Oh my aching Gallbladder. :/

leotardbanshee
leotardbanshee Posts: 92 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Okay so I have been diagnosed with billiary sludge, basically sludge in my gallbladder that could turn into gallstones, I am concerned about whether or not I should get surgery because I have heard that some people have had horrible experiences after having theirs removed. I have tried doing an apple fast and it seemed to calm some of my symptoms, but recently I am in a lot of pain and having a hard time sleeping and generally doing most things. I am wondering if anyone has been able to use food to assist in curing or reducing gallbladder issues. Thanks for the help in advance!!! :D

Replies

  • toomuchbootyindapants
    toomuchbootyindapants Posts: 811 Member
    I used to have terrible gallbladder issues when I was eating unhealthy and overweight. I'll mention some things here that I did and while I can't say for sure what ONE thing did the most good, I can say that I haven't suffered from ANY gallbladder attacks or pain in several years.
    1.) take 1 tbsp Bragg's apple cider vinegar a day (in 12 oz of water if you need to) - these are natural digestive enzymes to help with the digestive process
    2.) take probiotics daily
    3.) I did a "gallbladder/liver cleanse" on the advice of a naturopath. It was crazy but I swear that ish worked. It required me to eat a granny smith apple each day for five days. Then on the sixth day in the evening I drank some crazy concoction of epsom salts and apple cider to get things "going" - before bed I took olive oil in grapefruit juice. Upon waking, more epsom in apple cider. Then spent the rest of the day pretty much on the couch or toilet. Yes, the point was to crap it all out....and that I did.

    Then I completely overhauled my diet (really think THIS was the changing factor) and cut out all processed (or most) foods. Ate clean and/or organic for several months to heal up my digestive system. In the process, lost a bunch of weight.

    People will say I'm crazy for having done the cleanse...and I will agree. But I was desperate, in pain, suffering from attacks, and knew I didn't want surgery so I was willing to try pretty much anything "natural" to help. I'm glad I did and anyone saying the contrary can KMA. :D
  • Quiltmania
    Quiltmania Posts: 59
    Okay so I have been diagnosed with billiary sludge, basically sludge in my gallbladder that could turn into gallstones, I am concerned about whether or not I should get surgery because I have heard that some people have had horrible experiences after having theirs removed. I have tried doing an apple fast and it seemed to calm some of my symptoms, but recently I am in a lot of pain and having a hard time sleeping and generally doing most things. I am wondering if anyone has been able to use food to assist in curing or reducing gallbladder issues. Thanks for the help in advance!!! :D

    Get the surgery. It was the best thing I ever did. I had sludge, stones, you name it in there. Plus, I put it off so long that infection had set in and the gallbladder was beginning to fuse to the liver. I felt bad for about 10 days after but after that, I haven't had any problems.
  • leotardbanshee
    leotardbanshee Posts: 92 Member
    I used to have terrible gallbladder issues when I was eating unhealthy and overweight. I'll mention some things here that I did and while I can't say for sure what ONE thing did the most good, I can say that I haven't suffered from ANY gallbladder attacks or pain in several years.
    1.) take 1 tbsp Bragg's apple cider vinegar a day (in 12 oz of water if you need to) - these are natural digestive enzymes to help with the digestive process
    2.) take probiotics daily
    3.) I did a "gallbladder/liver cleanse" on the advice of a naturopath. It was crazy but I swear that ish worked. It required me to eat a granny smith apple each day for five days. Then on the sixth day in the evening I drank some crazy concoction of epsom salts and apple cider to get things "going" - before bed I took olive oil in grapefruit juice. Upon waking, more epsom in apple cider. Then spent the rest of the day pretty much on the couch or toilet. Yes, the point was to crap it all out....and that I did.

    Then I completely overhauled my diet (really think THIS was the changing factor) and cut out all processed (or most) foods. Ate clean and/or organic for several months to heal up my digestive system. In the process, lost a bunch of weight.

