gall bladders

dragongirl

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349
Bit of a long shot - but does anyone have any experience of whether you can manage a low carb, high fat regime if you have your gall bladder out? There' s a mini history of it in my mother's family and I have been feeling slightly not okay after eating nuts and cheese recently. Just wondered.
DG
 

sugarless sue

Master
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10,098
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Rude people! Not being able to do the things I want to do.
I can't eat high fat without my gall bladder, don't want to spend my life in the loo !!! :shock:

I can eat nuts and cheese however in small portions and eat cream, again in small portions. It's a case of trial and error and plenty of loo paper ! :lol: :lol:
 

dragongirl

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349
Oh god, another possible problem lined up! Thanks for the answer. Mind you, I now have to go on iron for a while so it might come in useful!!
DG
 

clearviews

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Arrogance, sarcasm and liars
I have been LCHF for 16 months now and had my gall bladder and stones taken out 6 months ago. I am happy to report that nothing changed for me with what could not eat! Many people I met in the caravan park where we were in the middle of a 4 month holiday trip told me of dire stories of the foods they could not eat as a result of their ops but I still eat curries, cream, cheese, nuts, butter, bacon, coconut oil, chillies and not had one day of drama since that major, one off event that resulted in my gall bladder removal. Problems seems to be very individual.
 

Jen&Khaleb

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820
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Not having enough time. Broken sleep.
I've had my gall baldder removed and cannot tolerate large amounts of fat or, for some strange reason, softdrink? Apparently the gas in softdrink puts pressure on the bile duct that suffers from a bit of scar tissue build up.
 

shirleymarye

Active Member
Messages
39
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
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Sport !
I had my gall bladder removed in 1985 and it's never caused me any problems with food as far as I know!
 

wiflib

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,966
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Can't give you much insight on this one as I still have mine but here's an interesting fact.
(story first)
Six months after diagnosis and low-carbing from day two, I had lost 4.5 stones. I found myself in A&E clutching my VERY painful abdomen. So much pain I dropped to my knees sobbing in the large reception area.
I was 'persuaded' to be admitted after the consultant told me he thought I had an infected gall bladder (I'm a stroppy HCP. Ain't nobody stopping me from going home!)
After a bit of frantic research and a long discussion with several docs, I decided to hang on to the little thing when I found out that acute gall bladder pain is often associated with sudden and rapid weight loss.

My diet continues to be LCHF and nary a twinge or moan from the little thing.

wiflib
 

dragongirl

Well-Known Member
Messages
349
Thank you everyone who has replied. All very interesting!
I'm thinking about the last comment from wiflib because I have lost a lot of weight and am now heading down again (you'll hear the bump when I finally collapse! Or maybe not as I won't weigh anything...).
So maybe the weight loss is connected to the gall bladder worry and will settle. It's not bothering me most days and may not even be my gall bladder. Isn't it funny how we immediately wonder if everything is connected to DB? Maybe it's because we often had DB before we knew we had it. I'll keep an eye on things. Thanks again everyone.
DG
 

Cas

Member
Messages
11
This is really interesting for me, as in the last couple of months I have been in casualty twice with sever pains, associated with the gallbladder. I have had an ultrasound confirming gallstones and my surgery consultation for gallbladder removal coming up march 15th.

My GP tells me that my recent switch to a LCHF diet is what aggrivated my gallbladder beyond endurance and probably increased the growth of my gallstones.

The only way to avoid the pain has been to go on a complete fatfree diet and therefore fairly high carbs and am not happy about it.

Switching to LCHF really made me feel better and right now nothing seems to be right with my health/body.

I was really hoping to go back onto LCHF after the op, but am a little scared now as I have heard similar stories about not being able to eat fatty and spicy foods after GB removal.

Argh! Life is so complicated. :x
 

shirleymarye

Active Member
Messages
39
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
Dislikes
Sport !
I have never eaten high fat in my life but I had gallstones in 1985 which caused the removal of my gall bladder,but then again I was overweight. Since I stopped eating bread my weight has come down and is still dropping.
I still don't eat high fat and the obvious culprit that caused all my problems was bread and flour products. I do find that I can't digest some foods very well, like nuts for instance but I still eat them anyway,my system can't seem to break them down properly.
 

clearviews

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Arrogance, sarcasm and liars
After my previously trouble-free gall bladder and stones were removed, I researched.
Anecdotal advice given to me said that those who lost weight seemed to have a gall bladder issue. My mother who has never been overweight or diabetic had hers' removed after several attacks, many, many decades ago.

