Weight gain after gallbladder removed...

Interesting thread. I only read the first page and a half of replies but will be reading them all when I have more time. I see the surgeon in a week and a half about having mine removed. I have been pretty stagnant at loosing weight since the stones became more troublesome. Curious to find out what will happen when it is gone and I will post an update then

I lost 5 stone after having my gallbladder removed, so don't think it caused me any problems I have put a stone on, but that's generally from eating rubbish. I have found it harder to lose, but not sure that has anything to do with my gallbladder, just more my own fault! Some interesting posts here though!

gandydancer wrote: »

People talk about digestive enzymes but why won't they name them as they are all not created equal

I am taking Super Enzymes, Magnesium Citrate (both bought off amazon) and a Multi Vitamin gel cap.

I had my Gall Bladder taken out in 10/05. I have always had a struggle with my weight and before my surgery I had lost 40 lbs and 3 months. Its want caused my gall bladder to go bad from what im told. If You drop weight to fast it can be a problem. I had no warning, had no issues prior, just within a week of the first pains it was removed. Since the removal I had lost some weight even got down to 198 at one point after being 266lbs. 4 years ago I started on the weight loss journey once again got back down to 226lbs ans was halted..... 3 months the scale would not move. changed the way I ate, exercised everything and not one lb. things in life happened I got discouraged ect... about 2 years ago I started have really bad digestive issues. I would eat lunch and im talking a salad or something light because thats how I eat and it would sit undigested the rest of the day..... I would feel awful. Then I started getting an intolerance for milk my stomach would double in size from the bloat. And now bread, I can only eat small amounts. The Dr. put me on Adapex, he expected me to lost 12 to 15 lbs a month I was lucky if I lost 6. He then tried Belviqe which made me loopy and I stopped taking it. At one point I looked into Candida or Cushings, I have the total brain fog going on and many many other symptoms but Cuchings, Candida and Gall bladder all have very close symptoms. Dr.'s wont check the other 2 so I have to think its my lack of Gall bladder doing these things to me. I started looking into it, I am back up to 266lbs now. I recently about 2 weeks ago started taking the Vitamins listed above, and they seem to help with digestion so far. I can tell a difference. They recommend taking them for 3 months to get good and in your system to see good changes.

See what as never explained is 2 things can happen when having your GB removed, You can be fine and lose weight OR your body will no longer absorb the proper nutrients you need your bile can become to thick and will not work causing your body to go into starvation mode and hold on to everything you eat or drink. even when you exercise. So when my Dr. put me on that diet he essentially made my issue worse. Its been only 2 weeks, I don't think iv lost anything yet. Im trying to start exercising again when I can its become so hard because im so heavy again but in addition iv very very weak and tired.

I had mine removed (roughly 3 months ago) and have been gaining weight (about 3 lbs so far to date plus two lbs prior to surgery) in spite of maintaining the same diet and (after the 4 week recovery period post op) exercise regimen as prior to surgery (prior to deluge of symptoms that necessitated surgery, I'd maintained the same weight for over a decade ever since losing 25 lbs or so in college, so go ahead, tell me I'm not exercising and eating right... I dare ya!).

I found this post while searching ways to reduce weight gain after gallbladder surgery . And, below is what I've found so far.

First off, your body likely isn't emulsifying fats properly - take ox bile salts with meals. Are you a vegetarian or scared of BSE (mad cow disease)? Supposedly, artichoke extract has been shown to help emulsify fats also - myself, since the dietary supplement industry isn't regulated like the pharmaceutical industry or meat industry, I'm trying artichoke extract. http://www.psoriasisdietplan.com/2015/01/artichoke-bile-flow-support-for-vegans/

I just started taking artichoke extract with every meal yesterday (I was taking artichoke extract when I still had a gb to help thin the bile also, but I didn't realize it could potentially be a substitute for ox bile salts until I started researching the topic earlier this week).

Another note on fat emulsification - lecithin could help also (it's an emulsifier), but if using soy lecithin (or other plant based lecithin), I'd recommend organic or at least researching it to be comfortable with whether or not there is a real risk of concentrated pesticide residue or solvents in non-organic plant based lecithin supplements. Eggs are also high in lecithin (the yolk), and other foods as well, so you could try being sure to eat some high lecithin containing foods at each meal.