    People will say I'm crazy for having done the cleanse...and I will agree. But I was desperate, in pain, suffering from attacks, and knew I didn't want surgery so I was willing to try pretty much anything "natural" to help. I'm glad I did and anyone saying the contrary can KMA. :D



    Wow thank you so much for the advice! I am scheduled to have surgery in about two weeks and I have gone from severe to light pains for a while now depending upon what I eat. I did an apple cleanse (not as intense as yours) and I felt immensely better. I am, however worried of the possibility of infection (I am not at that point right now). I understand that after you have surgery, you may have to change your diet after having gallbladder surgery regardless, so I am veering towards a lifestyle of clean eating and I feel like I am on the learning curve right now lol.
  • WAHMto5
    WAHMto5 Posts: 375 Member
    I had mine out years ago and was not a bad surgery at all. I had a full blown attack wgich was not fun at all.
  • caribougal
    caribougal Posts: 865 Member
    Big link between gallbladder issues and gluten. Get yourself tested for celiac disease. Or try eliminating gluten for 30 days before you have surgery.
  • kayfrog
    kayfrog Posts: 109 Member
    I was having an attack at least once a week that lasted 5-8 hours at a time. It was getting to where I couldn't eat anything without getting sick and ended up loosing 30ish pounds.

    Needless to say, the surgery was the best thing I ever did.

    If you have stones (especially large ones that can't be passed) I would suggest getting it removed. I've had no problems and contrary to popular belief, you don't have to cut out any type of food once its gone.
  • ldbuster0
    ldbuster0 Posts: 207
    I had my gallbladder removed many many years ago. I had so many gallstones I couldn't count them. I was scheduled for surgery on a Monday and I had the worst attack I ever had on a Saturday. I had emergency surgery. My doctor joked with me about it. After the surgery, my life has been so much better.
  • sniker_doodles
    sniker_doodles Posts: 47
    I had mine taken out almost 2 yrs. ago. for the 1st week when ppl asked if I was ok I would joke that I felt like a part of me is missing. its hard to be sure what you can keep in and can't I'm still learning. it hurts after the surgery I wanted to stab my doctor because they wanted me to walk the night after my surgery. I HAD to get mine out though because it got really bad. If your doctor thinks its best then he maybe right.
  • LoriIone
    LoriIone Posts: 88 Member
    Get it taken out before you get stones! I had 2 stones the size of golf balls in mine and 18 the size of marbles. Having an attack with those hurt worse than child birth! (I've had a natural birth and a c-section) nip it in the bud, get it out! I feel 110% better now, NO side effects!
  • CWatermelon
    CWatermelon Posts: 146 Member
    I would try a cleanse first. My mom did the cleanse and avoided surgery. I do the cleanse regularly just to flush my liver so that it doesn't back up into the gallbladder. I use Dr. Hulda Clark's with olive oil and grapefruit. Changing your diet is even more important, but the cleanse will get rid of the stones.
  • Lizzythecat
    Lizzythecat Posts: 13
    I'd say get the surgery asap, I had it done last year via laparoscopy and I was able to go home the same day. I had stones which caused pancreatitis, it was incredibly painful (the pancreatitis, not the surgery) and I'm so glad I had my gallbladder removed. By the way, rapid weight loss can cause gallstones.
  • greasygriddle
    greasygriddle Posts: 32 Member
    heard of a little thing called Pancreatitis? i'm sure you are "dying" to know... get it out. :sick:
  • restoreleanne
    restoreleanne Posts: 217 Member
    Having an attack with those hurt worse than child birth. I had 3 before they said it was safe to remove mine due to me being in a high risk pregnancy at the time. I had mine removed over 2 years ago and I still have pain in the same place if I eat fatty food. with some unpleasant side effects. way you risks and is it infected?
  • Deka61
    Deka61 Posts: 74
    I had severe pain due to sludge, the doctor said get it taken out. I changed my diet, stopped eating bread, and lots of carbs, and ensured that my diet had lots of olive oil in it. I also in the same period recognised that my job was making me ill. 10 years later, no pain, no surgery. Later on this year I'm going to treat myself to a full body MRI and see how it is doing.
  • Trista87Marie
    Trista87Marie Posts: 180 Member
    I had my gall bladder out about 3 years ago. I am so glad that I did. The pain that I was in was unbearable. I had to have mine removed in emergency surgery because it was so infected that it was gangrene. The side effects after the surgery( having to run to the bathroom immediately after eating eggs and constant loose stools) were nothing compared to the pain I was in before I had it removed. I have been eating much cleaner over the last month and almost instantly noticed that these symptoms are nearly gone altho eggs still bother my system. From what I hear everyone is very different but I would def suggest having it out if changing your diet first doesn't help.
  • elis_mama
    elis_mama Posts: 308 Member
    Okay so I have been diagnosed with billiary sludge, basically sludge in my gallbladder that could turn into gallstones, I am concerned about whether or not I should get surgery because I have heard that some people have had horrible experiences after having theirs removed. I have tried doing an apple fast and it seemed to calm some of my symptoms, but recently I am in a lot of pain and having a hard time sleeping and generally doing most things. I am wondering if anyone has been able to use food to assist in curing or reducing gallbladder issues. Thanks for the help in advance!!! :D

