Post gallbladder question
 

so i had my gallbladder out in June and for a while was doing great with food... nothing bothered me.. but now as time is going on more and more things are bothering me... i was eating muffins in the morning (homemade) but that didnt' go well so today i had toast and peanut butter... nope... didn't go well either.. had a salad for lunch with italian dressing.. nope.. BUT last night we went out and i had ravioli in a blush sauce.. no problem.. supper RARELY bothers me.. the ohter night we had steak and potatoes and i EVEN had apple pie with ice cream (ice cream KILLS me) so might it be the time of day?? anyone else expereince this??? sandwhiches seem to be ok... and supper time is ok too... not sure how to get by without breakfsat.... any one going through the same thing??

Oohh - so sorry you're going through this. I have not experienced what you describe since having mine removed, but I hope you feel better soon.

I had mine out 2 years ago..... and there are still foods that affect me!! :eek: Mostly fatty foods, but also poultry and soups with a lot of broth. Eventually you will figure out which foods are "absolutely nots" and some that are.... "occasionally but not too far away from home".
I know this may not be much help........ but I do know that with time it has gotten better and I know what to eat now with no probs.

Trying to figure out the common thread here in muffins, pb/toast, and salad! How frustrating for you! What are you drinking w/ those meals vs. the other meals that don't bother you? Anything different?

If morning bothers you, it makes me think your blood sugar is quite low when you wake up (making you quite sensitive to carbs). Have you tried having only protein for breakfast? Or, protein and fiber? Have you ever tried Kashi GoLean - I have this as part of my breakfast (mixed w/ yogurt and PB2) and it is a great cerel - mostly protein and fiber.

Hey THanks so much! it seems to be the time of day... morning and afternoons are horrible. but i can eat anything after like 4... so i'm thinking of sticking to like fruit and nuts

what is Kashi GoLean??? i can't have milk because i'm lactose intolerant...

Ok, as a nurse and a post cholecystectomy patient myself, I need just a little more information. Is whatever you are eating causing pain or is it sending you to the potty? If it is making you go to the potty right after you eat and giving you crampy, loose stool, this may be dumping syndrome. It's very common after GB surgery. It's been over 10 years since my surgery, and I still have it some...not nearly as often as I used to, though. And I can't tie it to certain foods, although I've tried. For me, it happens really quickly...hubby is used to sitting at the restaurant table alone to finish his meal while I dash to the bathroom for 10-15 minutes. If this is what you are experiencing, I recommend doing a web search for "cholecystectomy" or "gallbladder surgery" and "dumping syndrome". Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Heather

Hey Heather.. yup that's my problem :( for me it is time of day.. this morning i just had 3 crackers a cup of tea and a banana and i'm still bothered by it.... i'll go look up what you sugested! thanks!!! i have to have a scope later next month with the same surgeon who did the surgery... i'll be sure to let him know.. see what he says. Thanks again! glad to know it is normal!!

It's a totally yummy, totally healthy cereal. Can you have yogurt at all? That's what I have my Kashi with in the morning. http://www.kashi.com/products/golean_cereal_original

i need to go have mine taken out still

I had my gallbladder out years ago and have pain still when I eat certain things; ie, peanut butter. It doesn't matter what time of day I eat the food and sometimes I don't get the pain and sometimes I do. I also have "dumping syndrome" especially after eating beef. I hate it!

Marci, I'm sorry you aren't feeling well. I don't have any advice but I hope you feel better :)

Oh goodness, I just called yesterday to get my surgery scheduled for October 8th. I've read about the "dumping" and read an old forum on the internet between a lot of people who all had their gallbladders taken out. Some were perfectly fine after a week like nothing had ever happened and others had a similar "itchy" feeling where the incision in the belly button was in addition to other things. My doctor said that a high carb/low fat diet would be necessary. But with the "dumping syndrome", I don't know if this would make a difference or not. Maybe you could jot down little notes about what and when you eat and on a seperate note pad write down every time you have an "episode".....then see if there is a connection.

i have to tell you that what i am dealing with now... is 100 Times better than the pain before surgery! My incisions still itch and i had mine done in June, but i've been putting Vitamin E on them which helps SO much! i'd say the worst pain from the surgery wasn't even the incisions but that pain you might or might not have in your shoulders from the gas they put in your stomach. i'm so glad i had it done and i know you will be too!

I read about the terrible gas pain:eek: ! They say the best thing you can do is walk to help get the gas out. My major problem is that I can't walk yet due to my reconstructive surgery on my knee. I am still with crutches and a 5 pound brace:( . I'll remember to use the Vit. E. I didn't have a "gall bladder" attack, but instead pancreatitis (the day I was being relased from the nursing home from PT on my knee....I'm 41). Sheesh, that was yet ANOTHER procedure and 5 more days in the hospital. Did you stay overnight at the hospital or go home the same day?

lol. walk it off... right... i coudln't walk after .. but the pain meds worked great :)
In Ontario gallbladder surgery is day surgery unless you have complications... i was supposed to be released around 6 pm and at 2:30 they were pushing me out the door :p

I had my gall bladder removed several years ago and the next few years after the surgery were horrible! I was having diarrhea attacks sometimes up to 10 times a day. When I would eat anything, it seemed to go right thru me. I am now taking a pill called Welchol. It is actually a cholesterol medicine. It isn't absorbed by your body, so the side effects are few. It binds to the bile that use to be stored in the gall bladder. My Dr. said that the bile is just like having a laxative all the time, for some people. The Welchol has been like a miracle for me! I can actually eat out now without having to run right to the bathroom. It would be worth you time to check it out. I hope you get help soon!

