Diet for Gallstone sufferers?

Gemini,

I am going for my pre op tomorrow as well. I am a bit apprehensive,but I know it has to be done At my age (69) I always feel that there will be something not right whether it's BP or ECG They do a swab for MRSA now as well. Then I get my op on Tuesday 21st so not long to wait.I haven't had a full blown attack since i went on a low fat diet,but still get twinges and upset tummy and I feel a bit stressed and bad tempered. My poor husband can't do anything right these days. I didnt get a sleep last night with worry that they will find something wrong apart from the gallstones and I had some palpitations and my left arm had pins and needles,so that didnt help,as i thought it was sinister. Well you do at 4 am when everyone else in the town is asleep,or so it seems.I just wish it was all over.

Soon will be

Let us know how you get on tomorrow

Do you think porridge with lactose free milk might be an irritant? I had a bad episode and not sure which food might have activated it

gemini, good luck for your pre op today.

vix

Gemini and Plain jane

Good luck on your pre ops - sure you will be fine :lol:

Benji

Many thanks for kind wishes. Just got back all went ok. If MRSA is positive they will have to cancel op so keep everything crossed for me. Feeling better today but still have some tender spots. All the best for Tuesday Plain Jane. I will be 62 next month so I am a little worried too, about age and the fact that I am not as strong at the moment as I usually am. The nurse said I looked washed out. Too true. She said they won't discharge me until I have eaten some food, sandwiches etc. Bring it on is all I can say!!

I too am awaiting removal of my gall bladder since my first visit to A & E with Cholecystitis (inflamed gallbladder) in October. Looking back I had been prone to sickness after rich meals (I'm fat so don't eat them that often) over the last couple of years at least. Since my first attack I was scheduled for surgery just before xmas, but had jaundice the weekend before surgery (possibly slow passage of a gallstone). The Consultant opted not to operate given short staffing over xmas and poor blood tests which had previously been fine except for an inlammation flag. My op is scheduled for 30 Jan and I have been really well since xmas owing to a low fat diet, but I think even that is beginning not to be enough as I am now "sore" in/below my ribs. Its nothing like as bad as the other attacks, I just feel like I have been kicked in the ribs, but hope not to deteriorate before the op.

Anyway, the reason for posting is that I have survived on tinned tomatoes and noodles with mushroom/Worcestershire sauce/herbs/oxo for taste. Another thing that works well is Quorn meatballs with spaghetti and tomato sauce, (some are quite low fat), and prawn stir fry with noodles or on plain rice. Many of the chinese sauces can be low fat. Tesco value sweet and sour for instance. I can tolerate a bit of bread, Crumpets and marmite or jam are good for breakfast, some rice cakes/dutch crispbakes/water biscuits are low fat and sandwich spread is ok in small doses or try a little chutney. Pickled gherkins , beetroot and red cabbage are really tasty with mash and a little cold chicken/ham.

I allow myself 1 jaffa cake now and then for the chocolate pangs!

Jelly and fruit is good as is salad and fresh fruit and homemade veg soups. I hope this helps.

Not sure if this is right place to post this or not

Just got out of hospitall after another bad stomoc pain

This time they have found gaulstones gallblader is not inflamed

And walls are ok

What causes them? I got low colestral seems if i strech

Or over do it the pain comes on. Also told a got a hernia in my belly button

Just broke my foot and had ofir on it woundered if being layed down for 14

Days would bring it on

Hi Chris84261

I have just got back from my third attack of gallstone pain and admission to A & E.

When I had the ultra sound a few weeks ago my curiosity got the better of me and I asked the nurse why gallstones can occur.

Her answer was that I may be producing to much oestrogen and that they had a saying, fair fat and 40. Unfortunately I am 2 years away from being 40, am overweight and am a redhead. So that pretty much sums me up.

I am now waiting for a surgery date but in the meantime am experimenting with foods that revolve around salad :-( not so great for those cold months that are coming.

