Gall Bladder issues

[AnnieLowCarb]

Just had a sonogram yesterday and they found numerous gall stones. I've only had one flair-up (OUCH!) a couple of weeks ago, but it's looking like the conventional wisdom is that it's going to have to come out. Besides my full time job, I'm also an adjunct professor at a local university and to be blunt, I cannot afford to not teach my next short term class, which will end November 9th. This is NOT a good time to be off work!

Questions-
Who has had this surgery and how long/hard was your recovery if they were able to do it by scope?

What helped until you were able to have the surgery? Any healthy alternatives that worked for you?

I've read several ideas online like the olive oil flush, but it either works for you or pushes you into emergency surgery; my sister and various friends that are nurses are having a come apart that I am even considering doing that.

Please share the wisdom of your experience with me! Thanks!

[SugarPop]

I had mine out....the recovery is really not bad. They go through your bellybutton, at least they did for me. I'm glad I had it done - I thought I was having a heart attack only to find out it was a gall bladder attack. If I were you, I would just get it out and get it over with.....wait until after Nov 9th.

Good luck.

B

[2bfitb440]

I started having back pain 17 yrs ago when I was pregnant with my 1st child. I just assumed it was back related as did my doctor. It turns out (10 yrs later) we discovered with was gall bladder attacks I was having and not back spasms. My doctor recommended removal of my gall bladder. I questioned how necessary that was because by this time I was only having 1 or 2 attacks a year. He said that it wouldn't hurt me to keep my gall bladder but was concerned that one day while on vacation and away from home I might need emergency surgery. I opted to keep my gall bladder. I had always intended on trying the gall bladder flush that you mentioned but I never was able to. It sounds like you need to be home for a few days and my schedule is too crazy. 7 yrs later, I had a bad attack and went to the ER. They said that my gall bladder wall was somewhat thickened and it should come out. It was starting to not look like a healthy gall bladder anymore. So 17 yrs after my 1st attack, I got it removed. The surgery itself was not bad. It took about 30 minutes. I did experience some pain similar to a gall bladder attack a few times while recovering in the hospital but it would go much more quickly. It was much more bearable than an attack. I was in the hospital for a few days which was unexpected but it wasn't related to the procedure but the anesthesia. (My bladder wouldn't wake up, but it's fine now. My doctor said he's never seen that happen to woman before). I felt good physically in a week but it took a couple of weeks to get my energy back. I don't regret waiting because I have read that so many people have stones and don't even realize it and are no worse for having them. Good luck. I hope this helps.

[shykins]

i was ill for almost a year which turned out to be because of my gallbladder, it was fallin apart apparently

i had no choice but to have the surgery and was warned it may notbe able to be done thru the belly button but it was (YAAY for good surgeon) anways i have 4 little scars which u can hardly see and altho i had to spend a few days in hospital (bear in mind mine was bad) i recovered fairly quickly after that

as for prior to surgery well i found nothing really helped in the end and i cant say that having fat or not made a difference to whether i had an attack

hth

[suzanneyea]

I had mine out over 5 years ago through my belly button too. It was a day surgery, that night was very painful, but I was able to nurse my son when I got home. I slept with a heating pad on my shoulders, as the gas from the surgery rises, your shoulders will be very stiff and painful the first 24 hours. I was out walking around, very slowly, the next day. In two days I could do my daily routine, but slowly. I now eat a very high fat diet and have no issues, I am so glad I did it. The attacks were beyond painful. I ended up in the ER on my last one and they admitted me that moring to have the surgery.

[pcorra47]

I had my gallbladder removed three years ago through my belly button as well . I had three serious attacks and realized that beef and dairy triggered them. I prepped for the surgery by eating lo-fat for a month so that it would not be inflammed and my surgeon could remove it through my belly button. Full recovery took about a week, the hardest part was dealing with the staples used at each incision site. I feel great and am able to locarb with no significant problems. One benefit is that eating high fat keeps constipation away when you do not have a gallbladder....

[grammie2rylee]

Originally Posted by suzanneyea

I had mine out over 5 years ago through my belly button too. It was a day surgery, that night was very painful, but I was able to nurse my son when I got home. I slept with a heating pad on my shoulders, as the gas from the surgery rises, your shoulders will be very stiff and painful the first 24 hours. I was out walking around, very slowly, the next day. In two days I could do my daily routine, but slowly. I now eat a very high fat diet and have no issues, I am so glad I did it. The attacks were beyond painful. I ended up in the ER on my last one and they admitted me that moring to have the surgery.

