Hi! I just had my gallbladder removed on the 16th, and I am so glad I did. My symptoms were almost constant nausea and epigastric pain (middle to right) which occured mostly after eating, but hanging around for long afterward. And then there were the occasional episodes that would wake me at night and make me sick to my stomach and doubled over in pain for hours. I also did not have gallstones, and it took over a year to have the HIDA scan done, which was suggested by my family doc and not my GI doc. My ejection fraction was 11%. My symptoms had been getting progressively worse over the past year and a half to the point where I had lost 30 pounds since I didn't know what to eat anymore - everything made me sick. Every doc I saw was skeptical since during the HIDA scan it didn't recreate the same pain and nausea, but I attribute that to having an acupuncture treatment the day before, which I believe held the symptoms at bay. I was so frustrated and fed up that I decided on the surgery.
It takes the body 4-6 weeks to get used to not having a gallbladder and the surgeon suggested adding fats back in slowly, which I have been doing. So far so good. I do seem to have looser stools for now (I am predominantly C so for me that's ok!) but no D. I've been told that this will subside. I take Heather's fiber daily which I think helps keep the stools fairly formed. I haven't expanded my eating horizons too much yet since it will only be 2 weeks since the surgery tomorrow. But I have no more nausea or epigastric pain and I actually have an appetite!
I know that I will probably always have some GI issues, but I am feeling so much better and I am so glad I followed my gut (so to speak!) and went ahead with the surgery. I have heard that the surgery can cause problems with D in people with IBS, but for me - well, I'm doing just fine.
Good luck, and if you have any other questions feel free to ask. Oh, and by the way, diet-wise, it's mostly the fats that cause problems, so for now I'd stick to a low fat diet and small portions.
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|