Good luck.

Hello :-)

I would like to say thank you to everyone reading everyone's comments was very help full

Finally after 2 years and many emergency dept visits with my daughter having chest pains and trouble

Breathing and being told all this time it's just heart burn now we know the cause of all her pain, her

Gallbladder is full of large stones :-( my daughter has recently given birth to her first baby 5 weeks ago, from about 4 months pregnant she started having passing out episodes, she could be sitting down in air con ,

Shopping doing any normal day to day duties and she would get chest pains and then she is gone, many trips to the emergency dept also seen a specialist they told us it was normal to suffer reflux during pregnancy and once she had the baby it would stop, so much of her pregnancy we had eyes glued on her, my daughter was so worried she would pass out during labour which she got though it fine.

2 days ago she come home with the same chest pains and was in a lot of pain in her stomach,straight to the doctors as soon as she walked in and explained her pain he said to her she had gallstones and a ultrasound was done, and straight on strong pain killers,last night she passed out 3 times and the 3rd time lasted the 10 min drive to the emergency dept, once stabilised was sent home to see her doctor today, we were confirmed

From the ultrasound the gallbladder is full of large stones and sludge as they called it, the doctor gas sent a referral of for surgery but has said it could be a 6 month wait, I honestly thought with the passing out and how

Large her stones are she would have gone in for emergency surgery I'm a bit confused there, we are changing her diet to hopefully ease her pain as it's really draining her, I'm praying for her we can give her comfort until surgery

Hi Kylie,

Keep ringing the Surgeon's secretary for cancellations, so she can get in sooner. Especially if she is passing out.

I had my op in June 2010. I had been practically bedridden for 2 and half years prior, while waiting for surgery, and my Gallstones were huge and packed tightly. Everything food wise set me off and the pain was ridiculous. My diet consisted of grilled chicken and that was pretty much it. Then I learned about fresh apple juice - not the concentrated stuff, and was drinking half a bottle a day and it made sooo much difference!

Every time she passes out - I would call the Doctor. Make a nuisance of yourself with that. How does she feel before passing out? Is she having a Gallstone attack, or is she panicking, or is it just 'lights out'. How is she directly afterwards?

While you wait for surgery, change her diet. Get her onto a low fat diet.

If your daughter is breast feeding, talk to a pharmacist and doctor before adding any new diet changes, or medication!

If she can cope - get her drinking a glass or 2 a day of fresh (not from concentrate) apple juice. Nobody knows why this helps - but it does. Fresh apple juice has fibre, but also other anti-oxidant properties, so maybe that's why. They just don't know. It took about 2 weeks before I noticed the difference in pain. If it's too acidic for her, then try adding some water to it. Might not be palatable, but it might dilute the acid.

I learned that Fibre is your friend with Gallstones - so I started eating Porridge with skimmed milk every morning, and adding Flax Seed into that too. I also was taking from the Health Food Store - Slippery Elm Bark Tablets. I started taking them because a cat of mine had chronic persistent diarrhea, that would come and go over a few days, and so we took him to the vet to find that he had Bowel Cancer. The vet said to enjoy him for as long as we had (that he estimated about 4 months), and to bring him back when he showed signs of pain. He also recommended a Homeopath for us to see. We were very skeptical of it to be honest, but we loved our cat, so took him to the place, and the guy gave us pills, along with this slippery elm. The slippery Elm is very high in fibre and is gut soothing too. Within 2 days our cat seemed better. And his bowels seemed less bloated. If we ran out on the rare occasion, he would start bloating again. He went on to survive for a further year and 3 months before he left us.

I suffered from IBS for years - and started taking them, after seeing how well they did for the cat and I was surprised how effective they were.