    Get the surgery. It was the best thing I ever did. I had sludge, stones, you name it in there. Plus, I put it off so long that infection had set in and the gallbladder was beginning to fuse to the liver. I felt bad for about 10 days after but after that, I haven't had any problems.

    I second that.....mine got SO infected and horrible that I had to go to the emergency room and had a nice, 4 day stay in the hospital before they could even operate. I had pancreatitis, gallstones, sludge, jaundice and had a stone caught in my bile duct. It was awful. After the surgery, I was in for about 2 days, just because of all my previous issues. The surgery was the BEST thing I did!!!! I feel soooooooo much better. It's been about a year.
  • elis_mama
    elis_mama Posts: 308 Member
    heard of a little thing called Pancreatitis? i'm sure you are "dying" to know... get it out. :sick:

    Ugh. Totally ended up with that due to gallbladder issues!!! Worst pain EVER!!! Worse than labor!
  • princess3479
    princess3479 Posts: 13 Member
    i had my gallbladder out a year ago & i am glad i had the surgery.. gallstones are very painful & eventually everything i ate gave me problems. my gallstone attacks would last for hours & there was nothing i could do to help the pain, i literally would crawl into the fetal position & cry. initially i was not going to have it out because i was afraid of surgery but what changed my mind was having Pancreatitis!!!! worst pain ever, i was in pain for 3 or 4 days straight!!!! like someone else mentioned braggs organic apple cider vinegar does help, i used to drink some every day when i had gallstones!!! post surgery -i am no longer experiencing the pain i did before & can eat most foods but certain foods still upset my stomach & make me feel like i am having an attack. high fatty foods, greasy foods and carbonated drink still bother me along with some unpleasant side effects.
  • princess3479
    princess3479 Posts: 13 Member
    Having an attack with those hurt worse than child birth. I had 3 before they said it was safe to remove mine due to me being in a high risk pregnancy at the time. I had mine removed over 2 years ago and I still have pain in the same place if I eat fatty food. with some unpleasant side effects. way you risks and is it infected?


    i thought i was the only one who experienced this! certain days where i eat high fatty foods, greasy foods or even drinks such as carbonated water i get a pain on my right side of my stomach, feels like i am having a gallstone attack but less intense than what i experienced with gallstones.
  • leotardbanshee
    leotardbanshee Posts: 92 Member
    Everyone who has had gallbladder attacks, can you tell me about your symptoms? I am not sure whether what I am experiencing now is an actual gallbladder attack...
  • ting1789
    ting1789 Posts: 11 Member
    When I had galbladder attacks it would feel like a lady with huge nails was just clawing at my stomach. I also had horrible goldenrod colored diarrhea that started a good 2 months before things got serious. I had an attack that lasted 12 hours, but I ignored it hoping that it would go away.

    The next morning I was in the ER, they gave me morphine, and told me to go home and set a date for surgery. Once the morphine wore off the pain returned and I continually had the urge to throw up even after everything, including all bile, was out. I was back in the ER less than 12 hours after I had left and by that time I had developed pancreatitis.

    2 days later I had "emergency" galballder removal and it was the best thing I ever did. If you're young and have sludge already it's better to have it taken out now because you're pretty much guaranteed to fight the good fight until it's removed. Mine acted up after I was put on metformin and lost 50lbs. I was recovering from surgery on my 16th birthday.

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