Is this(gall bladder problems) caused by eating fat?? Just wondering..
Thanks!
Marcia

[mur1214]

I had my gallbladder out this past March. I was miserable for over a year before the surgery. Nothing I ate seemed to exaggerate or eliminate the pain. The surgery was an easy in and out thorugh the bellybutton. I had just a small amount of post op pain, mostly just the air thats left over in your belly. I took it easy, but was up and about the next day, and was doing a modified version of my usual excercise routine by the next week. I can't tell you how much better I felt IMMEDIATELY! Even now, I get none of the "after effects" some do after gallbladder removal. I feel great and eat anything I want ( well except sugary carbs ). Good luck to you!

[berries&cream]

Originally Posted by grammie2rylee

Is this(gall bladder problems) caused by eating fat?? Just wondering..
Thanks!
Marcia

I'm wondering to what causes gallbladder problems? It seems like obese people get them, especially when they are trying to lose weight. Is there anyway to prevent it?

[fawn]

gall bladder difficulty comes from under use of the gall bladder. Over abundance of hydrogenated and trans fats and not enough natural fats and the bile calcifies.

Coconut oil is supposed to be the best therapeutic remedy for not only protection of the gall bladder but healing as well.

They remove gall bladders these days like it's an "extra part"

If it were me, I'd try to cleanse my gall bladder naturally and do what I could to keep it.

[shykins]

some people say gallbladder problems are caused by low fat diets the gallbladder gets used to not proceesing fat

other suggestors are fat, female, fair and forty, my understanding is tho that u are predisposed towards it

oh yes i forgot about the gas thing!!

[suzanneyea]

I was on a low fat diet when I got gall stones, it was what made me try Atkins out.

[berries&cream]

It seems strange that eating too little fat causes gall bladder problems since most thin people don't eat that much fat?

I am an absolute believer in low-carb, don't get me wrong. But it seems to me that someone who is obese has more fat intake than a thin person. So why would the obese person more likely end up with the gallbladder problems?

[shykins]

not sure i agree with that berries, when i weighed 262lbs i didnt eat that much fat whereas here i am 100plus pounds lighter i eat way more fat

[berries&cream]

It seems to me most very obese people eat a diet that is too high in sugar and fat, with foods like cookies, fast food, breading, bread, sweets, potatoes with added fats. I'm not talking about percentage of calories, I just mean number of grams of fat seem to be higher in the very obese. I know my daily caloric need is about 2700, and my fat intake was likely around 45% of my calories. Since I was gaining, I was likely getting 3000 calories a day, which would be 150g fat. Now it is 65%, but it is 65% of about 1400 calories, so overall I am now eating less fat, about 101g.

Also I meant 'most people" which is not low-carbers, since we are the minority. My thinner friends and acquantances who have never been overweight eat about 1800 cals a day and maybe 30% daily intake from fat, or 60g. It seems that this is the "norm" for people who have never been overweight, or had issues with it.

I'm not saying low-carb isn't great! Please don't think I'm making that point. Sure it seems that eating less fat works for some people, but I only gain weight when not in ketosis, and have tons of problems.

I just mean it seems that the people without the gallbladder problems (i.e. normal weighted people) would be in the demographic eating less fat? Which is to say the ones for whom the low-fat / high carb diet works? So I just don't see how then a lack of dietary fat would cause gallbladder problems.

[mamagiff]

I did not have any pain or problems with my gall bladder other than a few times what I thought was heartburn. Gallstones were discovered over a year ago when I had a CT scan for something else. Since I was having the scan for something else, the tech assumed I knew about the gallstones so I didn't find out I had them till this past spring.

The dr. ordered more tests and it was found that my gall bladder was working at a 2% level and he suggested removal before it stopped working altogether and/or started giving me problems which could lead to bigger surgery rather just the scope type.

