Gallbladder Removal -- Good Or Bad Idea?

[gatita]

So I just had a HIDA scan with CCK and it came back "abnormally low function of gallbladder... related to sprue."

 

I've had little to no pain from it and have no stones or blockages.

 

GI doc is recommending removal.

 

But I've read that gallbladder removal can cause chronic diarrhea, which is the symptom that sent me to the doc in the first place!

 

I sure don't want to have to live with the Big D forever.

 

Has anyone had their gallbladder removed before or after going gluten-free? Did it help or hurt your symptoms?

 

Also, how does not having a GB affect your diet?

 

 

 

[mushroom]

Gosh, I have not had this problem myself, but have seen literally hundreds of posters on here who have either had, will have, or are having their gall bladder removed.  Most often because of poor function.  This is the first acknowledgement I have ever see re its relationship to celiac.

 

I wish I could say that the posters say it makes them feel better, but in most cases I recall their pain seems to remain unabated.  You have no pain from it.  I am not sure how long you have been eating gluten free, but for some the problem seems to self corrrect on gluten free diet (if there are no stones, just sludge).  If you can hamg on to it for a while longer (with your doctor's blessing of course) and give it a chance, you might be able to save it.  Normally the digestive problems without a gall bladder relate to fats, as I recollect. 

 

I hope others with personal experience will post.

[shadowicewolf]

Good... very good idea.

 

Mine was working at 5% when i had my HIDA scan. No stones, no nothin' (later dx'd with something women in their 40s normally get). But i had pain, lots and lots of pain. It would get so bad that i couldn't hardly take a breath. It looked dead upon removal.

 

This was after months of "its not your gallbladder".

 

My d stopped when i went gluten free (about... a few months before surgery). But the side pain.... Lets put it this way, the recovery from the surgery was nothing compared to it.

 

The chronic D thing that can be a complication afterwards is, from my understanding, fairly rare to deal with.

 

However! You do need to know that in some people who've had their gallbladder removed, they can no longer tolerate really fatty/greasy foods.

[tarahumara]

Hi Gatita,

 

I had my gall bladder removed almost 3 years ago. I wish I would of read more about the function of the gall bladder instead of just going with the Dr. orders. Only recently did I go gluten free ( 1 month) and now back on gluten for testing purposes. After the gall bladder removal I didn't notice any difference in my body. But starting last year I started getting D off and on but most importantly I have pain coming from my liver now. My test for liver function look okay on paper but I know it isn't normal to have pain in my liver. I have been taking a liver detox tea and lemon water first thing in the morning in order to keep my liver from pain. Basically without your gall bladder you are expecting more from your liver to cleanse everything out of your system.  I would try to find a natural way to boost your gall bladder and hopefully a healthy gluten free diet can help you heal without the neccessity of removing a vital organ. If it isn't hurting you, why remove it?  

 

Be well!

  On 3/13/2013 at 6:59 PM, gatita said:

So I just had a HIDA scan with CCK and it came back "abnormally low function of gallbladder... related to sprue."

 

I've had little to no pain from it and have no stones or blockages.

 

GI doc is recommending removal.

 

But I've read that gallbladder removal can cause chronic diarrhea, which is the symptom that sent me to the doc in the first place!

 

I sure don't want to have to live with the Big D forever.

 

Has anyone had their gallbladder removed before or after going gluten-free? Did it help or hurt your symptoms?

 

Also, how does not having a GB affect your diet?

[gatita]

Thanks you all...

 

Mushroom, I was surprised too to see the word "sprue" in there especially since I still don't have an official diagnosis. There are lots of studies linking it to celiac but never thought I'd see an MD write it down.

 

Oh, and I don't even have sludge, just a gallbladder that isn't squeezing out enough bile.

 

shadowicewolf and tarahumara, btw, my function is 29%, not THAT far from the clinic's version of normal (35%). Still, abnormal.

