Gallbladder help

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eyecandyrayce
eyecandyrayce Posts: 260 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone. I'm posting here in hopes others who have experienced this can give me input.

I've found out that my gallbladder is full of stones. Over a dozen. The problem is that I just gave up my job to move closer to my elderly mom in case she needs me (2000 miles) so I'm currently unemployed. This means I don't have insurance which means I can't get the surgery (yet at least). The surgery can definitely be put off if I eat right.

I've done some research online about what foods I can and cannot eat. It seems pretty straight forward except a lot of the stuff I see online doesn't recommend changing your weight while dealing with gallstones but the diet restricts me to mostly veggies. I'm only doing about 700-800 calories a day now and that is with protein from fish. I also can't afford any special drinks. If I can't buy it with food stamps, I can't buy it.

Any advice from others who have gone through this on how to keep a balanced diet and get my 1400 calories a day when I am so restricted on what I can eat to avoid the pain?

Here is just one of the links I'm using for my can and cannot eat list:
http://www.gallbladderattack.com/gallbladderdiet.shtml

Thank you all in advance for your help.
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Replies

  • LovingLisa2012
    LovingLisa2012 Posts: 802 Member
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    can't help with the diet part .. but I wanted to give an idea.. I went to a charity type hosp to have my surgery done. they based it off my income, which I ended up getting all my care for free .. (my csm "manager" had hers done at the same hosp, and had to pay a small monthly fee)

    my pains were so bad that I couldn't function at all ( the last one, had me on the bathroom floor at work and i work at walmart :sick: )

    but the dr. told me, to avoid high fat food, but the common factor in my attacks, was a soda .so idk (i also had a stone stuck in a bile duct, so that may have caused the extreme pain)

    good luck, in any route you take .. gall stones are not fun
  • AbFabKat
    AbFabKat Posts: 16 Member
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    My gallbladder was completely filled with stones to the extent that the surgeon had issues easing it out through the small incisions made for the laproscopic procedure. I had to wait three weeks for the surgery to be scheduled. The surgeon instructed me to eat little to no fat at all in that time frame to avoid an attack. The fat is what triggers the gallbladder to release bile. When the valve opens, that is when the stones can move into the valve causing the intense pain.

    I ate poached chicken breast, fruits and vegetables for those three weeks and didn't have a single attack.

    Good luck! I hope you are able to have it removed soon!
  • gypsyrose64
    gypsyrose64 Posts: 271 Member
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    I am no expert on it, but I know a salted pack of peanuts almost killed me when I ended up in ER with my GB revolting. LOL (That was the sickest I've ever been.) My daughter had to have hers removed at 13 (must have a genetic hiccup there with the GB).

    I would suggest other lean meats (center cut pork, chicken breast) and egg whites... for protein. You just need to watch fats for a while, as I found this triggered mine prior to surgery. Keep protein up and fats down and you'll start to feel better.

    It's not wise to NET under 1200 calories a day. You will find yourself weak and sick on your current intake.
  • eyecandyrayce
    eyecandyrayce Posts: 260 Member
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    It isn't really what to eat that is the problem. I have a good handle on what I should and shouldn't eat. The problem I'm running into is that I'm not getting nearly enough calories each day and I'm eating every 2 hours. I'm concerned about getting so few calories each day. Most of the things I can eat don't really have much of a calorie count.
  • eyecandyrayce
    eyecandyrayce Posts: 260 Member
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    I'll start looking at lean meats. I had some 98% lean hamburger last night and still only had 700 calories for the day. I've already added my dinner to my counter and I'm at 709 calories for the day. I'm having salmon for dinner with veggies. It's crazy. I think I should probably look at having a meat for lunch as well as dinner.
  • gypsyrose64
    gypsyrose64 Posts: 271 Member
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    You need something besides fish for protein. Egg whites, pork or chicken all have calories that would make up the difference. Low fat yogurts and cottage cheese are other protein sources with low fat. Low fat cheese as well. It's hard to make suggestions if you are stuck on fish and veggies only. Low fat dairy in general is a quick way to boost calories and protein.
  • Jagreene62
    Jagreene62 Posts: 4,782 Member
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    I'll start looking at lean meats. I had some 98% lean hamburger last night and still only had 700 calories for the day. I've already added my dinner to my counter and I'm at 709 calories for the day. I'm having salmon for dinner with veggies. It's crazy. I think I should probably look at having a meat for lunch as well as dinner.


    I am no expert and am learning something new everyday....but.....Maybe, try to have a meat/protein at EVERY meal. I wouldn't think it would have to be so much lean meats, although they are certainly better for you, but the way you cook the meat. Always, grill or broil and you should be fine. Examples: Turkey (sausage, bacon, ground), Chicken (skinless), Fish, Pork, and even some lean Steaks. In between meals (snacks) could consist of boiled eggs as a protein too.

    Hope this helps, :drinker:
  • gypsyrose64
    gypsyrose64 Posts: 271 Member
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    1 cup of 2% milk has 130 calories and 8g protein, with 5g fat. If you keep your fat intake at any one meal low, the gallbladder won't freak out trying to dump bile and getting backed up.

    If you boil eggs, don't eat the yolks (fat)... or just buy egg whites in a carton and make egg-white omelet with low fat cheese.
  • eyecandyrayce
    eyecandyrayce Posts: 260 Member
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    You need something besides fish for protein. Egg whites, pork or chicken all have calories that would make up the difference. Low fat yogurts and cottage cheese are other protein sources with low fat. Low fat cheese as well. It's hard to make suggestions if you are stuck on fish and veggies only. Low fat dairy in general is a quick way to boost calories and protein.