Digestive bitters could help. Again, I took digestive bitters when I still had a gb to promote bile secretion from the gb after eating, but since removal, I've been taking actual digestive enzymes and Betaine HCl to help promote stomach acidity and because I felt like I really needed the supplemental enzymes. The enzymes and Betaine HCl weren't doing enough to improve my digestion (which feels very sluggish - if left to my appetite right now, I'd consume less than 1000 calories a day, so I literally have to force myself to eat). Bitters are supposed to help with digestive enzyme production (and, hopefully increase bile secretion). I've reduced the digestive enzyme supplements and will work on eliminating them and replacing with the bitters in the next few weeks.

Second, your body could very well be in starvation mode. To digress, if you're like me, I should have thrown in the towel at least a year ago and had my gb taken out then, but I'd been operating under the assumption that I could manage gall sludge through diet (beets, easy on the fried foods, etc.), supplements (beet root extract, dandelion extract, liver support, every other bile thinning supplement I could find, etc.), and acupuncture. Acupuncture actually provided TREMENDOUS relief for a while (as did the beets, and beet smoothies are wonderfully tasty!), but it didn't stop the sludge from turning into stones, and I've spent the better part of a year battling no appetite and beginning the struggle with weight gain in addition to all of the other wonderful things that come along with a dysfunctional gb and full blown gb attacks. In hindsight, I believe my body's been in starvation mode for quite some time due to insufficient fat processing, and so the journey begins to bring it out of this mode.

So, back to starvation mode - get a good multivitamin (I've been using one for years, but I don't think I'm actually digesting the vitamins (especially the fat soluble ones) correctly right now). Keep/reintroduce fats in your diet (big fan of olive oil myself), but again, be sure to take some sort of emulsifier with the fats. Also, a magnesium supplement (I've been using one for about 6 months now) has helped me tremendously with some of the other side effects of gb removal and gb symptoms prior to removal (Mg lactate or chelated magnesium are my preferences over Mg sulfate (Epsom salts) - less laxative effects with Mg lactate and chelated Mg than with Mg Sulfate).

Third, it could be worthwhile to add a fiber supplement - I like NOW whole psyllium husks (100% psyllium husks). I also love Standard Process whole food fiber, but it's VERY price-y (I get it from my acupuncturist - much, much cheaper than through Amazon). And, Metamucil Fiber Wafers (Wal-Mart has the best price I've found). The fiber is definitely helping with the sluggish digestion but it's too early for me to tell if it has helped stop the weight gain yet (I added consistent daily fiber intake to my diet about a month ago - seriously, consistent DAILY fiber intake).

Finally, it could definitely be worthwhile to get several probiotics. I tend to only use probiotics after being on antibiotics or when I'm on steroids for a spell (the legal kind used for fighting allergy induced asthma)... with the exception of after gb surgery. Somehow, I forgot I was given a high dose of antibiotics before, during, and after the surgery (via IV), and so I have not taken probiotics since surgery.

One probiotic L. gasseri is purported to help with weight loss. S. boulardii is also purported to help with weight loss and is supposed to also help balance gut flora (for instance, help with candida overgrowth). The price of L. gasseri went through the roof when all the weight loss hype (I mean ahem, literature) came out. I have L. gasseri in the cabinet for a different reason (if you're a woman, it's a great supplement for promoting healthy vaginal flora - I'd read several articles characterizing the prevalence of probiotic species in that region of the body, and L. gasseri accounts for a large % in vaginal flora) but haven't been taking it regularly because the price went sky high after the weight loss link. S. boulardii with MOS I've used for both my animals and myself in the past after bouts on antibiotics (again, to fight/prevent candida overgrowth in the gut) but have never really considered it a true probiotic (mostly because I was using it for the MOS rather than the S. boulardii). Long story short, I'm probably going to shell out the cash for another bottle of L. gasseri and maybe also buy a bottle of S. boulardii to see if these help at least stop the weight gain.

I wish I could say I've been doing any of these things long enough to report whether or not they've actually been working, but I've only recently incorporated these changes into my routine (again, about 3 months post op, and the Mg supplement and multivitamin are the only things I've been doing for a long time (>3 months) on this list).