I had my gallbladder surgery about 15 years ago as an emergency procedure. Since I was in my twenties at the time, they misdiagnosed it until I was jaundiced, dehydrated and had a seriously inflamed pancreas.

I suffered the "dumping syndrome" quite a bit, and as a previous poster said, it will get better. It slowly got better for me over a period of about a year. Sorry, but that's the truth. (I was slow to figure out the food/dumping connection.) I still have an occasional issue, but only a couple of times a year now.

One thing I have noticed is the fatty and fried foods connection. Stay with me here for a minute...I know you think it's okay for you to eat anything in the evening, but I have found that meals can "build". I might have a fatty meal and not feel it until the next day or I might feel it immediately. So, try an elimination diet for a couple of weeks. Avoid all foods you have reacted to and see what happens. Your breakfast issues might be related to the night before.

We have some really great Lactose free milk in our supermarket and that helps as well.

Hugs Sweetie! Been there and done that. Yes, it was a real problem for awhile, but I am personally very glad to be alive and pain free. :thumbup:

Wow! I wish they'd had that after my surgery. :)

hey Judy! thanks! this morning i just had crackers and a banana...around 1 pm i had chicken nuggets and for supper i had a burger... and i've been GREAT today!!! but now i see what you are saying and i'll try and avoid all fatty foods for a while! see hwo it goes.. tomorrow i'm just going to have fruit tomorrow until noon then i'm going to have half a proscuitto sandwhich and have the other half around supper and see how that goes... i wish i could have more for breakfast but it all goes horribly...

See, my Dr. said high carb/low fat....my hubby thought he meant only for the first 5 days after the procedure I already had in July (they knocked me out and went down through my mouth into my stomach....a 1.5 hour surgery). Anyway, can I ask this:rolleyes: .....:confused: .......did the ones with "dumping syndrome" all lose weight???? I can't imagnine how NOT if you can't eat the fattier foods AND have to go to the bathroom all the time. Also,do you have to supplement with vitamins?

Nope, I did not lose weight. :rolleyes: But I blame myself and only myself. :)

i lost a lot of weight before the surgery because i couldn't eat anything.. however this dumping problem has just come up... so i'm not eating much breakfast but i try and make it up in the afternoon and for supper.

I had mine out about three years ago and had suffered the whole time. Finally, I talked to my doctor, and she put me on a Rx called Welchol. It has worked pretty good. I still have problems, but some are also do to chemo that I had in 1999. Good luck. I think you can kick this.:)

I have learned that after surgery some patients can eat without any digestive problems, some may not eat some kind of food, and some after the surgery are only slightly better. If you have removed all possible other causes of problems before gall bladder surgery (stomach, duodenum, liver, pancreas, intestine) then the most likely cause is a combination of a few factors. One of the reasons is inadequate or insufficient creation of digestive juices, their inappropriate biochemical composition, and hormonal dysfunction, followed by various psychological problems of anxiety, panic disorder or depression.

I had my gallbladder removed in Dec 2009. I suffer from dumping syndrome. :( I can't tie it to any particular food or any particular time of day. Some days I'm great, some days every meal sends me straight to the bathroom. It's not fun, but definitely much better than the pain of the gallbladder attacks.

I had my gallbladder out way back in '76-before the "band aid" surgery they have now. The foot-long scar was a lot of fun when I was a teen
(16), I'll tell ya!:mad:

Now that I'm older, the "dumping" has been going on for a while. It does not matter what I eat ( I also have GERD) so much as if I eat on a completely empty stomach. I have also tried the Welchol, and it worked very well, but it is VERY cost prohibitive.

I had my gallbladder out in 2006. I started vomiting after we would eat Wingstop on the weekend...it was my husband who finally made the connection that my body could not handle grease. We eliminated that, and the vomiting stopped, but I had full blown pancreatitis & thought I was dying before I ever went to a Dr./ER. I was so stubborn.

I had to spend 5 days in the hosp, much of it without food, before the swelling went down enough for them to take my gallbladder out. I was too sick to care!

It is horrible, I cannot eat hardly anything without literally having to run to the bathroom. I had a giggle over one poster who says the foods she knows she can't eat too far from home. I had to learn! Basically, I can't eat ANY fast food, fried food, milk, ice cream doesn't bother me too much, except Dairy Queen.

There were times I would eat very little on business lunches at one of my former jobs, we would all break for lunch, and then go back in a meeting. Leaving the meeting was really frowned on.

I sympathize with all of you. I remember as a kid my brother and I laughed at our grandma running for the potty, now I am just like her!!! :p

I think I will live with the golf ball size stones as long as I can. My Dr suggested I have my gallbladder removed but when I read about the dumping syndrome it freaked me out. No thank you! I try to limit my fat and have not had any attacks in a year or so. Knock on wood!

I've had post cholecystectomy syndrome since having my gall bladder out in 2005. The pain from that is worse than the original stones. :(