Does gallbladder removal cause weight gain?

lavendah
lavendah Posts: 126 Member
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
Getting a surgery for gallbladder removal this week..
Had no idea about the weight loss thing unless I heard it from a friend and subsequently googled it.And bam.Countless people crying about how they have uncontrollably put on leaps of weight no matter how much and what they eat and what kind of lifestyle they have..
The reasoning is that since gallbladder no longer helps in the breakdown of fats,the fat gets accumulated.. Doesn't make much sense to me because doesn't that imply that eating fat = getting fat..

But this is indeed scary and I'm questioning my decision (though there is no going back now).

Want to know the experience of all gallbladderless people.
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Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I had mine out a couple of years before I started my weight loss. Doesn't seem to have slowed me down at all.
  • Danilynn1975
    Danilynn1975 Posts: 294 Member
    I felt better after it was gone.

  • mommyofjan
    mommyofjan Posts: 65 Member
    I had mine removed more than ten years ago. It never caused weight loss or gain. I do have issues eating high fat foods...they go quickly and painfully through me
  • Danilynn1975
    Danilynn1975 Posts: 294 Member
    mommyofjan wrote: »
    I had mine removed more than ten years ago. It never caused weight loss or gain. I do have issues eating high fat foods...they go quickly and painfully through me

    this can work to your advantage sometimes if things get...um, backed up. 1 tablespoon coconut oil and Bam! no more back-ups.
  • lavendah
    lavendah Posts: 126 Member
    Danilynn1975 wrote: »
    mommyofjan wrote: »
    I had mine removed more than ten years ago. It never caused weight loss or gain. I do have issues eating high fat foods...they go quickly and painfully through me

    this can work to your advantage sometimes if things get...um, backed up. 1 tablespoon coconut oil and Bam! no more back-ups.

    I'm sorry but what is this supposed to mean :neutral_face:
  • Danilynn1975
    Danilynn1975 Posts: 294 Member
    lavendah wrote: »
    Danilynn1975 wrote: »
    mommyofjan wrote: »
    I had mine removed more than ten years ago. It never caused weight loss or gain. I do have issues eating high fat foods...they go quickly and painfully through me

    this can work to your advantage sometimes if things get...um, backed up. 1 tablespoon coconut oil and Bam! no more back-ups.

    I'm sorry but what is this supposed to mean :neutral_face:

    I have no gallbladder. without coconut oil I would not poop more than 1 time a week. with coconut oil I can go daily.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Danilynn1975 wrote: »
    lavendah wrote: »
    Danilynn1975 wrote: »
    mommyofjan wrote: »
    I had mine removed more than ten years ago. It never caused weight loss or gain. I do have issues eating high fat foods...they go quickly and painfully through me

    this can work to your advantage sometimes if things get...um, backed up. 1 tablespoon coconut oil and Bam! no more back-ups.

    I'm sorry but what is this supposed to mean :neutral_face:

    I have no gallbladder. without coconut oil I would not poop more than 1 time a week. with coconut oil I can go daily.

    I would hate to have that as a side effect! I'm still completely regular without my gallbladder, so it's not something I've had to worry about.

  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    I had mine removed in the middle of my weight loss. I think that I have lost 35 more pounds since then.

    This is in spite of many complications, including the fact that the surgeon broke my rib during the procedure and did not tell me. It hurt for a good year after that and while it didn't slow me down all that much, it sure made exercise painful.

    My stomach was a little iffy if eating anything with oil in it, but only for the first couple of weeks.
  • Amanda4change
    Amanda4change Posts: 620 Member
    mommyofjan wrote: »
    I had mine removed more than ten years ago. It never caused weight loss or gain. I do have issues eating high fat foods...they go quickly and painfully through me

    I had mine out 19 years ago and have the same issue, but it's only animal fats that do it to me.
  • BraveNewdGirl
    BraveNewdGirl Posts: 937 Member
    I had mine removed about three months ago and I didn't gain any weight at all. I actually continued to lose weight. Of course, my appetite was a little shot for a couple of days after the surgery, but I quickly got back to eating my usual diet and logging. As long as there are no complications, it shouldn't hinder your weight loss at all, let alone cause weight gain. I took a full four weeks off from exercising as per my surgeon's orders and just kept eating at a deficit.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    I had mine out in 2005. It's not had any affect on me. I can still eat high fat foods, within reason of course. I never ate that many high fat foods to begin with though. And it hasn't had any affect on my weight loss at all.
  • fitphoenix
    fitphoenix Posts: 9,673 Member
    I had mine out two summers ago and have seen no effect on my weight loss--apart from the fact that I gained weight afterwards because I exercised less and excitedly ate lots of food (especially high fat food) again once it was gone and I wasn't in a lot of pain. But that was high calories and stupidity, lol, not the absence of the gallbladder. I have subsequently re-lost all that weight at what is essentially the same rate I lost it the first time.

