Gall Bladder Removal

jbella99
jbella99 Posts: 596 Member
edited December 17 in Food and Nutrition
Three days ago I had my gallbladder removed in an emergency surgery due to a severe gallstone attack. The last couple of days have been brutal. I wanna start eating again and have tried a few things today. My surgeon told me I have to stick to a strict low fat diet. I am also a clean eater.. So any suggestions would be appreciated. I can no longer have the following:

red meat, pork, cheese, tomatoes, nuts, peanut butter.. just to name a few,
«1

Replies

  • krisrpaz
    krisrpaz Posts: 263 Member
    There were a LOT of foods I couldn't have within the first 6 months like eggs, gravy, popcorn with butter, etc.. But eventually my gut healed and now I can eat anything (I'm on low carb) with no dumping syndrome. But you will need to eat very low fat until you heal. Give it at least a month.
  • Mina133842
    Mina133842 Posts: 1,573 Member
    my surgeon told me nothing greasy, oily, or "too rich" - being careful of sauces was my big thing.
  • LizKurz
    LizKurz Posts: 340 Member
    Three days ago I had my gallbladder removed in an emergency surgery due to a severe gallstone attack. The last couple of days have been brutal. I wanna start eating again and have tried a few things today. My surgeon told me I have to stick to a strict low fat diet. I am also a clean eater.. So any suggestions would be appreciated. I can no longer have the following:

    red meat, pork, cheese, tomatoes, nuts, peanut butter.. just to name a few,

    Wow, im really surprised to hear this. I had my gall bladder removed a couple of years ago, and I started eating normally again right away. I already eat a decently low fat diet, and what fats I do eat, I try to make the "heathy ones" but never once have had an issue. They never told me I couldn't have certain foods either.
  • jbella99
    jbella99 Posts: 596 Member
    Three days ago I had my gallbladder removed in an emergency surgery due to a severe gallstone attack. The last couple of days have been brutal. I wanna start eating again and have tried a few things today. My surgeon told me I have to stick to a strict low fat diet. I am also a clean eater.. So any suggestions would be appreciated. I can no longer have the following:

    red meat, pork, cheese, tomatoes, nuts, peanut butter.. just to name a few,

    Wow, im really surprised to hear this. I had my gall bladder removed a couple of years ago, and I started eating normally again right away. I already eat a decently low fat diet, and what fats I do eat, I try to make the "heathy ones" but never once have had an issue. They never told me I couldn't have certain foods either.

    did you have gallstones or was it some other reason? apparently that makes a difference. I am not sure how but I have a whole list of things I can't have,
  • bikinibeliever
    bikinibeliever Posts: 832 Member
    Wow, im really surprised to hear this. I had my gall bladder removed a couple of years ago, and I started eating normally again right away. I already eat a decently low fat diet, and what fats I do eat, I try to make the "heathy ones" but never once have had an issue. They never told me I couldn't have certain foods either.
    [/quote]


    I'll second that ^^^^
  • LizKurz
    LizKurz Posts: 340 Member
    Three days ago I had my gallbladder removed in an emergency surgery due to a severe gallstone attack. The last couple of days have been brutal. I wanna start eating again and have tried a few things today. My surgeon told me I have to stick to a strict low fat diet. I am also a clean eater.. So any suggestions would be appreciated. I can no longer have the following:

    red meat, pork, cheese, tomatoes, nuts, peanut butter.. just to name a few,

    Wow, im really surprised to hear this. I had my gall bladder removed a couple of years ago, and I started eating normally again right away. I already eat a decently low fat diet, and what fats I do eat, I try to make the "heathy ones" but never once have had an issue. They never told me I couldn't have certain foods either.

    did you have gallstones or was it some other reason? apparently that makes a difference. I am not sure how but I have a whole list of things I can't have,

    Yes I had gallstones. In fact, my bladder was so riddled with stones, it showed up on the monitor as a white blotch, there wasn't much discernible black area. I'm guessing from my years of eating *kitten* with *kitten* on top.
  • Mina133842
    Mina133842 Posts: 1,573 Member
    I had gallstones and one or more were blocking a bile duct - (ew gross, I know!) and then had the gall bladder surgery a few days later- I was on a "heart healthy" diet - and was warned about fatty foods.
  • bjfrezell
    bjfrezell Posts: 241
    I had my gall bladder removed three years ago due to gall stones and was okay to eat regular food after about three weeks. The only thing that still upsets my system is spicy things like salsa, but I eat it anyways, just in moderation.