The surgeon who took out my "spectacularly infected" gall bladder and stones (diagnosed by my incredible pain, a CT scan and an ultrasound) said that I had done nothing wrong as it was connected with three things- -- genetics, weight loss and to a very minor degree, diet.

The gall bladder is a storage organ for bile produced in the liver and it releases bile when food containing fat enters the digestive tract. Gall stones can form in just 4 weeks and have not a lot to do with dietary cholesterol. If the gall bladder is not stimulated enough by a diet low in fat it does not receive enough encouragement to empty it's contents so it just chunders away ineffectively and possibly forming small stones. It appears most of us do have stones of some sort but most cause no problems.

The most likely conditions that will bring about a gall bladder issue are obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, some medications and being female. Being female seems to bring on the estrogen connection. I also found a reference that indicated one should eat enough fat to encourage gall bladder emptying.

I was low fat for decades so probably started the whole process off by that. Weight loss seems to be the big connection though mine was not as rapid as 25% of original body weight in 16 weeks, which is not the recommended rate.. more like 12 months. My gallbladder was found to have dripped infection over other organs (due to the almost total obstruction) like my appendix and bladder and I was massively irrigated. I was extremely fortunate that keyhole surgery was all that was needed. I did gain 6 kgs after not eating food for 4 days, all due to the massive amount of irrigation to rid me of the infection! Took a week to loose it again (and more) as the drain became ineffective so my body tissues absorbed it and eliminated it.

My outcome was very successful. Would I have preferred to keep my GB? Yes, I would have as we obviously have one for a reason and I understand that is to process dietary fat. My system is coping extremely well presently without it but that might not always be the case. Would I rather have kept the weight on and the topsy turvy cholesterol figures? NO. So lucky to have no dietary issues as initially my Mum had problems with fats, though not these days at 82 years of age!

Hope this helps allay any fears Dragongirl and Cas.
Alison
 

Jen&Khaleb

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820
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Not having enough time. Broken sleep.
I also don't believe diet to be the major factor in getting gall stones. The first pains I felt were while I was in the hospital after the birth of my child. I was told it was the hormone swing that caused the problem. I was in my early 20's and gained a little weight while pregnant. I also had a trip back to hospital 9 years after my gall bladder was removed to get scar tissue removed from my bile duct (consequence of the operation).
 

shirleymarye

Active Member
Messages
39
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
Dislikes
Sport !
I have always followed a low fat diet because I just don't like fat in my food! It would explain why I had problems with my gall bladder in 1985,I didn't feel well for about a year previously with pain near my shoulder blades,I was told this is one of the symptoms. My gall bladder was removed and I was given the stones in a jar to keep. I had been overweight for a number of years but never figured out why,I tried numerous diets which never worked properly. The GP said I had all the right symptoms for gall bladder disease, Fair,Fat and Forty ! Since November last year after studying the low carb dieting I have stopped eating bread and flour products and the weight is just coming off without counting calories or anything else. Just wish I had known about this before!
 

diabetesmum

Well-Known Member
Messages
515
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I agree with what's been said already.
I had my gallbladder out a couple of years ago, and was very glad to be rid of it. I've never had any problem with things I can't eat. The surgeon who removed mine said that my years of low fat dieting had a lot to do with the problem I'd developed, as sludge builds up in the gall bladder and turns to stones when it isn't encouraged to empty as often as it needs to. I would rather give birth again than have another gall stone attack!!
S
 

dragongirl

Well-Known Member
Messages
349
Alison - thanks so much for all that information. Much appreciated. I will stop worrying. Being fair and female, but never particularly on low fat, and now on low carb high fat, I guess my chances are about even, both of getting trouble and having trouble after. Weight loss may be an issue - if I lose any more I'll be able to see my gall bladder through my skin! But I was never overweight.

Thanks everyone for your comments. It's all grist to the mill!
DG