    As I understand it (admittedly very little, so I'm probably getting all the terms wrong), the liver keeps doing its enzyme thing, and there's just less regulation (or something) because of the lack of gallbladder. The gallbladder wasn't making the enzyme. Dietary fat doesn't magically become body fat without a gallbladder.
  • Valrotha
    Valrotha Posts: 294 Member
    I haven't noticed any real side effects. I can still eat what I want (not always good), and I have no serious problems losing weight assuming I'm doing it right. I, too, have heard varying reports from people. Guess I was lucky.

    Good luck in your surgery. Luckily recovery times are minimal now.
  • mom2ava07
    mom2ava07 Posts: 186 Member
    Had mine out in December and I'm down 12.5 pounds.

    I feel much better.
  • LizArnold28
    LizArnold28 Posts: 1
    The way it was explained to me (before surgery) is that the gallbladder acts as a reservoir for the bile which helps in the breakdown of fats. Normally if you eat a high fat meal the reservoir allows a bit of extra bile into your system to break it down. Without a gallbladder the bile just "dribbles" into your system constantly so there is no extra when you eat a higher fat than normal meal. He also said there was the potential for the situation to suddenly become life threatening if I did not have the surgery (not sure if that applies to everyone but I imagine it does) so I didn't let the possibility of weight gain stop me from having the surgery. It is certainly good to be pain-free and not have to carry a sick bag with me wherever I go :)
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    I think the original theory is incorrect. The fats no longer will be digested because bile is no longer triggered by fatty foods. Its like having a fawcet on trickle all the time. So often times you will have an excess of undigested fats, which will not cause weight gain. Loose stools are common due to the unabsorbed bile salts. Follow your doctors reccomendations. I have IBS and take bile binding meds and an anticholenergic when needed.

    I've had mine out for about 7 years. My daughter had her out about a year ago. I think all the internet opinions are bunk. You'll be fine.

    Discuss your concerns with your doc- you'll get asinine opionions on the internet.
  • justjane373
    justjane373 Posts: 1
    Having your gallbladder removed should not cause weight gain. With a gallbladder, when you eat the gallbladder contracts and squirts bile out to begin the process of fat emulsification. Without your gallbladder, bile continually drip feeds into your system from the liver (instead of being collected in the gallbladder)
  • lavendah
    lavendah Posts: 126 Member
    LizArnold28 wrote: »
    The way it was explained to me (before surgery) is that the gallbladder acts as a reservoir for the bile which helps in the breakdown of fats. Normally if you eat a high fat meal the reservoir allows a bit of extra bile into your system to break it down. Without a gallbladder the bile just "dribbles" into your system constantly so there is no extra when you eat a higher fat than normal meal. He also said there was the potential for the situation to suddenly become life threatening if I did not have the surgery (not sure if that applies to everyone but I imagine it does) so I didn't let the possibility of weight gain stop me from having the surgery. It is certainly good to be pain-free and not have to carry a sick bag with me wherever I go :)

    I have only one stone and do not have very frequent attacks (once in 20/30 days mostly),but it is somewhat big and is stuck in the cystic duct so the doctor says it could get more and more problematic. I really didn't want the surgery but after much convincing and hearing some horror stories of gallbladder and stones,I've decided to go for it :)
  • lavendah
    lavendah Posts: 126 Member
    Elise4270 wrote: »
    I think the original theory is incorrect. The fats no longer will be digested because bile is no longer triggered by fatty foods. Its like having a fawcet on trickle all the time. So often times you will have an excess of undigested fats, which will not cause weight gain. Loose stools are common due to the unabsorbed bile salts. Follow your doctors reccomendations. I have IBS and take bile binding meds and an anticholenergic when needed.