    I did have to wait a month between my horrendous gall bladder attack and when I had surgery so I ate a lot of low fat foods. Pain was a huge motivator when it came to eating low fat because if I ate too much fat, I seriously suffered. I lived on low fat everything....Jello, vegetables, zero fat yogurt, and turkey were my staples.
  • bridgeo74
    bridgeo74 Posts: 191 Member
    I didn't have to watch what I ate either, but I didn't have gallstones. I had "sludge" and my gallbladder completely stopped working....anyways, hope you are feeling better soon and find some good options for food.
  • steph1278
    steph1278 Posts: 483 Member
    I had my gallbladder removed over 10 years ago due to gallstones and I was never given a list of forbidden foods either. Only thing I seem to have a problem with is eggs. If they are used in baking it's fine, but scrambled, hardboiled, deviled and the like give me stomach cramps.
  • bachooka
    bachooka Posts: 719 Member
    I ate completely normal after the first two weeks (of nothing but gatorade, jello, and the occasional chip) and I had no dumping until about 6 months after the surgery, and it remains now just very infrequently.

    Clean eating will be so good for you.
  • NicolettetheGreek
    NicolettetheGreek Posts: 246 Member
    Three days ago I had my gallbladder removed in an emergency surgery due to a severe gallstone attack. The last couple of days have been brutal. I wanna start eating again and have tried a few things today. My surgeon told me I have to stick to a strict low fat diet. I am also a clean eater.. So any suggestions would be appreciated. I can no longer have the following:

    red meat, pork, cheese, tomatoes, nuts, peanut butter.. just to name a few,

    Wow, im really surprised to hear this. I had my gall bladder removed a couple of years ago, and I started eating normally again right away. I already eat a decently low fat diet, and what fats I do eat, I try to make the "heathy ones" but never once have had an issue. They never told me I couldn't have certain foods either.

    did you have gallstones or was it some other reason? apparently that makes a difference. I am not sure how but I have a whole list of things I can't have,

    Yes I had gallstones. In fact, my bladder was so riddled with stones, it showed up on the monitor as a white blotch, there wasn't much discernible black area. I'm guessing from my years of eating *kitten* with *kitten* on top.

    I think it was probably the "**** on top" that put you over the edge!! Should have just ate the 4hit on a plate/in a bowl, and not doubled the order.

    Seriously..NO drinking w/ a straw either!! Put's even more AIR in your abdomen..you willo be in az $hitload of oain from too much air in abdominal cavity if you do. I have seem grown men cry because of drinking threw a straw after this minor procedure.

    Be careful, stay away from Fatty foods. Drink a lot of water.

    Best of luck to you!!.
  • jbella99
    jbella99 Posts: 596 Member
    I have to say I amm a little surprised that people go back to eating what they ate before. Apparently you weren't told about what not having a gallbladder can do to your liver... Read about it. It's kinda scary.
  • nickyrobinson
    nickyrobinson Posts: 161 Member
    It might be instructive to know WHY the various items on your restricted list of foods. For example: tomatoes, which have little fat. Is this because they are high in some substance that they think is involved in gall stone formation? If so, is it because of YOUR gallstones or "some people's gallstones". Or maybe it's the little seeds...

    Knowing the whys will help you making decisions moving forward, especially after you are healed and trying to establish your eating patterns for normal life.

    I had gallstones years ago and now eat a very normal diet (not especially low fat, but I watch how much fat per meal to avoid a stomach ache). As I recall, it took about 6 months before my GI tract settled down.
  • izzydino
    izzydino Posts: 254 Member
    I had mine taken out right before christmas. I had stones and sludge and the gallbladder wasn't working.... I ate light for a couple days.. and have eaten normal ever since. I only have problems with pepperoni pizza and ground meat more then 5% fat.

    good luck!
  • izzydino
    izzydino Posts: 254 Member
    My doctor told me it was ok to eat fat...all in moderation... he said a diet of 20-30% fat was fine.. but to listen to my body.
  • skingszoo
    skingszoo Posts: 412 Member
    I didn't have to watch what I ate either, but I didn't have gallstones. I had "sludge" and my gallbladder completely stopped working....anyways, hope you are feeling better soon and find some good options for food.
    Yep this is/was me!
  • r1ghtpath
    r1ghtpath Posts: 701 Member
    for about a year i couldn't eat anything at all. i mean i could eat it physically, but basically EVERYTHING ran right through me. didn't matter if it was salad, pasta, beef, chocolate, ice cream, etc. EVERYTHING!

    so, honestly i say eat what you want. i wouldn't worry about specific things that are high in fat/ low in fat, etc. hopefully you won't' have issues like i did, but apparently most people do.

