Gall bladder problems

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So, I was just wondering if there was anyone else on here who is dealing with gall bladder issues. A few years ago I was told I had a few stones (in the hospital for my appendix and they saw them on the CT scan) but they didn't remove my gall bladder. Last night I had THE WORST attack I have had since my appendix was removed (I am beginning to think that the attacks I was having before they removed my appendix were actually caused by my gall bladder but then when they viewed the CT it showed my appendix was inflamed as well- guess I was lucky I was having attacks because appendix bursting is NOT a good thing). When looking up things online about gall bladder I ran across a website listing some causes of attacks and I realized that last night was probably the culmination of a few bad practices (I had been drinking wine and drank more than I have since the end of last year, also my calorie count for most days is 1300 and this site was saying that low calorie diets can cause attacks, etc...). I guess I am just wondering if anyone has dealt with gall stones and have you been able to relieve the symptoms or dissolve stones through diet without having to go the surgery route. I appreciate any insight.
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Replies

  • Beautifulsoull
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    Hi, I had my galbladder removed in 2003, I was REALLY young, 13yrs old. Poor dieting is one of the causes of having a bad galbladder. There is number of reasons too. But mine was caused by poor diet. It took them a year to find out that it was my galbladder. Went back and foworth to my doctor and the hopistal number of times before they realized it. Mine was so bad that there was no waiting, I was in the hospital for a week and I kept having attacks. After I had it removed I found out that certain foods wouldn't settle with me, fast food, fried food and even salads either made me stay in the bathroom or I just felt sick to my stomach. Now I can eat anything without having that problem, but still have to watch the intake of it. Good luck to you and I wish you the best and hope that yours isn't as bad as mine was.
  • JessicaN1979
    JessicaN1979 Posts: 142 Member
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    I have had gallbladder issues for many years, but have found that if I avoid fried foods or fatty foods, soda and alcohol, then I feel a lot better. I haven't had an attack in over a year probably. I cannot eat lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes either, but I am not sure if that is a gallbladder thing, but I am miserable afterwards.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    I have had gallbladder issues for many years, but have found that if I avoid fried foods or fatty foods, soda and alcohol, then I feel a lot better. I haven't had an attack in over a year probably. I cannot eat lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes either, but I am not sure if that is a gallbladder thing, but I am miserable afterwards.

    My daughter had her gallbladder out and can't eat lettuce either. TMI, but she says if she eats it that it's more like she just rented it, comes out the same as it went in!
  • UseItForFuel
    UseItForFuel Posts: 29 Member
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    I personally needed mine to be removed through laparoscopic surgery. It wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was NOTHING compared to the actual attacks I had been going through for months. I had many small stones. I was about 19.

    I had a great diet, I had already lost the majority of the weight. My doctors believe my gallstones were due to losing so much weight (an accumulation of the cholesterol released from my body) and because I had been taking Alli.

    I would suggest looking into getting it removed, if it is an option for you. I was back to working out full force in I'd say about 2.5-3 weeks.
  • nettasue35
    nettasue35 Posts: 190 Member
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    eating meat can bother it to.
  • jryan83
    jryan83 Posts: 72 Member
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    I had suffered for years with gallbladder problems. The cause of it was partially dietary, but taking oral birth-control can also cause damage to the gallbladder. I had been on them since I was 15 and think that played a large part.

    The worst episodes I had were when I was actually passing stones. Sometimes they would get stuck in my bile ducts and cause tremendous pain/cramps, vomitting, distended/swollen belly, urge to goto bathroom. It was serious and because I was misdiagnosed for a long time and rely on public health services I had to endure this for years before they actually did a surgery to remove my gallbladder.

    I'm so much better for it being out. I still have gastro issues, but I'm working them out. The surgery was easy and simple (laproscopy). Took a few hours and 1 week of recovery at home.

    Eating a diet low in fats, particularly saturated fats is helpful.
  • nanciparker
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    I had my gall bladder out about 10 yrs ago, they tried everything to save it so for a year i had those blasted attacks. Eat? don't eat? no alcohol, no red meat, don't eat too much, don't let your stomach get empty. What a pain...literally. Surgery relatively easy, the only thing now is that I cannot eat fatty foods, NO red meat, no skin on chicken, etc. No strawberries, I put greens into my blender and whir it up with a protein powder mix. No nuts, no tomatoes, no pineapples or orange juice. Basically no fats and no acids. I have always eaten healthy, no fast foods, low fat. I do well now, as long as I watch what I eat. So if you're trying to keep it in, here are some tips: NO red meat. No fatty foods, No fast foods. No acidic foods. No nuts (fatty). No or very little alcohol. (1 glass of wine now and then) Eat very small meals several times a day but make them count. If can't do greens, eat them in a blender mixture. They will not taste like greens if you blend with a breakfast smoothie, and you will get all those glorious nutrients. Lots of water. Seems like a lot, but you will have to do this after surgery as well, might as well get used to it. Nanci
  • bonjour24
    bonjour24 Posts: 1,119 Member
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    i know the pain of gallstones well! mine were apparantly pregnancy induced, although i wasn't particularly healthy then.

    the best recommendations i have are to eat a very low fat diet. this means NO fried foods, NO takeaways, limit alcohol - i basically ate broccoli and drank water for a month. Even then I still had an attack.