I went in at 5:30 a.m. for surgery at 7:30 a.m. and was home by 10 a.m. (and I live 30 minutes away from the hospital). I was sore for several days but not any more sore than from a heavy duty workout. I was working out on the indoor bike the next day and on my road bike 5 days later. The only restrictions I had were not lifting anything heavier than a grocery bag the first 2 weeks. I've never had any problems since the surgery.

[suzanneyea]

Not only obese people get gallstones! It is very common with woman after pregnancy or if you are losing weight very quickly.

[shykins]

berries i didnt think u were dissing lowcarb sorry if i was short in my answer was doing something else as well lol

actually when i was 262 everyone said how healthy i ate but sitll i didnt lose weight but did stick to the usual lowfat regime hardly eating cheese, crem etc but since i swopped to lowcarb i eat fat EVERY day and lose weight, which is why i dont think high fat levels equates with obese people, now if we start looking at the white devils (flour, sugar etc)

i should say i didnt realise i had gallstones until last year altho i had been suffering for some time and was told by a few people that atkins had caused it.. i did research it but came to the conclusion that i was jus predisposed as my father had them, my mum has diverticulities and my nan had a hiatus hernia (as do i)... apparently the 3 of them go together so if u have one u are more likely to have one of the others too.. great huh?? lol

[GME]

As I understand it.... the gallbladder holds a little bile, waiting for you to eat fat so its needed. If you go on a very lowfat diet, it isn't needed so it calcifies and turns to stones while still waiting in the gallbladder. When you eat fat again the gallbladder tries to excrete the stones with the bile and then you get pain. That's why people believe its caused by eating too much fat.

I firmly believe that is what happened to me.

I had mine out in 1997. They told me if I had it out on a Friday I could go back to work on Monday. I tried it, but had to come back home by lunchtime. I was able to go back on Wednesday. I am an elementary school teacher though so I am "on" all day. If I had a more sedentary job I probably could have stuck it out.

[fawn]

As I understand it.... the gallbladder holds a little bile, waiting for you to eat fat so its needed. If you go on a very lowfat diet, it isn't needed so it calcifies and turns to stones while still waiting in the gallbladder. When you eat fat again the gallbladder tries to excrete the stones with the bile and then you get pain. That's why people believe its caused by eating too much fat.

That's exactly what happens. It doesn't matter how large or small you are it matters how large or small the fat intake is.

[Sunny7]

I had always heard that people that are yo-yo dieters, like myself, but not any more, were susceptible to gall bladder. I had gained and lost so many times, starve yourself, then binge eat, then i had my first attack, went for test, said i had gallsones, had it out through the belly button also. wish i knew then what i know now about the right way to diet. Probably would still have my gallbladder. Back then the only way i thought to lose weight was to cut calories so low, and eat lowfat. i must have really hurt my metabolism bad doing that. I think its back on track now though, Had it out 17 years ago. When i read about the yo-yo dieting and gallbladder, it fit me to a T, so i think it has a lot to do with losing and gaining the same pounds over and over.

[fawn]

cut calories so low, and eat lowfat.

RVL, it's not so much about yo yo but the fact that calories are so low more particularly from fat calories. There is a biological reason the bile calcifies.......lack of use.

[Nicolope]

I had mine out, too. The way they do it now is like one or two days off of work. I seriously had no pain from mine that regular Tylenol couldn't cure and that only lasted for one or two days. Totally worth it! And, I would do it before another attack--that's way more painful than the actual surgery.

[kimberlyann11]

Originally Posted by berries&cream

I just mean it seems that the people without the gallbladder problems (i.e. normal weighted people) would be in the demographic eating less fat? Which is to say the ones for whom the low-fat / high carb diet works? So I just don't see how then a lack of dietary fat would cause gallbladder problems.

This has been addressed very well by others. I just want to repeat for anyone who missed it.. being fat, in and of itself, does not cause gallstones. And .. eating fat, in and of itself does not cause gallstones. It just frosts me when either obesity or fat consumption is labeled as a risk factor for gall bladder disease. That low-fat diet is what screwed me up. Us fat chicks just get gall stones more often because we are the ones who tend to yo-yo diet.

Trivia: I was told by my doc that pregnant women get gallstones because often the baby is resting against the gallbladder in such a way that part of it is blocked off. The bile that is in there can't be expelled as it should so it hardens into a stone. After the baby is born and gets out of the way, the stones then try to exit and create all kinds of havoc.