    it does get better and eventually goes away! i had mine out in dec. 09 and i'm 100% fine now :-)


    eta: the biggest thing is that you make bile continually to break down your food and now you have no storage sack. so it just keeps going ( so to speak). your body has to get used to this and i will over time, regardless of what you actually eat. bile is a kinda bright yellowish orange. you will probably be able to tell that you're producing lot of bile. once your body figures out how to work and regular itself you'll be back to normal. only without all of the stomach issues :-)
  • cdyer16
    cdyer16 Posts: 1 Member
    I was never told not to eat specific foods! My surgeon actually said I could continue a regular diet.
  • Three days ago I had my gallbladder removed in an emergency surgery due to a severe gallstone attack. The last couple of days have been brutal. I wanna start eating again and have tried a few things today. My surgeon told me I have to stick to a strict low fat diet. I am also a clean eater.. So any suggestions would be appreciated. I can no longer have the following:

    red meat, pork, cheese, tomatoes, nuts, peanut butter.. just to name a few,

    I had mine out in 2003. I am a lifelong vegetarian, so the meat items never applied, however, I still eat tomatoes, nuts, cheese, peanut butter.... do you have something else going on also, in addition to gallbladder?
  • cardinal56
    cardinal56 Posts: 10 Member
    I was told to gradually add foods back into my diet to see if they bothered me or not. I had mine out 18 months ago & have never had any problems & eat what I want. Good luck!
  • Larry0445
    Larry0445 Posts: 204 Member
    I had gallstones and one or more were blocking a bile duct - (ew gross, I know!) and then had the gall bladder surgery a few days later- I was on a "heart healthy" diet - and was warned about fatty foods.

    The same here. Listen to your Dr. I had a friend that ignored the suggestions,and now she has a really hard time,eating certain things. But I followed my Dr.'s orders and can eat anything.
  • Merrie67
    Merrie67 Posts: 15
    Wow, I had my Gallbladder removed in 5/1999 and was never given a list of forbidden foods to never eat. I do eat lowfat foods and eat healthy but consuming lean protein, watch the carbs and eat lots of fruits and veggies. As for exercise I workout a minimum of 1 hour a day and a max of 2 hours. Am down 40 pounds and have about 10 to 15 at the most left to lose. I did have gallstones and did suffer an attack which lead to the diagnosis in the ER at 3 am. But everything is fine with me!!
  • cessnaholly
    cessnaholly Posts: 780 Member
    When I got mine out I would get really sick from anything greasy - and lettuce. I got IBS after the surgery - still have that issue frequently. I packed on a ton of weight after the surgery too. It really messed up my system. Took a long time to figure it out. Eating healthier makes a HUGE difference.

    .
  • jadedm
    jadedm Posts: 31 Member
    You know the whole Gallbladder thing sucks.. I had mines removed 5 years ago..and now... I see myself not popping at all..I poop like once or week..maybe less and it's making me weight fluctuate like the ****ens.. I have no idea how backed up I am,....well because no matter how much water I drink and Fiber I take in... it won't come like it's suppose to..just horrible gas. Back before I started my weight loss journey.. Everything I ate..It caused me to go straight to the bathroom...now... I can't and won't even go half the time... Anybody else had that problem?
  • allipix711
    allipix711 Posts: 91
    Wow, im really surprised to hear this. I had my gall bladder removed a couple of years ago, and I started eating normally again right away. I already eat a decently low fat diet, and what fats I do eat, I try to make the "heathy ones" but never once have had an issue. They never told me I couldn't have certain foods either.

    Ditto this!
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
    How much does a gall bladder weigh? I bet when the inflamation is down you lost a free pound...
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
    You know the whole Gallbladder thing sucks.. I had mines removed 5 years ago..and now... I see myself not popping at all..I poop like once or week..maybe less and it's making me weight fluctuate like the ****ens.. I have no idea how backed up I am,....well because no matter how much water I drink and Fiber I take in... it won't come like it's suppose to..just horrible gas. Back before I started my weight loss journey.. Everything I ate..It caused me to go straight to the bathroom...now... I can't and won't even go half the time... Anybody else had that problem?

    I honestly thought about going on ally just for the "treatment effects"

    (For people who live in a hole, ally makes you **** yourself because any fat runs straight through without being digested). Need a clean out? Pop an ally and run to McD's
  • brittlynn07
    brittlynn07 Posts: 382 Member
    I didn't have to watch what I ate and I had a gallstone blocking my pancreas causing me to have pancreatitis. I wasn't able to eat for 5 days before my surgery due to this though so that could have had something to do with it.
This discussion has been closed.