    I only had 4 or 5 episodes of gallstone attacks. I ended up going to the emergency dept because one of the stones got stuck, turned me yellow and itchy (it blocks the bile duct, so the bilirubin ends up going into your blood stream i think). the surgery is not painful and recovery is not difficult. i'm an absolute advocate of whipping the bugger out!

    however, if you don't want to go the surgery route for whatever reason, i think it's a case of monitoring your dietary intake to see if there any common themes that trigger an attack. but be very aware, because (rarely) when a stone gets stuck it can induce pancreatitis and be fatal. but i don't think that happens often anymore. so if you go a bit yellow, forget about the non-surgical way and go to ED.

    ETA- the only food i have issues with now is fried hot chips from the chip shop. i can only eat a handful, otherwise i'll see them again! i can eat everything else and have no issues.
  • MrsRamseyForever
    MrsRamseyForever Posts: 28 Member
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    Thanks for the replies. I guess the main reason I don't want to have it taken out at the moment is money and time. I don't have great insurance and time wise, I really can't afford to take time off work because I am saving my personal time for when I have to take my youngest to the doctor (we just found out she is deaf so there are a lot of doctor's appointments right now). I have been trying my best to slowly change my diet (have always tried to eat healthy for the most part but still use a lot of process foods for ease and convenience) and I think I will keep working on that. It sounds like once you have it removed you still have to change your diet somewhat so I think if I can work on that for now, at least if I have to have it removed then I will already have made that change and won't have to do it while also recovering from surgery. This just sucks :(!
  • beekuzz
    beekuzz Posts: 428 Member
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    I had mine taken out 18 years ago, right after my 2nd daughter was born. I lost my appendix after the first daughter. ODD. But, the pain with the gallbladder was the worst thing I've ever had. If they would have left it in, I would have cut it out myself - it was so painful. I feel for anyone that has stones and they haven't taken it out yet.
  • RobinvdM
    RobinvdM Posts: 634 Member
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    I had my first, and worst gall bladder attack last April. It hurt so much I couldn't breath and was throwing up everything I ate. I wound up in the ER and they suggested I hang out there until they could find out just how bad the GB was. 2 days later I had it out. They couldn't give me a definite reason why the sudden flare up - but after a lot of looking around I found that sudden weight loss, changing diet, and getting healthier (of all things!) can contribute to gall stones in a significant way.

    After the surgery I went back to eating normally, no change in diet at all which was nice. I love the fact it was laparoscopy surgery, my surgeon was amazing and got me back home in time for my son's birthday. (All said I was in the hospital 3 nights.)

    If you're having issues, figure out just how serious it is. I get the financial part of it, but a good surgeon can have you in and out over the weekend =P
  • cat3nv
    cat3nv Posts: 389 Member
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    Surgery is scheduled to have mine removed May 10th. I have handed my hubby a knife in the kitchen and asked him to remove it for me. Horrible horrible pain.

    It really does not matter what I eat, every day is different as to what may make it flare up. Hope you feel better soon. :flowerforyou:
  • be_runner
    be_runner Posts: 20
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    I had mine removed Oct 2011. I was home later that afternoon and up and moving (slowly) three days later. I havent
    had a single issue since and can eat whatever I want without repercussions. Surgery is never fun but from the other side I'm very glad I did it.
  • Jolene8992
    Jolene8992 Posts: 127 Member
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    6 months ago I was having gb pain. Dr wanted to do surgery. Started eating diet high in raw spinach beets and asparagus. Cleaned that gallbladder out. No more pain. People who have had it out seem to have endless problems.
  • suv_hater
    suv_hater Posts: 374 Member
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    You need your gallbladder. It can be healed. Don't let doctors take the easy route and advise you to have your gallbladder removed. Doctors want everything removed these days and it is an underestimation of the human body. If you have it removed, it may not solve all of your problems. The liver relies on the gallbladder.

    I would begin juicing everyday. (Ginger, cabbage, mint, apple, pear, carrot)
    Eat leafy herbs (parsley, mint, chives, basil)
    Take digestive enzymes before meals
    Omega-3 fatty acids (also just as important to have no higher than a 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3)
    Apply warm castor oil packs to the region. You can buy castor oil at any health food store and a hot pack for less than $20.
    Here is a video on how to do it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVaCT80TzlY

    I had gallbladder issues in the past and now it is healed. Don't eat junk, drink water, and do all the things I listed above. Give it time and your body will respond.
  • efirkey
    efirkey Posts: 298 Member
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    Yo Yo dieting isn't good for the gall bladder. I had occasional attacks that lasted about 45 minutes, but they were severe. If I ate really well and lost some weight I didn't have any attacks, but my gall bladder was still full of stones. After about 8 years of attacks I was at a family party and I had two slices of pizza. Two slices of pizza gave me an attack that lasted for hours and put me in the emergency room. I decided that night to have it removed and two days later it was gone.

    Personally it was the best decision. It has been a couple of years and I haven't had any problems.

