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Losing weight after Gallbladder removal

louann_jude
louann_jude Posts: 307 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I had my gallbladder removed on September 16th. Since having it done I have been hungry all the time. I can eat and an hour later feel like I am starving. If I try to resist it and just go about my day I get extreme pain in my stomach.

I have been losing weight steady since January. I have lost 100 pounds and since the surgery it has stalled. I can lose one or two pounds and gain it right back. It is getting depressing.

Has anyone else experienced this? How long did it take to go back to normal? I still have another 20-30 pounds to lose but at this hunger level I am afraid I will gain it back.

Replies

  • PixelPuff
    PixelPuff Posts: 902 Member
    I'd talk to your doctor maybe about the hunger issues. I googled, and the immediate results showed there are some others who have also had this issue, though they didn't give a long-term update. I saw a suggestion about eating more, but smaller, meals through the day to help with it. Instead of 2-3 regular meals, 4-5 small meals to stave off the hunger. As they are smaller, shouldn't be too much of an issue to still do CICO for weightloss.
  • thunder1982
    thunder1982 Posts: 280 Member
    Are you still restricting fats following surgery? My surgeon advised to slowly reintroduce a month after surgery. If your still restricting that might explain why your constantly hungry.

    I didnt have the same side effect so cant give you any advice. I had mine removed several years ago, my main issue was how long it took to get back to normal energy levels (with a 2yo and new born). Diet/food wise I was able to go on as per before my 2nd preg with weight loss. However I know other people react differently to the surgery.
  • louann_jude
    louann_jude Posts: 307 Member
    Maybe I need to add fat. At this point I would try anything. I want to finish losing the weight and not go back wards.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    I haven't had a gallbladder since 2012. Losing it made it difficult to eat really high fat meals, and made raw greens move through me rather quickly. Nothing about appetite changed a bit, but that whole fat thing could have helped.

    Perhaps you need to figure out your hunger patterns. When I started this journey over 100lbs ago, I was trying to eat against my normal patterns. For me, I actually figured out that I barely need to eat early in the day and love my calories in the late afternoon and evening. Once I committed to that pattern, any ravenous hunger issues have resolved. (eating breakfast/lunch/snack/dinner/snack with my calorie allowance made me hungry all day. Coffee/protein shake/more coffee/snack/huge dinner/snack made me never hungry. Everyone is different)

    Aside from the mental aspect of wanting to eat all the things all the time when a person starts calorie restriction, figuring this out will be a lifesaver for you. Think about your hunger and work it out.
  • louann_jude
    louann_jude Posts: 307 Member
    I had everything figured out before surgery. I did IF and IIFYM I went from 283 to 185 presurgery. Now that I am post op I seem to just cant get it right. I hurt if I eat I hurt if I don't eat. I stay hungry a lot and bloated.

    I have an appointment with a GI Dr in December. Maybe they will have some answers for me. Until then it's a learning game and praying I can keep the hunger and pain at a minimum.
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