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No my Dr. didn't either but I have heard other people say that they were told to take a supplement to help with digestion.
I just wanted to make sure I wasn't out of the loop
The gallbladder doesn't produce any digestive enzymes, it is just a storage sac for bile produced in the liver. Without your gallbladder, bile is still produced it just isn't stored. Hence no need for any "replacement" of digestive products or enzymes when it is removed.
With the gallbladder gone, your digestive woes should be better -- but be forewarned, the foods that bothered you before the surgery may very well continue to bother you. I still have to be careful with broccoli and peanuts, fried foods, in particular, things like that.
Without a gallbladder, the liver will take over its function, but you don't want to over-tax it, either.
When I lost mine, I didn't much fit the criteria: forty, fat, fair, and female, or the 4Fs as my DR referred to them. If you have been a yo-yo dieter, you have put quite a bit of stress on the gallbladder.
Hope you feel better! I sure did, and continue to, even now. Oh, and no supplements. I've never needed any, but I am more conscientious about what I eat, and stay away from greasy, fried foods as much as I can.
No problems in 8 years since I had mine out. Like others said, you should not overload on the rich foods, appetizers, red meat, greasy foods. You need fruit, fiber, etc or you will notice you may feel queasy. I have a pain where it used to be, when I eat bad. No more rare red meat for me. Everything must be well done.
But you shouldn't be eating stuff like that frequently anyway - keeps my diet in line actually!
From Wikipedia: Ordinarily the concentration of bile salts in bile is 0.8%, however the gall bladder removes water from the bile, concentrating it between meals. It concentrates it up to 5 times (increasing concentration to 4%), before contracting the walls and releasing it into the duodenum once chyme has entered the small intestine.
I have heard that if you don't have a gallbladder, then bile (in it's unconcentrated form) is released just "whenever" from the liver. I would think that some ppl mite have a problem digesting fatty foods, since the bile is unconcentrated.
From Wikipedia: Ordinarily the concentration of bile salts in bile is 0.8%, however the gall bladder removes water from the bile, concentrating it between meals. It concentrates it up to 5 times (increasing concentration to 4%), before contracting the walls and releasing it into the duodenum once chyme has entered the small intestine.
I have heard that if you don't have a gallbladder, then bile (in it's unconcentrated form) is released just "whenever" from the liver. I would think that some ppl mite have a problem digesting fatty foods, since the bile is unconcentrated.
That is true about the bile being released regularly into the small intestine which can lead to diarrhea in some folks as well as potential problems with digesting fatty foods. However, most folks who have had their gallbladders removed did so because they were already having trouble with fatty meals whether it manifested in gall stones or abdominal pain (cholecystitis).
Having ones gallbladder removed, for the most part, will not require a "change" in diet, just a continuation of the pre operative diet.
That is true about the bile being released regularly into the small intestine which can lead to diarrhea in some folks as well as potential problems with digesting fatty foods. However, most folks who have had their gallbladders removed did so because they were already having trouble with fatty meals whether it manifested in gall stones or abdominal pain (cholecystitis).
Having ones gallbladder removed, for the most part, will not require a "change" in diet, just a continuation of the pre operative diet.
True, bluedevilz. After what I thought had been an awful lot of 24-hour stomach viruses over the course of a year, I learned I had one huge stone, about the size of my thumb, that precipitated removing the gallbladder. I still have some problems from time to time, but it is exactly for the reasons others have mentioned -- giving-in to a piece of fried chicken, or occasionally having some fried seafood. I can 'bank on it' giving me problems later.
I was also diagnosed with IBS a few years later, so I have intermittent bouts of diarrhea and constipation, but eating healthy is the key -- lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, plenty of fiber, and getting in (8) 8 oz. glasses of water. I did have a friend recommend a supplement, sort of a digestive aid, but I didn't see much difference -- better or worse, for having taken it.
Since all of this, I have discovered, too, that I have some ANS issues and gastroparesis.
Also, my gallbladder problems began when I was pregnant. I started having painful attacks that would cause me to vomit. I thought it was pregnancy related, but they kept happening after my son was born. Finally I went to the hospital one day and found out I had gall stones and pancreatitis (gall stones had entered my pancreas) and needed my gallbladder out immediately. The doc told me they see this a lot in pregnant women and women who have recently given birth because I guess pregnancy slows down the body's systems and can cause gall stones to develop.
The occasional problems I've had digesting fatty and rich foods is sooooo much better than those horrible gallbladder attacks!
Also, the estrogen levels that are really high, cause the digestive system to not process cholesterol as effectively or something. I was told.
Anything is better than those attacks. Yikes, labor pain bad, they were. Activated by high cholesterol foods. Twice I had them and thought they were food poisoning. Then I talked to someone who had hers out and the lightbulb went on. A pain on your right side boring all the way through to your back or around your side to your back.
If you don't get it removed, eventually, the attacks get more and more frequent. No thanks. Got it removed asap.
No more prime rib for me.
Had my gall bladder removed 12 years ago. Have had problems with queezy stomach and diahrea. A year ago I saw a specialist who prescribed Cholestyramine which helps control the bile. Still have diahrea two or three times a week. It sucks but dieting seems like a lot of work. I know I should and hopefully will. Might talk to my doctor, about the right diet.
I also have an ileostomy, which predated it and took a chunk of the small intestine and was told that contributed to it. I thought I was having blockages for five years and finally someone figured out that ti wasn't that. By then there were hundreds of little stones and they had gotten into the pancreas. They had to slice it open and sew it back together in an emergency sureger while I had a high fever, didn't have any clue how bad things were at the time. I had a noticable drop in energy levels after the ileostomy and it got worse with the galbladder removal and illness. I suspect with so much messed up I don't get full value from what I eat.
I don't have problems with any particular foods more than before, but really fatty stuff is likely to mess things up. My ostomy is "wet" be defination so if there is more its hard to tell. But I have never regained the stamina and energy I lost.
A housemate had surgery under almost identical circumstances, except the ostomy, but she could not eat meat and when she did got violently ill. So I guess I lucked out.
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