My gallbladder quit on me.....

Had to have my gallbladder out last week, anyone been through this?  Do I need to make diet changes?  My doctors were really not that informative and searching the web is just plain scary....help!

my doctor advised me to eat smaller, more frequent meals (i eat smaller meals, but only have a snack occasionally) and to mainly avoid

• Spicy foods (I don't totally avoid them, but have milder versions)
  
• Dairy (I eat a small amount of low fat cheese only occasionally)
  
• Fatty foods (I do avoid all fried food & high fat meats and cheeses)
  
• Caffeine (I drink black tea every day - no problem. Coffee is a problem.)
  
• Alcohol (I've only had a couple of alcoholic drinks since the surgery last fall, but I didn't notice any side effects other than being tipsy, which is usual).

My doctor had a handout that he gave me.  If you call your doc, perhaps they have something like that?

I ate like a horse the first few days after the surgery (didn't eat for like 4 days so I was a little hungry) and didn't have any side effects from any of that, but now I'm starting to notice certain things cause certain problems....no fun

The first year after I had my gallbladder out was very different from how it has been since.  I found that my body was adjusting to not having bile storage, so my body didn't digest things "normally" for a while.  I don't really think it mattered what I ate (subject to what I'm about to say next), my system just took a while to adjust to not having the gallbladder.  The one thing that didn't agree with me is if I ate excessive (and I mean lots and lots) of fat.  I also have IBS, so some of it probably had to do with that.  Even now (gallbladder was removed 14 years ago) if I eat an enormously fatting meal (it has to be totally over the top--like a really huge amount of red meat plus a very heavy dessert), I feel ill the next day (and I know it's gallbladder related).  So I would suggest eating fat but being very careful not to eat too much and then use trial and error as best you can.  If something isn't sitting right, don't eat it for a while but maybe try again once your body has adjusted to not having the gall bladder.  All-in-all I think you'll find you'll be much happier without it :)

hahaha thanks ehp! I don't miss it already.

i had mine out just before xmas, i didnt eat for about 4ish days now i eat everything i couldnt eat before.. only things i have trouble with is pork it gives me really bad cramps and to much chocolate gives me a phantum gallbladder attack but its nothing like the normal actack i just drink alittle glass of milk and it goes....the things on the net are really scarey and ent true! i hope u are feeling much better now xxx

Hi all gonna have my gallbladder and stones removed tuesday of next week, little scared, but gotta go as I am on soooooooooo many pain relief drugs, gaviscon and another tablet to calm down acid reflux, so in a way can not wait, hopefully when its gone I can come off the drugs, anyone like me before the op, had to be on acid reflux meds gaviscon and stuff like that? did you stop them straight away? or have to be on them until it all settled down?

I have had friends that some say they can now eat what they like, some say they still can not eat rich fatty foods, some have noticed bad reaction to chocolate and caffeine still and if eaten get bouts of wind dyrrohea and bloating, but all in all loads of positives weighing up with the bad, been told by all its just trial and error everyone reacts differently, an odd feww very small percentage of people who have the gallbladder out, still remain on drugs as there is no change from it being out, bit like a ghosting effect as if its not been taken out at all, but its very rare, most say they feel 100% better without it.

Best wishes Sue aka astralhippy