Con to fast weight loss: Gall Stones

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HeidiCooksSupper
HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
edited June 2020 in Health and Weight Loss
Another strike against VLCD, big calorie deficits, and trying to rush losing weight. If one loses weight too fast, the liver can create excess bile that can lead to gall stones. Many of us already have asymptomatic gall stones which are only found through scans for other reasons. I recently found out I do.

So, how to avoid creation of gall stones? Getting plenty of fiber through high-fiber foods, eating few refined grains and less sugar, and consuming healthy fats from fatty fish and olive oil.

Sigh. Yet again another reason to "eat healthy."

Replies

  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
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    Low fat diet, high fiber. There is no guarantee you won’t get them but this may help.
  • MadDogManor
    MadDogManor Posts: 1,435 Member
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    I’ve lost 49 lbs in the last 22 months. Not fast weight loss. And just had my gallbladder out - full of stones.
  • ChickenKillerPuppy
    ChickenKillerPuppy Posts: 297 Member
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    I am 5'4" and was maintaining at 125lbs when my gall stones got so bad I had to get emergency surgery to remove my gall bladder. It was AWFUL. I was told that a fatty diet makes it worse but I wasn't even eating a fatty diet at that point. You just never know. They were plaguing me for 20 years - when I was 25 I went to the ER because the pain was so bad and they couldn't figure out what it was. The pain would escalate and then peak over like a 10 hour period and it was the worst pain of my life (now that I understand how gall stones work it all makes sense).

    Because they couldn't do anything about it the first time when they would flare up (every couple years) I would just deal with the pain (barely) until it subsided. Finally, 20 years later, it got so bad I went to the hospital again. All I had to say was "sharp pain in my side" and they immediately knew. So happy to get rid of my gal bladder and not have to worry about it any more.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,389 Member
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    There are a couple of things that make getting gallstones more likely, something with 5fs I think:

    being female
    fertile, referring to having children
    of fair complexion
    fantastically overweight
    and in the forties

    When I lost my gallbladder due to chronic infection 3 of those were and still are rather true for me. Never been massively overweight and never lost at a fast pace. And kids are annoying :D
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
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    yirara wrote: »
    There are a couple of things that make getting gallstones more likely, something with 5fs I think:

    being female
    fertile, referring to having children
    of fair complexion
    fantastically overweight
    and in the forties

    When I lost my gallbladder due to chronic infection 3 of those were and still are rather true for me. Never been massively overweight and never lost at a fast pace. And kids are annoying :D

    They sometimes replace "fertile" with "family", as in, have there been cases in the family that might point to a genetic predisposition. With that replacement, I fulfilled 4 of those :tongue:

    The reason I lost my gallbladder why was my yoyo-dieting: lose -510kg using a stupid low-fat, low-cal diet. Lose the will to live and stuff myself with high fat, high cal goods and regain 10-15kg...
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,389 Member
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    ladyreva78 wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    There are a couple of things that make getting gallstones more likely, something with 5fs I think:

    being female
    fertile, referring to having children
    of fair complexion
    fantastically overweight
    and in the forties

    When I lost my gallbladder due to chronic infection 3 of those were and still are rather true for me. Never been massively overweight and never lost at a fast pace. And kids are annoying :D

    They sometimes replace "fertile" with "family", as in, have there been cases in the family that might point to a genetic predisposition. With that replacement, I fulfilled 4 of those :tongue:

    The reason I lost my gallbladder why was my yoyo-dieting: lose -510kg using a stupid low-fat, low-cal diet. Lose the will to live and stuff myself with high fat, high cal goods and regain 10-15kg...

    I never dieted before I decided to lose weight slowly here. And I never was really heavy; just in the overweight category based on BMI. My surgeon said me being super pale probably counts for two pale women. And he was surprised I had no children and it doesn't run in the family. Oh well.. bad luck.
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
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    yirara wrote: »
    ladyreva78 wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    There are a couple of things that make getting gallstones more likely, something with 5fs I think:

    being female
    fertile, referring to having children
    of fair complexion
    fantastically overweight
    and in the forties

    When I lost my gallbladder due to chronic infection 3 of those were and still are rather true for me. Never been massively overweight and never lost at a fast pace. And kids are annoying :D

    They sometimes replace "fertile" with "family", as in, have there been cases in the family that might point to a genetic predisposition. With that replacement, I fulfilled 4 of those :tongue:

    The reason I lost my gallbladder why was my yoyo-dieting: lose -510kg using a stupid low-fat, low-cal diet. Lose the will to live and stuff myself with high fat, high cal goods and regain 10-15kg...

    I never dieted before I decided to lose weight slowly here. And I never was really heavy; just in the overweight category based on BMI. My surgeon said me being super pale probably counts for two pale women. And he was surprised I had no children and it doesn't run in the family. Oh well.. bad luck.

    bad luck indeed!

    Regardless, I'm just happy not to be subject to that horrid pain anymore.

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