Anybody have their gallbladder removed?

I was going to start a new thread but I found this one using the search function.

I got nauseous one night and broke out with cold sweats and a generally lousy feeling like I was going to die... to make a long story short, I wound up in the hospital where I underwent a battery of tests to figure out what was wrong with me.... the doctors zeroed in on my gall bladder due to the symptoms I was having.

One test revealed that my gall bladder was not functioning correctly and they recommended that it be removed...the surgeon told me that most people suffer no ill effects from gall bladder removal... I later found that just the opposite is true.... very few people have their gall bladder removed with no side effects.... the vast majority have issues.

After the surgery, I felt a lot better immediately... but then the problems started....... I suffered from severe diarrhea to the effect that within minutes after eating I would have to run to the bathroom..... anywhere from loose stools to just plain water coming out.... sometimes it hit so fast and sudden that it difficult to make it to the toilet in time and I won't lie, there were more than one occasion where I just didn't... real bad scenario when you are out in public.

I dropped 45 pounds in 5 months and my quality of life was in the crapper (pun intended)... after doing some research, I found that this is quite common in most people after gall bladder removal, although my situation was severe. I also found a medicine that had good success in helping people like me.... its Cholestyramine... it has literally saved my life from being afraid to leave the house to being back to a normal and regular person.

Cholestyramine is a bile acid sequestrant, and many people like me suffer from too much bile acid after gall bladder removal.... this drug binds to the electrolytes in the bile to keep it from building up... unfortunately this is something I have to take twice a day for the rest of my life if I want to be able to do the things a normal person can do with having to worry about a sudden and severe attack of diarrhea in an unfortunate place.

I take 4 grams of Prevalite powder twice a day.... once in the am and once before bed..... this is some nasty stuff to swallow, but I have found that mixing it with Tang isn't bad at all.

Looking back on all this almost a year out,,, I have noticed many things.....

1. I used to get abdominal muscle cramps... very severe ones....... not a one since the gall bladder has been gone.

2. I had acid reflux for years..... to the point where I developed Barret's esophagus....I was on Nexium for years..
I almost never have heartburn now and no longer take Nexium daily. When I do have the occasional heartburn, its very very mild.

3. The weight has stayed off, although I can eat normally now... my appetite is less.

4. Overall I feel so much better than I did before I had my gall bladder removed.

So if it is recommended that you have your gall bladder removed, bear in mind there will be consequences.... some good and some bad.


Edit: Prior to gall bladder removal, I used to get muscle cramps....the abdominal ones were the worst and hardest to get rid of, there really is no way to stretch them out... but I also had leg cramps at night, I would get cramps in my biceps when stretching........ I have virtually no muscle cramps of any sort since the surgery.



Second edit: The reduction in acid reflux isn't due to weight loss, I am still 50 pounds over and its still all in the belly... hardest place to get rid of it.

I had it removed close to ten years ago I'm not going to lie and say things got better right away, took over two years. You have to learn how to constantly maintain the right diet. You'll have to find what works for you.

Acidophiles is a must at least for me. Can't even touch milk now but cheese is okay. Steamed foods or excessively hot curttle my stomach. But luckily im still able to stomach spicy foods. Everyone's body is different but still even with the occasional bloating I feel wonderful compared to having a rotting gallbladder still in me.

Try not to worry its better you just might have to lower your intake of certain foods. And not to be vulgar but you will want to stay close to a restroom for the first few months until your body gets used to not having a gallbladder.

Good luck!