System Reboot after Gallbladder removal

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I had my gallbladder removed yesterday.
I'm taking this golden opportunity to reboot my whole digestive system.

I've read lots of horror stories of the after effects of this op so I'm going to take it really slowly.

Start with small simple stuff and only introduce the risky* foods slowly.

My ultimate goal is to get to a paleo'ish diet without getting the the dicky tummy that I've read about.

Here goes folks. Day 1, 257lbs.

*(My definition of risky is the foods that others seem to have reacted badly to after the op. Dairy, high fat, spicy, caffeinated. This removes some of my staple choices double shot espresso, homemade chilli, chicken vindaloo)

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  • tami_
    tami_ Posts: 12 Member
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    I had my gallbladder removed 4 years ago this week. At first I couldn't eat anything fried, especially things like sausages or chocolate. Now I'm fine with most foods (although for other health reasons I eat low carb and don't remember the last time I fried anything anyway) but one thing that never went back to normal was my uh.. toilet habits. Lol. No matter what I eat, although low carb has helped I think. Or maybe just good portion control. I remember eating jelly for breakfast around that time lol.
  • tami_
    tami_ Posts: 12 Member
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    Just to clarify, I do not fry chocolate LOL.
  • jessimacd
    jessimacd Posts: 53 Member
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    tami_ wrote: »
    Just to clarify, I do not fry chocolate LOL.

    Mmm... Fried chocolate. Hahaha :-)

    I had my gallbladder out 6 years ago, at age 27, and it did not affect my tolerance of certain foods at all. Granted, my case was a bit unique in that the doc had no idea why my gallbladder was so sickly - I was a slim young woman who didn't eat that terribly, yet my gb was basically not even functioning anymore. I had developed stones as a teen that over time grew to a fairly large size.

    For me the downside was, not having the gb attacks anymore from fatty foods made me MORE likely to eat such foods, and thus, I gained weight... Hence why I'm here. :-P (Not blaming it totally on the gallbladder removal, but I definitely no longer need to think twice about whether a "cheat" meal is worth it, because I know I won't be woken up in the night suffering from an attack).

    I'd say just reintro foods slowly and hopefully you will still be able to enjoy most of your favourite foods!
  • North44
    North44 Posts: 359 Member
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    I had my gallbladder out about 5 years ago when I was 44. I had a couple of horrible attacks after eating high fat foods. I have had no problems tolerating anything since- at least not any more than I did before- lots of fat still tends to make me feel ill, or just overeating in general. Good luck on your recovery!
  • dkistner1111
    dkistner1111 Posts: 8 Member
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    I had my "barely functioning" gallbladder out last week, and I haven't had any trouble whatsoever with anything I've been eating. I tend to emphasize extra virgin coconut oil and MCT oil for my fats, and those are very digestible without bile. But the problem I've been having is being intensely hungry all the time. I've NEVER had a problem with runaway appetite before, so it's been really hard. It's taking every bit of my will power to keep from eating tons of carbs and dairy. Normally, I'm pretty carb- and sugar-averse, but now I want carbs all the time. I'll be following this thread to see if anyone is having similar issues.
  • angiewf
    angiewf Posts: 175 Member
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    I think it affects everyone differently. I had my gallbladder removed after a bout of gallstone pancreatitis. I can tolerate small amounts of most fatty foods but can't touch butter. I have no problems with alcohol, but then I rarely drink except a glass or two of wine on special occasions or an occasional cider when it's hot. However a friend who had gallbladder removed can happily eat lots of pastry but gets crippling indigestion from alcohol.Just to clarify what dk said above, removal of gallbladder doesn't mean no bile, as it's produced by the liver. It's just that it constantly drips into your digestive system instead of being stored and released when you ingest fat. As we should be eating a sensible lower fat diet and not too much alcohol anyway, if you continue that way you shouldn't have problems.