Gallstones :( What CAN i eat? theres so much i CANT

I was the same as the other poster. I only had attacks with greasy foods, lettuce, and popcorn. I found that if I got dehydrated, the stones would "settle" or "stick" and I would have an attack, but if I drank a few big glasses of water the attack would go away sooner. I think every body is different, and you will find things you can eat. I would advise small meals, so the gallbladder doesn't crank into high gear. Other than that, don't put off the surgery too long. I did, and ended up with a stone blocking a duct. I got pancreatitis and had to spend 3 days in the hospital. I couldn't eat anything for the first 2 days until my pancreas and galblader settled down and they could safely get me into surgery.

I had my gallbladder out 2 years ago after a series of painful PAINFUL attacks. Ugh. I had to wait 3 weeks until my surgery was scheduled. I ate a lot of white rice, jello, low fat foods in small portions, grilled chicken, soft cooked veggies (fruits were a trigger for me so I avoided them). No pop, no high fat, fried foods and generally no over eating...stuffed belly = gallbladder attack. It was a long long 3 weeks and yep I lost weight and not in a healthy way. Surgery was a godsend. Absolutely no problems since then!!! Best thing I did!!!! Good luck, hang in there, you'll be feeling better in no time:flowerforyou:

I was the same as the other poster. I only had attacks with greasy foods, lettuce, and popcorn. I found that if I got dehydrated, the stones would "settle" or "stick" and I would have an attack, but if I drank a few big glasses of water the attack would go away sooner. I think every body is different, and you will find things you can eat. I would advise small meals, so the gallbladder doesn't crank into high gear. Other than that, don't put off the surgery too long. I did, and ended up with a stone blocking a duct. I got pancreatitis and had to spend 3 days in the hospital. I couldn't eat anything for the first 2 days until my pancreas and galblader settled down and they could safely get me into surgery.

THIS! be careful, same thing happened to my wife but it was more like a month in the hospital and she went almost 2 weeks with out eating anything..she almost died. Good luck!

WARNING ******* Weight loss can CAUSE gallstones *********

Gallstones is excrutiating. Right up there with childbirth!

I had gallstones & a gallbladder removal about 5 yrs ago. BUT what caused it was being on a very strict low calorie diet with hardly any fat. I went on Reductil (Sibutramine) to curb my appetite, lost about 4 stones in 6 months by eating less than 1600 cal per day (often much less) and exercising every day and felt absolutely amazing and motivated! Until..aaarrgghh!!!!

HOWEVER, what I didn't know was that a LOW FAT diet/weightloss can CAUSE gallstones (Google it!). I started off not being able to eat certain foods but in the end I couldn't eat anything. Everything caused pain and I was stuck on a waiting list for an op until I had a bad attack one day, called the doctor, who gave me morpine and phoned for an ambulance.

If your urine turns orange, go to the doctor/hospital immediately. I didn't realise this was a sign that things were serious and the bile was building up in my liver.

Touch wood I have been OK since the op, but unfortunately have put all my weight back on...+ a bit more (I am so cross with myself for this).
I now realise that I can't 'crash diet' as I don't want to risk the gallstones returning, especially as I have no gallbladder to help dissolve them in. So, I'm looking at a slow weight loss now.

BTW I agree the best position for me was kneeling down leaning over the sofa and rocking! Good luck!

Gall stones run in my family. My grandmother had her gallbladder removed is was so bad. My sister is looking to get hers removed. I will do anything to avoid surgery so I have changed my diet and added some herbs and I haven't had an attach since started them. I added ginger and milk thistle. Gall stones actually start in the liver so the ginger and milk thistle help with cleansing the liver. I also started eating more apple because pectin help dissolve the stones. Like I said not attacks for over two months.

I feel for you! I had gallbladder attacks for 10 weeks before i could get it removed because i was pregnant. Fatty foods set mine off too, and make sure you watch out for oily dressings!!

You may not like what I'm about to tell you, but I am only the messenger. This advice actually came from my doctor, who told me that all of those "what not to eat" lists are BS. ANY food can cause an attack. Every time you eat, your digestion is activated. I agree with people who said that fatty/greasy foods are worse because I think your gallbladder has to work harder, but if you look at what an attack consists of (in most cases, a gall stone moving into the bile duct) you'll agree that it's not any particular type of food that suddenly makes a stone move. It's digestion in general.

My story: When I had my first attack, I didn't even know what it was and didn't see a doctor. It's important to note that I had not started a diet yet... there goes the idea that dieting causes the attacks. (Actually, it's probably more like genetics and poor diet.) After I started to diet, I had another attack. This time I saw the doctor, who recommended surgery. I didn't want the surgery at first. I resisted it, opting to continue dieting and take my chances. It was another six months or so before I had the next attack and decided to have the surgery... by then, I had dropped 73 pounds. I was in much better shape to have surgery at that point, and I'm glad I had it.