    The worst problem with having attacks was never knowing when they might happen. Whenever I went any where especially traveling I had to be super careful about what I ate. A couple of times I had mild attacks when far away from home and had to grin and bear it, not easy.

    This is a personal decision that you must make. I know my attacks were bad enough to make me crawl into the fetal position and cry until they stopped and I handle pain pretty well. I wish you the best.
  • suv_hater
    suv_hater Posts: 374 Member
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    6 months ago I was having gb pain. Dr wanted to do surgery. Started eating diet high in raw spinach beets and asparagus. Cleaned that gallbladder out. No more pain. People who have had it out seem to have endless problems.
    Yes, that is it!

    So glad to hear someone exercise patience and rely on mother nature. I juiced beets, carrots, ginger, apple for months and months and think it played a big role in healing my gallbladder.
  • MrsRamseyForever
    MrsRamseyForever Posts: 28 Member
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    You need your gallbladder. It can be healed. Don't let doctors take the easy route and advise you to have your gallbladder removed. Doctors want everything removed these days and it is an underestimation of the human body. If you have it removed, it may not solve all of your problems. The liver relies on the gallbladder.

    I would begin juicing everyday. (Ginger, cabbage, mint, apple, pear, carrot)
    Eat leafy herbs (parsley, mint, chives, basil)
    Take digestive enzymes before meals
    Omega-3 fatty acids (also just as important to have no higher than a 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3)
    Apply warm castor oil packs to the region. You can buy castor oil at any health food store and a hot pack for less than $20.
    Here is a video on how to do it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVaCT80TzlY

    I had gallbladder issues in the past and now it is healed. Don't eat junk, drink water, and do all the things I listed above. Give it time and your body will respond.

    Just a few questions (and thanks for the great feedback- I really am hoping to not have to go the surgery route):

    I have juiced a few times before and I really enjoy making fresh juice. My issue really is time and clean up. Is it possible to make a larger quantity of juice on the weekends and then drink it throughout the week? (I guess I'm asking- how long will it last in the fridge?) Also- how the HECK do you count calories for the juice you make??

    Also, where do you get digestive enzymes (besides in your own body, of course :smile: )?

    I did read on the website I found something about a "flush" you could do. But to be honest, those type of things worry me. Not knowing how my body will react or how big my stones are, etc... I would be worried that I would attempt a flush and a stone would get stuck in the bile duct and then I WOULD need surgery. Has anyone ever done something like that? How do you get the gall stones to pass?

    Thanks again for the great feedback!
  • dumb_blondes_rock
    dumb_blondes_rock Posts: 1,568 Member
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    GET IT REMOVED!!!! I can't stress it enough honestly. I dealt with attacks for over a year because I kept putting off the surgery and thinking "oh ill get the surgery later" especially since they gave me this little pills that helped stop the cramping.....so I should have been ok right? WRONG!!! I would always have an attack like once a month after I had pizza or something I knew I shouldn't' have had, but one whole week went by and every night I had cramping so bad that I couldn't' sleep and it made me throw up. Literally the only position that felt like I wasn't going to pass out from pain was on my knees with my face in the toilet....totally sick! Well after the week of on and off again horrific pain I decided after work I would go to the e.r. and get some more pills and try to get scheduled for surgery sometime in the future. I woke up and my eyeballs were yellow and so was my mouth, but I thought it was all in my head. I went to work and instantly started felling passy-outy and had cold sweats, so I left early and went to the er. A stone had popped out and blocked my bile duct, so my bile was coming back and eating away at my liver and pancreas. I was Jaundice as a result of my liver being slowly disintegrated by bile, so I had to be in the hospital for a week and they couldn't perform surgery until my liver numbers improved, which meant I wasn't allowed to eat any food whatsoever, not even broth, and I couldn't drink anything, even water, This happed for three days with the no water and 5 days with no food....and the only food I was allowed to eat after that was broth and jello. I ended up having two surgeries cause they had to expand the duct to get the stone out, and then the next day I got the actual removal surgery. If I had just gone through with the surgery a year prior all of this would never have happened. Honestly, see a doctor and get that thing removed!

    Oh and the recovery was HORRIBLE.... they fill you up with gas to expand the duct, and they can't take it all the way out so gas is just floating in your body....mine happened to float up into my chest and back so bad that I couldn't take anything but a shallow tiny breath without it feeling like someone was stabbing me with 100 knives. I was on morphine, muscle relaxers and pain killers and that ish still hurt like a mother. I couldn't sleep because of the pain so the poor nurse gave me a sleeping pill which had no effect either...just see a doctor asap missy!
  • MouseTmom
    MouseTmom Posts: 201 Member
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    My attacks started out relatively mild and then got steadily worse over a few years- although I was not aware the first few were gal bladder attacks. My mom guessed what they were since both he and my grandmother had gall bladder problems (my Dr. said it can be very hereditary). Anyway, after an especially bad attack I ended up in the ER and they verified it was my gall bladder. Long story short - I had my gall bladder out the following week at a surgery center. I worked until 11 am - was at surgery center by noon - back home by 6 pm. Took the next day off work and was back at work the day after that. Definitely worth it to have it removed!!!