Celiac Disease and gallbladder removal

[Jenna Rasmus]

Hello so I’ve had my gallbladder taken out in 2013 and I was 19. I was so sick before then I would have an attack(unbelievable pressure) in my stomach and it could last about 2 hours or it could last days and it would wipe me completely out! It felt like a knife going through my upper abdomen from right to left and it would go down to my lower abdomen. I  had done a food journal before I knew my gallbladder was full of stones and I realize that every time I eat bread I would have that attack. My liver enzymes were off my white blood cell count was off and a lot of other little blood panels had been abnormal. Even after I had my gallbladder out I still have the attacks and then I stopped eating bread completely. Keep in mind that when the surgeon took out my gallbladder there was a lot of scar tissue damage from the stones going out and in and scraping my bile duct. One of my questions is was a passing stones or was it the celiac that would make the attack?  Because the pain is the exact same and I’m not sure which problem is which. Are they completely related? 

 

At 23 Years old today, I had stopped eating gluten completely but every once in a while my right upper abdomen get stabbing pains just like I had before when my gallbladder was in and I’m not sure if I need to take a closer look at that or if I’m eating something that I don’t know that has gluten in it?  I just recently took a blood panel of my liver and my vitamins and my blood cell counts and everything was normal.

[trents]

The gallbladder's purpose is to produce bile that helps digest fat. People with gallbladder duct blockage from stones often find that attacks are brought on when eating high fat meals. When ingesting a lot of fat the gallbladder goes into overdrive trying to pump out bile that is being blocked by stones in the duct. This causes the  gallbladder to cramp up and give you pain.

I find it odd that your gallbladder pain was connected with eating bread, which is not normally high in fat (unless, of course you slather it with butter).  Abdominal discomfort when eating bread would point more to Celiac Disease in my mind.

[GFinDC]

Hi Jenna,

There are other people on the forum who had their gall bladders removed.  Sometimes for no good reason.  But doctors don't always diagnose celiac disease quickly and so they try treating other things instead.

If you suspect you have celiac disease it is best to get tested while you are eating gluten.  Otherwise the tests don't work.  The gluten challenge period is 12 weeks for the blood antibodies testing and 2 weeks for the endoscopy.  It is often much more painful to get tested later on because you have to do the gluten challenge.

But if the diagnosis doesn't matter to you then just stay gluten-free.  It is best to start by eating whole foods and avoiding processed foods and dairy.  Eating meats, veggies, eggs, nuts and fruit is good.

There are tips in the Newbie 101 thread too.