    I've had mine out for about 7 years. My daughter had her out about a year ago. I think all the internet opinions are bunk. You'll be fine.

    Discuss your concerns with your doc- you'll get asinine opionions on the internet.

    Already asked the doctor,he said it has nothing to do with weight gain but I was still skeptical.
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
    edited February 2015
    OP, I need to have mine out too (I'm holding off as long as I can). I've seen some of the gallbladder forum posts you're talking about. I honestly think it's like this: Person gains weight despite "eating healthy" or low-fat. Person blames gallbladder removal instead of overconsumption of "healthy" calories.

    Good luck with your surgery.
  • mhausler93
    mhausler93 Posts: 83 Member
    I had mine removed 2.5 years ago. It took the docs 3 months to figure out what was wrong with me, and by the time they figured it out I was living on yogurt and applesauce because those were the only things I could eat without wrenching pain. By the time surgery rolled around, I had dropped 40 lbs. My surgeon told me that about 25% of people will never go back to a "normal" diet and I just so happened to fall into that 25%. There are a lot of things I still can't eat. After surgery I lost another 20 lbs. So to answer your question, I definitely didn't gain weight but lost it, but I also had several other complications. Best of luck to you.
  • lavendah
    lavendah Posts: 126 Member
    obscuremusicreference wrote: »
    OP, I need to have mine out too (I'm holding off as long as I can). I've seen some of the gallbladder forum posts you're talking about. I honestly think it's like this: Person gains weight despite "eating healthy" or low-fat. Person blames gallbladder removal instead of overconsumption of "healthy" calories.

    Good luck with your surgery.

    I thought so too..also,it's possible that people who are having such problems are the ones who post in these threads more.They might as well be a minority.

  • SexyKatherine73
    SexyKatherine73 Posts: 221 Member
    I only gained weight, because food did not hurt me anymore but I felt millions times better after it was removed.
  • lavendah
    lavendah Posts: 126 Member
    mhausler93 wrote: »
    I had mine removed 2.5 years ago. It took the docs 3 months to figure out what was wrong with me, and by the time they figured it out I was living on yogurt and applesauce because those were the only things I could eat without wrenching pain. By the time surgery rolled around, I had dropped 40 lbs. My surgeon told me that about 25% of people will never go back to a "normal" diet and I just so happened to fall into that 25%. There are a lot of things I still can't eat. After surgery I lost another 20 lbs. So to answer your question, I definitely didn't gain weight but lost it, but I also had several other complications. Best of luck to you.

    Damn..mine is not that bad at all.Did you have too many stones/were they obstruding the ducts?
  • vixtris
    vixtris Posts: 688 Member
    I had mine removed, I may have lost about 10-20 lbs before having it taken out (due to feeling sick) and afterwards.
  • lavendah
    lavendah Posts: 126 Member
    You guys have me feeling better,I almost got depressed lol
  • mhausler93
    mhausler93 Posts: 83 Member
    lavendah wrote: »
    mhausler93 wrote: »
    I had mine removed 2.5 years ago. It took the docs 3 months to figure out what was wrong with me, and by the time they figured it out I was living on yogurt and applesauce because those were the only things I could eat without wrenching pain. By the time surgery rolled around, I had dropped 40 lbs. My surgeon told me that about 25% of people will never go back to a "normal" diet and I just so happened to fall into that 25%. There are a lot of things I still can't eat. After surgery I lost another 20 lbs. So to answer your question, I definitely didn't gain weight but lost it, but I also had several other complications. Best of luck to you.

    Damn..mine is not that bad at all.Did you have too many stones/were they obstruding the ducts?

    I actually didn't have ANY stones. Mine literally just stopped working over night. When the docs finally figured out that it was my gall bladder, it was only functioning at 4%.
  • SexyKatherine73
    SexyKatherine73 Posts: 221 Member
    you'll be ok :smiley:
  • Danilynn1975
    Danilynn1975 Posts: 294 Member
    you will feel tons better after. I was back at work 2 days after.
  • OhReally42
    OhReally42 Posts: 138 Member
    I had mine removed at 18 (lucky me huh?) and the only reason I gained weight was because I babied myself afterwards and stayed in bed a lot longer than I should have. Certain medicines people take may also be why they're keeping weight, not a lack of a gallbladder. Although I think doctors also warn about weight gain, that doesn't mean it'll happen.
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