The only issue I've had since then is that my body does not appreciate greasy, fatty foods. Otherwise, I'm fine, and my lifespan isn't impacted by the loss of the organ.

I had gallstones diagnosed over 12 years ago very rarely had any pain nothing seemed to aggravate an attack however the month of October was a problem (mmmm not sure why) 2 admittance to hospital in October of different years. If i did have any pain i found that it helped to find a comfortable position & not move out of it. my last attack was virtually constant pain for 10 days couldn't sleep couldn't move. At the last scan it showed 1 stone however it was 44mm in size I waited 12 months for surgery which I had last February. Luckily by keyhole surgery recovered in about 6 weeks returned to the gym 8 weeks later. Recovery does differ dramatically some people up & about in a week. I do seem ok to eat most things now however I do suffer occasionally with 'dumping' if have an unsuitable meal.

Hope your gallbladder settles down and your pain remains manageable.

I developed gallstones as a result of weight loss lol oh the joy

Sounds like a plan.

To be more specific, my doctor made some pretty good points. He said, "Have you seen what's on the list of things you're not supposed to eat? It reads like the typical American diet. Why is that? Well, they compiled data from all the people who had attacks. They said, 'What did you eat today before the attack?' And so people listed off whatever they ate, and where similarities were found, conclusions were drawn. But it wasn't really conclusive evidence."

Since super greasy/fatty/fried things make the gallbladder work the hardest, I'd stay away from those... and since you're wanting to lose weight, you are most likely staying away from those sorts of things anyway as a general rule. Good luck!!

I had my gallbladder removed in Dec 2005. This was after about 3 years of having horrible attacks that put me in the ER several times. They kept telling me I had Chest Wall Pain. It felt like I was having a heart attack it was so sharp and painful. Finally a friend said it sounded just like her pain and hers had been her gallbladder. I called my Dr the next morning and when they did an unltrasound I had a huge stone that would move around and get stuck in the duct and cause the pain. It would last until the stone worked loose and sunk back down. It never seemed to matter what I ate when I had an attack. It would just come on. I could go weeks and be fine and then it would hit. I agree that it is probably one of the most painful things ever.

I agree with the previous posters that leaning over and rocking was about the only thing that seemed to help any. It definitely did not make it go away, but helped easy it. Good luck until you can get this taken care of!!!!

I had gallbladder attacks right after I had my son in 2010 which lasted off and on for a year until I found out I had gallstones. Idid get pancreatitis in November 2011 while being like 7 weeks pregnant with my daughter so I couldn't get it removed. I have had maybe 1-2 attacks since then but none serious more just achey. I know what my triggers are for them so I basically just eat low fat foods. My triggers are anything dairy related pretty much. Cheese is by far the number 1 trigger for me, which sucks but you get used to it. After improving my diet I haven't felt better! Also what caused my small stone to get stuck in the bile duct is from leaning forward and rocking back and forth. Baaaad idea. I will have to get it out eventually but as for right now with knowing my triggers it's fine. Also this might be tmi but I can always tell when I need to give my gallbladder a rest is my BMs will be yellowish. Which is very common when you have gallstones.

Having mine out next week! Yikes!!

I was also told, losing weight can make them very upset (the stones). That its not just fat that can bring on an attack its a combo of fat/protein. But now anything does it, but I think I'll have a pretty good idea what a heart attack is gonna feel like when this is out of me. :explode:

I'm going in for an ultrasound tomorrow to see if I have gallstones. Interestingly enough I had my gallbladder removed in 2000. I had been having attacks and went to the ER several times only to be told that I had heartburn. They didn't expect a 21 year old to have gallbladder issues is what I was told. I ended up with a blocked bile duct and severely ill.

After having my son 12 weeks ago I've started having attacks that felt similar. I went to the ER last weekend hoping they could figure out the pain. It never occured to me that I could have gallstones again since it's been removed. Well seems like my doctor is thinking gallstones. It's apparently not common but it can happen that you develop stones without even having a gallblader. I'm not even sure how you treat that!

I don't have any trigger foods really. I've had attacks after eating a turkey sandwhich. I've had an attack after eating crackers. I've had an attack after eating chicken & rice. It seems like pretty much anything can cause me to have an attack.

I've had mine removed (10+yrs ago) but before the op, after my one and only HUGE attack, I didn't make any dietary changes and had no ill effects whatsoever. Guess I was lucky as it was over a year from the attack to the surgery.
My GB was FULL of rocks - I've still got them in a specimen jar, lol.