 

My main/worst symptom since last June has been chronic diarrhea and nausea, so my doc thinks this low gallbladder function may be contributing to it. Clearly I am also wheat or gluten intolerant, but the D and nausea haven't stopped after 8 months gluten-free.

 

I would be thrilled if my guts recovered with surgery, but I sure don't want a cure that's worse than the disease. it's those few cases that get chronic diarrhea FROM the procedure that scare me.

 

Thanks for the thoughts all of you, still have a lot to figure out.

 

I have an appointment to consult with the surgeon tomorrow morning.

[mommida]

In untreated Celiacs there is a connection to non functioning gallbladder.  So it does depend on how long you have been gluten free.  If you are able to determine if there is another food intolerance.

 

I was gluten free for 5-6 years and then it was time to come out.  The pain, nausea, and "D" that had started at that point was clear to me what the problem was.  I don't try and eat any high fat foods.  (but that had started before the gallbladder came out too)  Are you noticing a connection to higher fat meals?  Do you fit the F profile?  Female, Fertile (at about pushing 40), Fair,  Some say fat is one of the "F" cue words, but I does have more of a connection to losing weight recently.

 

You know the surgery was the right thing to do when you feel better in recovery checking out your glued incisions areas.  (even though that hurt so I asked for more pain meds)

[gatita]

Interesting mommida... I am fat, female, probably not fertile anymore, and fifty-five. So I sort of fit and sorta don't. Lost a lot of weight in the past but not recently.

 

The surgeon today said he wants to hold off until he can talk to my GI, and meanwhile says I should try smaller, more frequent meals.

 

I have not noticed a reaction to fatty foods. It's more ANY food.

[frieze]

I forget whom, but a poster on here knows way more than  I do (or at least remember) about digestion.  But...do you take acid reducing meds? they play havoc with digestion, and may inhibit gall bladder/pancreas function by delivering food to the small intestine that is not sufficiently acidic to pront function.  so, perhaps checking stomach acidity, to make sure it is acid enough, would be an idea.

  On 3/14/2013 at 7:33 PM, gatita said:

Interesting mommida... I am fat, female, probably not fertile anymore, and fifty-five. So I sort of fit and sorta don't. Lost a lot of weight in the past but not recently.

 

The surgeon today said he wants to hold off until he can talk to my GI, and meanwhile says I should try smaller, more frequent meals.

 

I have not noticed a reaction to fatty foods. It's more ANY food.

[Smylinacha]

Hi,

I had my gallbladder out in July.....many stones but no pain that most people have. I felt generally lousy for years, bloated, gastro problems, fatty foods and all the processed junk I ate was finally doing me in. I didn't have the pain up high... Just on my side after eating. First the regular gp doc thought it was my appendix... That turned out fine. Then he thought it was a kidney stone which they found a 7mm non obstructive one but also found my gallbladder full of small stones by doing ultrasound. Had it taken out laporascopically and I never seemed to recover... Even watching my fatty food intake. Still food bothered me, was still bloated, trapped wind, weight loss, brain fog, elevated liver enzymes, hypo thyroid and rashes. So I started a food diary after searching the net with my symptoms and lurking in here, I lined up my gastro that I haven't seen in years and showed her my food diary and that I had cut out the gluten and was feeling much better. I do need the official endoscopy, biopsy but I don't want to eat gluten again to get the official word as I feel 95% better after a couple of months. I just pray I can gain some weight. And by accident I have been glutened and feel poorly shortly after. I thought it was all gallbladder related but when I still felt awful months after surgery I knew I had something going on. I will get the tests when I get the guts too gluten up again but I just want to enjoy how I feel for a while longer. So having it out before gluten free did not screw anything up but I was screwing up not knowing the gluten was making me sick. My digestion is close to normal now.

[mommida]

I gave up when I could barely eat.  Even water was an issue.  I felt like I was being stabbed in the back too.  (at the time, I did have some betrayal of friendship too)