

    However when it comes to food I have basically no limitations, but if I eat a lot of greasy foods in a row I find myself sick for a couple days.
  • kiachu
    kiachu Posts: 409 Member
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    Hey everyone -

    I had my gallbladder removed in emergency surgery over the weekend due to having a gallstone lodged in the duct causing a blockage and inflammation of the gallbladder (needless to say it was very very painful).

    I only know one person who's had this surgery and they are 3 times my age and overweight so not sure I should be following what she is telling me.

    My questions are:
    1. How long did it take you to recover fully from the surgery? -- I'm up and moving around but still not 100%.
    2. Did you have to make any permanent diet changes?
    3. Are there temporary diet changes I should be doing?? - My doc only said no dairy and low fat foods, but nothing beyond that -- not even for how long.

    Any and all information would be appreciated! For some reason there's not a lot I've found on the web, even though this is a common surgery now-a-days.

    Thanks!

    I am 2 years sans gallbladder. It was working at 4%. So it was a dud. But after removal my symptoms came back and I was diagnosed with Sphincter of Oddi disorder. It's a spasm of the muscle around the bile duct and sometimes it can spasm shut and not allow pancreatic enzymes, liver Enzymes, and bile to go into the small intestine so it just backs up into those organs. I'm not even going to describe that type of pain. It still happens so I have to rely on bio-feedback and know when to take the medicine (Bentyl) that helps the relax the valve, and if I"m too late I just have to load up on Vicodin because I'm about to be in a world of hurt.

    It took me about 2 weeks to recover enough to sit up and not feel anything and about 5 weeks until I was 100%. I had those little incisions and kept forgetting I had major surgery *L*

    I was one of the people that got dumping syndrome afterward. I know high carb, high fat, or high amounts of food triggered it but I couldn't never pinpoint 1 thing and never was told to specifically eat a certain way. So I take Welchol as needed for that and just make sure I know where the bathroom is WHEREVER I go.

    I know for one think I cannot eat Arby's at all. Not sure why but I won't go near that place with a ten foot pole. I get an attack every time I go.
  • jessgumkowski88
    jessgumkowski88 Posts: 189 Member
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    Some of the things that I have learned that I CANNOT tolerate are:
    Iceburg lettuce (all others are fine), cucumbers with the seeds (seedless are okay), spinach (goes straight thru), Sonic cheeseburgers, asiago cheese. Strange list, I know.

    Hmm that explains the spinach 0.0 I never really ate veggies until I got to college, but I always have trouble with spinach! I just assumed it was me. :)

    Oh well I love spinach and I deal with it.
  • sylvuz323
    sylvuz323 Posts: 468 Member
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    I had mine removed when I was 29 so 12 years ago. I felt some soreness for a few days, I remember the surgery was on a Tuesday and back to work Monday of the following week. My surgery was laser which is why I was up and moving rather quickly. Having a bigger incision would definitely put you out longer.

    Foods - I did notice that having one of my favorite dishes creamy italian pasta was a problem. I could eat it but it meant a trip to the restroom soon after, pastrami did the same thing. I'm not big on fried foods except for on occassion french fries but those weren't a problem.
  • yellowstonerocks
    yellowstonerocks Posts: 4 Member
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    Emergency surgery 6 weeks ago.
    Seemingly out of the blue, I started having intense abdominal pain and acid re-flux around midnight the day before the surgery. I thought food poisoning, at least until I started vomiting blood the next morning. A trip to the ER and a CAT-scan revealed a golf-ball sized (4.5+ cm) gallstone that had perforated and lodged in my small intestine. Surgery took about 3 hours and involved a 10" incision, 2 drains, a hole in my stomach and several patches in my GI tract.
    I spent 14 days in the hospital with no food or water for the first 10 days (only IV saline solution), then IV nutrients after that. My first food was a grape Popsicle- never knew that an icy treat could taste so good.
    Was on a fluids-only diet for two weeks, then a soft diet after that. After 6 weeks, I'm back on a regular diet and can finally start exercising again. I've found I can eat most foods, but salads and high-fat dishes don't yet completely agree with my stomach. I also find that I can't eat as much, but that probably has more to do with stomach shrinkage than the gallstone/gallbladder removal.
    I don't recommend this as a path to weight-loss, but I have dropped 20 pounds since the surgery.
    After getting home, my incision became infected- which didn't require another hospital stay, but did lead to several miserable days until antibiotics finally cleared it up.
    So consider yourself lucky if you can start leading a normal life a few days after gallbladder removal. And thank God for modern medicine!

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