life after gallbladder removal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:emergency gallbladder removal this weekend. still trying to process it all. what is life like after removal? medical team says things should be fine, go back to normal etc, but would appreciate hearing from someone who is several months or years removed from the surgery.

Mine was not emergency--years ago, I had no insurance and no money and went through a 7 month process to be found medically needy by the state so Medicaid would pay for it. I had terrible attacks but had been told by my primary about watching for signs of infection (I knew someone whose husband had died not many years ago--ignored his gall bladder issues, developed infection, a year of suffering in the hospital--up and down--and died, at the age of 37).

I lost a lot of weight because I was afraid to eat.

I had laproscopic surgery so most of the discomfort was because they blow up your belly like a balloon so like pain from doing more sit-ups than you ever did in your life.

I celebrated by having my partner take me to our favorite restaurant for cheesecake.

Three months later I got a package in the mail from the hospital, containing my gallstones (this would not happen today, when you can't even have you kid's baby tooth if a dentist had to pull it).

Supposedly some people have some digestive problems but I have never noticed any difference. Some years later, an x-ray for another reason turned up an enlarged common bile duct, possibly a result of the prolonged gall bladder disease, but even that was 12 years ago and no identified problems from that.

[Anonymous]

I hate to mention this, but:

Your gallbladder pain should be gone. My sister's didn't go away and she was later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I don't know what the path report for her gall bladder showed, but when our family was dealing with the catastrophic diagnosis we reached out to local pancreatic cancer group and learned that it is not uncommon for symptoms to be treated as gall bladder initially.

But there are many, many more people who have to have their gall bladder out each year than are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer (I looked it up back then). My main point is that you should expect to feel a lot better.

[Anonymous]

it's an easier recovery than a c-section, a bit harder than an appendectomy (if both were done laparoscopically). I still (two and a half years later) can trigger muscle cramps around the upper incision if i bend over too suddenly/fold over too much.

a pillow to hold over your torso/under the seatbelt would be good for the ride home. a belly binder (had one from my c-section, can also buy on amazon) helped me not overuse my core in the days after.

get some miralax and take it regularly with lots of water until you have bowel movements. while having your gallbladder out can trigger diarrhea, anesthesia and pain meds generally cause constipation.

get gas-x to help deal with the laparoscopic gas pains. you also might want to sleep on a sofa or on a wedge pillow for a couple of days.

i didn't need anything beyond tylenol and motrin after gallbladder surgery or appendectomy. you might be different.

[Anonymous]

My brothers and I have all had ours out. A few weeks of pain/discomfort for my brother who had to have an open surgery, but mine was laparoscopic and other than the post surgical recovery (minor) it was fine.

We all had to clean up our eating a bit. My brother that had the most damage doesn’t eat fatty foods, sugar, or much dairy and no alcohol. I can eat mostly anything but I don’t drink and have a fatty meal at the same time. I also don’t eat as much red meat. If I had a cheeseburger, fries and beer I’d be pretty miserable. But at 47 I’m not eating that way anyway.

Good luck. Just ease into it, you’ll become aware of your limits. Just keep it clean at first and if you notice trouble.

[Anonymous]

I'm about 5 years out from having my gallbladder removed. Mine was not an emergency, surgery was laparoscopic. Immediate recovery was very good. Very minimal pain and I only managed it with Tylenol and Advil. Back to work after four days. More strenuous activity ramped up over next couple weeks.

My diet was actually pretty good before gallbladder removal so I continue on with low salt, low fat, and no red meat. I stopped alcohol much before surgery and that continues. Other than the diet above, I can eat whatever I'd like. If I go outside that diet, moderation is the key. I might have had one or two ghost gallbladder attacks early on but they were nowhere near the gallbladder attack I had prior to surgery. Now if I feel any sort of stomach weirdness I'll pop a famotidine (Pepcid) and I'm good to go.

Sorry this happened to you. Good luck to you going forward!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:20 years ago. No issues, no dietary changes, nothing. You are good to go.

That's lovely you had that experience.

Please understand not every human body is the same and it is very well established that a very good sized number of patients post-gallbladder removal suffer health issues related to the loss of the organ and their body's adjustment to bile.

So it is silly for you to assert to OP that they are 'good to go'. They need to see how their own body responds and seek help if there are issues because those issues can become debilitating for some patients.

Well, here's the thing- there really aren't any expected side effects / diet/ gastric issues after gall bladder surgery, and, if there are, it's pretty rare. People have this done all the time- very common surgery. Mine was an emergency too, and frankly, no one I've encountered over more than 50 years of experience in knowing people who have had gall bladder removal surgery have had any post surgery complications. None.

