Close friend unable to eat much - gall bladder surgery

[Dela]

HI, a very close friend of mine had gall bladder surgery almost a year ago, she increasingly has more and more trouble eating anything at all, not jut the fatty and bad foods. She is going to her pcp to get the name of a specialist soon, but this is crazy, she was always quite thin to begin with, and now she is thinner. It's not an eating disorder, she tries, and then she experiences pain. I am concerned for how she can possibly ingest enough calories when she can't even add in to many nuts or oils. The most caloric food she was tolerating was fattier fishes, not sure if this turned on her too yet. I am concerned and can offer no valid advice.

 

[RapidBreath]

She can't eat fatty fish at all without a gall bladder. She must comply with her non-fat diet. I wonder if she also developed a gluten intolerance like I did last year. I did not have the gall bladder issue but I was unable to eat anything without tremendous pain in my small intestine (felt like I was being cut up from the inside out.) so now I'm on a gluten free diet and when I am exposed I use gluten enzymes. I don't know if that is the problem, but she might look into an elimination diet. I'm so sorry she isn't feeling well.

 

[NRG Woman]

I had problems that presented like gallbladder problems. I had my gallbladder out and still had major problem, still pain upon eating that seemed just like a gallbladder attack. It took a long time to find a specialist who ultimately figured out it was Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. Basically the sphincter that lets the bile into the small intestine was stenosed (spasmed shut). I had a procedure called an ERCP (they go in through the mouth down to your small intestine) and felt wonderful for a couple of years. Eventually the sphincter scarred shut and they had to cut it open a couple more times. When it became evident that the sphincter would continue to scar shut they had to do an open abdominal surgery to ablate the sphincter (basically roto-rooter it open). I have had terrible complications from that surgery, but it completely corrected the original problem. In that sense I can eat whatever I want and not have problems with it. If you Google "Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction" you will get a lot of information on it. You could see if the symptoms match your friends.

I hope it turns out well for your friend.

Shayne

 

[Dela]

Thank you very much for sharing your personal stories, I will share this with her too, and I believe she also has an issue with gluten and has cut that out too. I hope her doctors can provide her some relief and answers.