Does gallbladder removal cause weight gain?

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  • mhausler93
    mhausler93 Posts: 83 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    You guys have me feeling better,I almost got depressed lol
  • mhausler93
    mhausler93 Posts: 83 Member
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    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
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    you'll be ok :smiley:
  • Danilynn1975
    Danilynn1975 Posts: 294 Member
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    you will feel tons better after. I was back at work 2 days after.
  • OhReally42
    OhReally42 Posts: 138 Member
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    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.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    edited February 2015
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    I milked it for a whole week off. But mowed the lawn 4 says post. Easy surgery. Relatively. ;)

    @mhausler93‌ we must be from the same gene pool. Mine (& every female on my dads side) was the same way. Dang thing just quit.
  • eileensofianmushinfine
    eileensofianmushinfine Posts: 303 Member
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    just an FYI -- the gall bladder does not make the enzyme/secretion needed. It just acts as a storage tank. When it's taken out, the liver sends the bile directly into the small intestine. For me, I lost about 20 pounds in less than a week before having it out because I had totally stopped eating. Once I had it out, I was cautious for the first few days (food had become evil), but then my eating habits went back to normal. I gained back the 20 lbs. but I don't really count that. I didn't gain any additional weight.
  • caryb2015
    caryb2015 Posts: 38 Member
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    SexyKatherine73 wrote: »
    I only gained weight, because food did not hurt me anymore but I felt millions times better after it was removed.

    This. I had been so afraid of the surgery that I had been eating extremely lowfat for nearly a year so as to not trigger any events. So once it came out I started eating high fat foods I had missed which did cause a weight gain. But once I got over the novelty of being able to eat without pain again I stopped overindulging.

  • Spreyton22K
    Spreyton22K Posts: 323 Member
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    I would put the belief that weight gain following gall bladder removal is inevitable in the category of "Old Wives Tales"......my mother born in 1922 was spouting this predication to my Sister when she had hers out in the early 1990's......whilst it came true for her, the weight gain, truly it was because she was over eating, and this predication was her source of "Validation" for gaining.

    Had mine out very early in the 2000's and it hasn't stopped me being able to lose weight.

    Sadly, though I too fall into the 25% category another poster mentioned that continues to have dietary "issues" post surgery......Blah.

    In all seriousness though, the alternative (of ignoring the problem) is worse than going through with the Op.

    Wish you all the best, afterwards just follow Doc's orders on the types of foods to maybe avoid for a while and eventually you will adjust to life without your gall bladder. I REALLY hope you are in the group that has no ongoing issues with fatty foods etc.
  • lone_wolf_bmw2006
    lone_wolf_bmw2006 Posts: 2
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    I just had mine removed a month ago from yesterday. Only issue I had after was getting sick and no appetite. Finally got that sorted out. Still losing an average of 3.3lbs a week the entire time.
  • Tubbs216
    Tubbs216 Posts: 6,597 Member
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    For those who have had their gallbladders removed, please be aware that you may have a small increased chance of developing colon cancer, especially if you're a woman. This happened to my mother (6 years in remission now).
    I don't think it's anything to seriously freak about, but when you get told you're due for a colonoscopy, go.
  • anarchysbitch
    anarchysbitch Posts: 64 Member
    edited February 2015
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    I had serious Gallbladder attacks for almost 3 years, first attack, I couldn't breath and was crying in fetal position, felt like a heart attack and lasted for 30 minutes then just disappeared suddenly. I rang an ambulance but at the time all the ambulances were on call as i live in the city and the ambulance guy stayed on the phone with me as the pain subsided. I went to the doctor the next day and unfortunately he just said "you're overweight, it's obviously just gastritis" and prescribed me a daily tablet. Obviously this didn't help me and I suffered the same excruciating attacks every couple of months or so, like before they would come on out of nowhere and last for about 30 minutes and were so painful that I just wished someone would put me out of my misery :(. About a year later I suffered a next level attack, this one came on and just didn't leave, 12 hours of torture until finally I said to my partner that if I don't go to the hospital and get morphine I think I will die. I was so exhausted. I called an ambulance and they assessed me as needing immediate attention. They gave me an ultra sound and told me that I had gallstones, one of which was stuck in my bile duct and causing my liver to shut down so I needed emergency surgery. My point is that if it is left untreated it WILL GET WORSE! Trust me, no-one should ever ever be in that much pain so if anyone reading this is putting off surgery PLEASE DON'T. As for the OP's question, before surgery I was afraid of food but since it I can eat anything and everything and I have had no issue at all losing weight, don't be afraid of surgery.
  • anarchysbitch
    anarchysbitch Posts: 64 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Tubbs216 wrote: »
    For those who have had their gallbladders removed, please be aware that you may have a small increased chance of developing colon cancer, especially if you're a woman. This happened to my mother (6 years in remission now).
    I don't think it's anything to seriously freak about, but when you get told you're due for a colonoscopy, go.

    Having a stone stuck in a bile duct can kill you.
  • Tubbs216
    Tubbs216 Posts: 6,597 Member
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    Definitely agree, Anarchy. What a terrible story. My mum was also left way too long and nearly died from the pancreatitis (?sp) that followed.
    If you need your gallbladder removed, get it done.
  • anarchysbitch
    anarchysbitch Posts: 64 Member
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    Yeah, I had the start of pancreatitus :neutral_face: glad to hear your mum is in remission :smiley:

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