However, I have seen a ton of BS on Instagram / TikTok about dietary (from erstwhile nutritionists, content creators) regarding this, and frankly, it's nonsense. So yes, unless OP has an unusual tangential issue not mentioned here- OP is actually good to go. She will have a post surgery period, of course, but after that- all good. No worries about not having a gall bladder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My brothers and I have all had ours out. A few weeks of pain/discomfort for my brother who had to have an open surgery, but mine was laparoscopic and other than the post surgical recovery (minor) it was fine.

We all had to clean up our eating a bit. My brother that had the most damage doesn’t eat fatty foods, sugar, or much dairy and no alcohol. I can eat mostly anything but I don’t drink and have a fatty meal at the same time. I also don’t eat as much red meat. If I had a cheeseburger, fries and beer I’d be pretty miserable. But at 47 I’m not eating that way anyway.

Good luck. Just ease into it, you’ll become aware of your limits. Just keep it clean at first and if you notice trouble.

Dietary changes are generally unnecessary with this. That being said, I recommend everyone give up red meat and high animal fat diets quite apart from this surgery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's a good resource for post-gallbladder life: https://www.verywellhealth.com/digestive-problems-after-gallbladder-removal-1945193

This is not true for most patients after gall bladder removal. Talk to your dr, not the Internet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:20 years ago. No issues, no dietary changes, nothing. You are good to go.

Same! Im reading here about loose stools and watching what I eat… I did none of that. Maybe I was lucky. I had it done laparoscopically. I can hardly find the 2 little spots as scars 20 years later. I was back to normal caring for my 2yo a few days later.

I think there are people who had/have other gastric issues combined with gallstones and that gets conflated with post gall bladder surgery issues. Most of the time this surgery has no dietary complications after the fact. Sorry to those that do, I'm guessing there were issues beyond the usual before surgery and gastric problems are pretty depressing.

[Anonymous]

OP. Thanks all. It’s been a real whirlwind and I appreciate the perspectives

[Anonymous]

Can you please tell what exactly you mean by "rich foods"? When you are saying that you are fine eating rich foods after surgery. Everybody has a different definition of that. Like what, buttery toast or 2 oz of brie?

[Anonymous]

A good friend had emergency laparoscopic surgery after a gallbladder attack and she was laid up taking pain meds for almost 2 weeks. It happened a few days after my first child was born via planned c-section. She was planning to stay with me to help me with the baby while I recovered…. But I ended up going to her house (with my newborn) to take care of her instead!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you please tell what exactly you mean by "rich foods"? When you are saying that you are fine eating rich foods after surgery. Everybody has a different definition of that. Like what, buttery toast or 2 oz of brie?

I can’t answer that because it varies, I’ve talked to others who have totally different triggers. I can eat cheese but oily things go right through me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Again, congratulations to those of you who had a great gallbladder removal experience - I am beyond envious because postcholecystectomy syndrome devastated my health and also my career.

25% of patients who get cholecystectomies suffer some degree of the syndrome so it's not rare.

OP just please pay attention to your body and get ahead of anything that arises. I wish you all the best!

Totally agree. The vast majority of people have the surgery and it's a non-event. But if you develop postcholecystectomy syndrome it is awful. My mother's gallbladder symptoms did not go away- the bouts of diarrhea and vomiting continued and she ended up dying in her early sixties a year or so after the surgery from an aneurism (due to esophageal varices caused by vomiting). No previous medical history/no risk factors. It should have been a simple surgery and a return to normal life. Just see your MD and hound them if things don't get better- we wish our mum had.

[Anonymous]

Overall great bc I had had two very sick painful episodes leading up to it, but looking back there had been a few other instances of sickness that were warnings. That being said, I had scans etc of the area 2-3 years before and they didn’t spot the gall stones. After, recovery fine. I had several small cuts, but did not care about how they looked.
Dietary, I agree it is frustrating they don’t really give much guidance. There is a full range of results as others have attested. I will say I have struggled with diarrhea. I have always had “a sensitive stomach”, but yeah. After two years I found a probiotic that really helped!!!!!! I also don’t have an appetite for the same variety of foods I used to. I prefer roasted or grilled meat, a veg and a side. No crazy sauces. My poor husband when we go out or get take out -not frequent - I’m like, ummm Moby dick or tacos? No desire for Indian or other Asian foods I used to love. Less of a desire for creamy recipes as others said. Interesting someone else mentioned their cholesterol improved. I thought my improvement was due to HRT, but could be both. I lost the taste for milk in my hot tea which I had always loved.