    Both eggs and cheese are on the do not eat list for gallstones.

    I was reading the packages at the store and even low fat cheese has high saturated/trans fat and cottage cheese was extremely high which made me sad because I love it. I have to avoid saturated and trans as much as possible.
  • eyecandyrayce
    eyecandyrayce Posts: 260 Member
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    Thank you all for you advice. I am starting to see I'm probably overdoing the no fat rule and it is messing up my total calories. I have just never experienced something so painful in my life and I'm scared of having another flare up.
  • eyecandyrayce
    eyecandyrayce Posts: 260 Member
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    I am no expert and am learning something new everyday....but.....Maybe, try to have a meat/protein at EVERY meal. I wouldn't think it would have to be so much lean meats, although they are certainly better for you, but the way you cook the meat. Always, grill or broil and you should be fine. Examples: Turkey (sausage, bacon, ground), Chicken (skinless), Fish, Pork, and even some lean Steaks. In between meals (snacks) could consist of boiled eggs as a protein too.

    Hope this helps, :drinker:

    I think you are right. I need to start eating more protein food like chicken and fish with every meal instead of just with dinner. They suggest you avoid red meat entirely but I didn't have any issues with dinner last night.
  • lukasmac
    lukasmac Posts: 216 Member
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    Gall stones are common with dieters going for a low fat / low calorie diet. The stored bile in your gallbladder turns to thick sludge and becomes weak because its the low fat diet doesn't call on it often. I fell victim to this. Though, it was painful, I slowly increased my fat intake and did have a few bouts of gall bladder attacks but eventually cleared the sludge and now I have been symptom free for 3 years.

    Needless to say, follow your personal doctors advice, but for any dieters out there on a very low fat diet, find healthy ways to increase it to near the suggested levels.
  • poohpoohpeapod
    poohpoohpeapod Posts: 776 Member
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    Do you know extreme calories restriction CAUSES gallstones? Nurisystem was sued in the 80;s so many people developed gallstones. This is why they upped the calories. 800-900 calories is not ebnough for someone 70lbs.
  • lukasmac
    lukasmac Posts: 216 Member
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    Drink linseed tea in case of a gall bladder attack. Make sure its piping hot or its like drinking snot due to the thick oils.
  • poohpoohpeapod
    poohpoohpeapod Posts: 776 Member
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    drink acicic lemon water, grapefruit, tomato juice. It somehow helps with the fats, even releives some peoples pain.
  • poohpoohpeapod
    poohpoohpeapod Posts: 776 Member
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    Other studies have shown that 10 to 25 percent of obese people develop gallstones while on a very-low-calorie diet. (Very-low-calorie diets are usually defined as diets containing 800 calories a day or less. The food is often in liquid form and taken for a prolonged period, typically 12 to 16 weeks.) The gallstones that developed in people on very-low-calorie diets were usually silent and did not produce any symptoms. However, about a third of the dieters who developed gallstones did have symptoms, and a proportion of these required gallbladder surgery
  • GottaLoseIt13
    GottaLoseIt13 Posts: 31 Member
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    I had my gallbladder attack back on November 4, 2011. I had my gallbladder removed on November 10th. My surgeon didn't want me to wait too long before having my surgery due to how many stones I had. (According to him, the technician that had read my ultrasound stopped counting after 45 because there were so many and just wrote "extreme multiple stones" on the review) Between the time of my attack and my surgery, I wasn't allowed to eat anything fatty or spicy. I had to be really careful with different kinds of sauces and had to make sure they didn't have a lot of spices in them, even if they didn't taste spicy.

    One recommendation I have for you though...please speak to someone in the financial department of either your doctor's office or the hospital you would be having the surgery at. Most hospitals do have some kind of programs to help assist low-income/non-insured people. When I lived in OH, if I needed to have a procedure done, I filled out paperwork, giving them all of my income information and insurance information (which at that time was zero to both). I would go in, have the procedure done, and when I got the bill, I submitted it along with my paper work. Depending on my income at the time, I would either have to pay a small percentage of the bill or nothing at all.

    It would be in your best interest to talk to someone and see if there are any programs available to help you out. You don't want to wait too long if the surgery is absolutely needed. My dad had an attack years ago (back in the 80's) and when they realized he was having a gallbladder attack and rushed him into surgery, his gallbladder had crystalized and actually had broken into pieces. Unbeknownst to him, he had been having attacks for a year.

    Good luck to you and I hope everything works out for you!
  • gypsyrose64
    gypsyrose64 Posts: 271 Member
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    Low fat diet is what got me. Irony is I had it removed and now have a low carb-high fat diet and feel pretty darned good.
    Hindsight is always 20/20. To the OP, just keep digging. I still think low fat dairy is a way to add some healthy calories when done in moderation.
  • lukasmac
    lukasmac Posts: 216 Member
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    @pooh ... Extreme dieting doesn't cause the stones. Most stones are made up of cholestrol from bad eating choices and are already there, but they've had a steady flow of bile from fatty foods to migrate BUT the stones do not migrate to the stomach at a small size because the bile is thicker and unused when extreme dieting.
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
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    I don't have any diet advice, but I just wanted to wish you luck. There are medications your doctor can prescribe to dissolve the stones. With a diet overhaul and the medication, you just may be able to save your gallbladder. And believe me, you WANT to save your gallbladder. I certainly wish I had mine back.

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