Gallbladder and weight loss

K

KatieDid

Cathlete
Hi everyone. I had a gallbladder attack Tuesday night (no stones, thankfully) but got conflicting advice from the ER doc and my doc so I thought I'd see what your experiences were. The ER doc said basically that gall bladder attacks result from being "Fat, Female, or forty" and this will continue until I develop stones and have the gallbladder removed whether I lose weight or not. My primary care doctor said that the attack was more likely a result of improper fat metabolizing and could have happened at any age or weight but that I shouldn't "over tax" the gallbladder by continuing steady weight loss. He does not recommend surgey, but didn't give me any other treatment options.

My questions are: what has been your experience with gallbladder attacks and/or gallstones? Do you feel like they were related to your weight (ie being overfat) or to losing weight? Do you have any suggestions for non-surgical/alternative treatments? If you had surgery, what were your complications and how long did it take to get back to feeling good and exercising regularly?

Thanks so much for sharing. I know that someone out there has stuggled with this too!
Katie
 
Katie,

I had my gallbladder removed almost four years ago. I was 26. I suffered infreqently from what I believed to be heartburn for about 2 years. I never went to the hospital or consulted a doctor about the attacks -- just took some antacids -- whic didn't work, after which I would result to warm showers.

One day I woke up just not feeling well. I stayed home, couldn't keep anything down, and evidently had a high fever. My husband came home, took my temperature (it was about 103), and we went to the emergency room. Of course we thought it was appendicities or perhaps my ovaries -- but they couldn't find anything. They considered my gallbladder but not too seriously since I only met the "female" requirement. I finally did remember having one of my "heartburn" attacks after eating some greasy movie theater popcorn. They then did an ultrasound and found the gallstone. I went into the hospital that night, had surgery to remove my gallbladder the next day, and went home the next.

I did some research myself on gallbladder problems, and found that another risk factor is with people who have crash dieted and lost weight very quickly. This is what I did (more than once, since I gained all the weight back) after college weight gain.

Hope this helps. The surgery wasn't bad. They actually took some really neat pictures of my gallbladder and liver.

BeccaLeigh
 
BeccaLeigh: Thanks for the response. I understand the "heartburn" feeling...I get that every month near the time for my period. I don't know why, but how you described it is exactly how it feels and it doesn't respond to OTC meds.

Were you working out when you had the surgery? How long was your down time? Any negatives to the surgery?

Thanks again for telling me your story! I really appreciate it.

Katie
 
Hi Katie:

I had mine removed last May. Mine was filled with stones. I had one attack that hospitalized me. That was all it took before it was removed two weeks later so they could do it threw lap.

This is what I learned.

The gallbladder has a role in the system. It's job is to excrete an enzyme into the stomach that will have the stomach produce more acid to break down fat and proteins. More for fats than for proteins. The higher the fat, the higher the gallbladder has to work.

Gallstones are hardened cholesterol. We all know how cholesterol is created. Threw bad diet habits, period. So, any kind of diet that is high in fat, ANY FAT, all fat is the same, will signal the liver to do it's job.

Some people will not produce gallstones, some of us lucky ones will. It is diet related.

Weight does play a factor but more from our diet.

When I had to be good for two weeks until I could go to the hospital, my diet had to be at a fat content of 20% a day. I went high, I ran the risk. I stayed lower, I was ok. I really wanted to avoid the surgery if I could.

To no avail, I couldn't avoid the surgery. I had some big stones and if they didn't pass threw the ducts to the stomach, it could get infected and I ran the risk of damaging other organs. Then it becomes emergent and they would have cut me open.

There are millions of Americans who have this organ removed and function normally. I didn't want mine removed only because I didn't want anyone cutting anything out of my body. The good Lord gave me these parts and there are there for a reason.

I had mine removed and I'm not one of the millions of Americans who function normally. It's been a real pain and a real change of life for me.

If there is anyway possible and you don't run the risk of damaging other organs or risk of death, I would try to control it threw diet. It will be imperative that you keep that fat content low, as low as possible.

Just my experience.

Keta. :D

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Hi Katie,
My friend had her gallbladder taken out and she has had cronic diareha ever since. I guess that can happen and take 6 months to get back to normal. That is all I know.
Take Care,
Tracy
 
Katie,

I was running somewhat before the surgery. I was out of work for a week. I probably could have gone back a couple of days earlier, but I didn't want to push it.

Mine was done endoscopically, so I only had two ~1 inch incisions and then two ~0.5 inch incisions. You can really only see one of the large incisions today, but barely. Of course they warn you that if complications arise they will have to make a very large incision. There were no stitches -- they basically but a large sticky piece of plastic wrap across my belly.

So, no negatives to the surgery.

I looked at my running log, and I didn't start running until about 5 weeks after my surgery! This really surprised me. I think it had more to do with laziness than surgery impact. I remember trying to just jog a few steps about a week after surgery and it hurt my abs. But I walked the dogs quite a bit, so you might just have to take it easy on the high impact stuff. I was also working on my MBA and starting a new job after the surgery, so I think my lack of exercise had more to do with laziness and other priorities vs. the surgery.

I had heard about folks having digestion problems after gallbladder removal, but I haven't had any.

Becca
 
RE: Sorry you have to deal with this...

Hey Katie. One of my best friends had her gallbladder removed when she was 21. She has a similar experience to those related herein. She had been a thin child, gained a significant amount of weight in her late teens, and had then recently dropped 60 pounds sensibly over the course of one year.
Her doc told her much of it is genetic, exacerbated by diet, yo-yo dieting, etc. etc. Her mom and aunt both had theirs out as well.
She said the surgey was nothing...after being sick as a dog she was thrilled to have it out and said she had no complications at all.
Feel better :)
 
Thank you all for your responses and willingness to share your experiences. You have given me much to think about and study. (Keta I also enjoyed you web site and links!)

I am on a very low-fat diet now to reduce blood pressure and on reviewing my food records it looks like I have an episode every time I eat a higher fat entree or when I lose more than 3 pounds in a week (I'm not trying to do that but it does happen sometimes.) I also have a few other minor liver problems and I'm wondering if they contribute to the overall effect.

Again thank you all for your input. I'll be continuing to research this and speak to my doctor....

Thanks! Katie
 
Very quick weight loss also can cause gall bladder problems!!!!I had mine out when I was starving myself down to 112lbs from 130's so be careful with weight loss as well!!! The surgery was not too bad...I tried to return to work in two days and walked a little funny!!!!! Good luck to you..
 
I've known two women who have had gall bladder surgery after a major weight loss. One lost approx 100 lbs during a one year period and the other lost maybe 50-60..took maybe 4-5 mos.

Anyway, one woman said that her doctor told her that her attack was due to the weight loss(100 lbs).

I've been wondering if gall bladder attacks after weight loss are in some way preventable.

I did a search on the net, because I had heard of a gall bladder cleanse. It sounded kind of gross...something about drinking
apple juice for a few days...then drinking fresh lemon juice w/
1 pint of olive oil. Then you go to bed laying on your right side. The next day, if you have any gallstones...they are passed
when you have a b/m. My health food store even carried a book on the subject..walking you through step by step called "Are you Stoned?"or something to that effect.

I'm very curious as to whether or not this procedure works and if it could be used as a preventative measure. Has anyone else heard of anything like this?
 
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