[fawn]

Originally Posted by kimberlyann11

This has been addressed very well by others. I just want to repeat for anyone who missed it.. being fat, in and of itself, does not cause gallstones. And .. eating fat, in and of itself does not cause gallstones. It just frosts me when either obesity or fat consumption is labeled as a risk factor for gall bladder disease. That low-fat diet is what screwed me up. Us fat chicks just get gall stones more often because we are the ones who tend to yo-yo diet.

Trivia: I was told by my doc that pregnant women get gallstones because often the baby is resting against the gallbladder in such a way that part of it is blocked off. The bile that is in there can't be expelled as it should so it hardens into a stone. After the baby is born and gets out of the way, the stones then try to exit and create all kinds of havoc.

I have heard of this trivia kimberlyann.....

now here's something I'm interested in researching.

Does the gall bladder (or liver if one does not have a gall bladder) let go of bile for trans or hydrogenated fats?
I shall return later with an answer......

[CARLINI]

I wouldn't be surprised if I learned that gallbladder removal is one of the most over performed surgeries in the US. I would try natural methods before I let them take my gallbladder.

[JBo]

Not to alarm, but when I had mine done, the found my appendix had fused or something with the gall bladder and they had to cut me open like a giant halibut. It took a bit of recovery on that one, but I got 2 surgeries for the price of one.

[LCShadows]

Originally Posted by CARLINI

I wouldn't be surprised if I learned that gallbladder removal is one of the most over performed surgeries in the US. I would try natural methods before I let them take my gallbladder.

It is one of the most overperformed surgeries, and 1 in 8 patients experience some sort of complications -- or at least that was true at the time I researched it when they wanted to remove mine back in the mid-90s.

Rapid weight loss, female gender and Native American heritage are the most common denominators for gallbladder disease. Rapid weight loss, on low fat or low carb, can increase the likelihood of gallstone formation. There is also a high incidence of food sensitivities in people with gallbladder disease, and the foods not tolerated by the highest percentage of sufferers in one study were egg, pork, and onion.

I used naturopathic methods, worked with a naturopath, to cure mine. My original sonogram was full of small stones and "dust" -- the Milky Way, as the med tech called it. After working with her for 6 months, I had a follow-up sonogram which showed a clean gallbladder. I've never had another attack.

I took vit. C, lecithin, vit. E, taurine, flaxseed oil, milk thistle. I eliminated grains and sugar and refined carbs, eliminated all carbonated drinks, increased my green vegies. You also need to eliminate alcohol and caffeine for the duration. You should avoid anything that gives you gas or causes reflux. My doctor had me eat fiber (through eating vegies and beans -- not artificial fiber supplements), but you can decide if you want to try that or not.

You can eat fat (assuming you don't have a stone actually blocking the duct so that bile can't be released), but should do it in a deliberate way. When you eat fat, make sure what you are eating contains at least 9g of fat, because that is about the amount needed to trigger bile release. Before you eat fat, eat something very tart to get the bile flowing. For example, a spoon of lemon juice, a whole kumquat, a sour dill pickle, sauerkraut.

When eating fat, avoid polyunsaturated fats which were consumed in much greater quantity by gallbladder disease sufferers than those with healthy gallbladders (who consumed more saturated fat and cholesterol).

Some people with gallbladder disease also show a deficiency in hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which is important for digestion. Taking digestive aids like bromelaine or gentian can help with that. So can apple cider vinegar.

Even though I worked with a naturopath for about 6 months, the relief from gallbladder attacks was pretty much immediate after I switched over to the prescribed diet and supplements.

[ardawn]

I opted for the surgery. I would have liked to have toughed it out using the natural route,but frankly I didn't have the time or patience.(my sister was gravely ill with breast cancer,and I was so sick that I could barely function) I felt ill for probably 2 years,but I never had any acute *attacks*,or a tremendous amount of pain. By the time I went in for the hyda scan,I couldn't even keep down water. It turns out my GB was not functioning at all. They discovered after it was removed that I did have loads of small stones that had not show up in the ultrasound. Prior to having it removed,I felt as though my body were being poisoned. I haven't had any issues since.

[shapeup1]

There are out there a lot of "gallstone flush" recipes, some people swear by them.......