Also in addition, when I was in my Gallstone pain days, I was taking IBS medicine, Buscopan, and added in Colofaq or (Mebeverine) - both available over the counter at pharmacies, and peppermint oil capsules. These became invaluable in fighting the actual gallstone attack. I will explain below:

You have to understand your anatomy with Gallstones and whats going on inside there:

Normally, you eat fats, or oils, and the liver pumps bile up and over into the gallbladder, and then that in turn drip feeds Bile into the stomach to help digest the fats. The Liver can also leave sludge in the Gallbladder - a sand like gritty substance, that can form stones when the Gallbladder doesn't pump properly, all the Bile out. These stones are Gallstones.

In a Gallstone attack, you eat fats, the Liver deposits Bile into the Gall bladder, which gets inflamed because of the acid in the Bile, and the swollen organ contracts around the stones which rub on the agitated sides of it, and as the Gallbladder can no longer contract properly to get the Bile into the stomach, the Bile irritates the Gallbladder lining further and the organ suddenly starts reacting as if it were having cramps. The stones in there are rubbing away at the sides with each cramp, and can be forced by the spasming organ into the pipes, and that is when trouble really starts....however, for most of us, its just the spasming abrasive, inflamed organ trying to rid itself rather violently of the acidic Bile.

In it's panic that there is a whole issue happening above it with Bile sitting there in the panic stricken Gallbladder, the Liver then, knowing the fats and oils in the food in the stomach still need to be broken down - it dumps a load of Bile into the guts too, in order to start breaking down the food when it gets to that stage. Handy, but right at that point, your body is jammed at the 'food in stomach and Gallbladder having a breakdown', issue - so your guts send panic signals to the brain too - and because of all that - and your brain wants to help you out ,and get this Bile overload out of your body as quickly as possible. So you start to feel sick, the Gallbladder then goes into massive spasms to try and squeeze all it's Bile into the stomach, so you can be sick to get it out of you - but all its really doing is pumping squirts of Bile into the stomach hard, and clamping down on stones. You then, just in case your body isn't in enough chaos, start getting bloat, from gas, etc. And now your body is racked in confused pain, and is desperately trying to reset all your systems. It's great! Lol. And there you go...that is a really basic explanation of what is happening in the body when you have an attack.

Now - The only way to deal with stones successfully is to remove them via surgery. It is not possible to remove the stones and leave the Gallbladder there, as once it has these spasms and cramps, it is permanently damaged and the sludge at the bottom won't empty away, but re-calcify into more stones very rapidly. It's time to part with that faulty bit of machinery, so to speak. They don't recommend ultra sound breakup of stones, as it has been found to damage other organs in the process, and the tablets to dissolve the stones are not successful, and have been shown to have little to no effect over a 5 year dose. So, what that means is that in the meantime - while you wait for surgery - you can only treat the symptoms of the attack. This means seeking medical help promptly, and getting painkilling medicines etc.

So upon learning this, I spoke to my doctor and surgeon and devised a treatment to ease my suffering in attacks.It worked for me. I want it clear that this is not to be undertaken without seeing your GP and/or surgeon, and I cannot be held responsible for anything, if you chose to follow this method. There is no replacement for proper medical advice, and treatment - Gallstones can be fatal - so speak with a Doctor or Surgeon first. Also - do not make any major diet changes, or add medication, without advice if you are a breast-feeding mother!

Ok - I learned that fibre absorbs Bile, and gets the guts to work. You want your guts to work well, as the Liver dumps Bile there at crisis time, and also after the GB is gone, it diverts automatically, all the Bile there to deal with incoming fats. So Fibre becomes vital to a Gallstone Sufferer. Therefore, eat your porridge, wholewheat foods, whole grain foods, nuts, etc. All that's good for you anyway - so that's a bonus too. You can also take the Slippery Elm Bark Tablets too. (Available from Health Food Shops), as they are fibrous too.

You want to be thinking about dropping Bile levels to help you out - so get your Doc to give you a daily anti-acid product, and take that regularly. You won't, as a sufferer, be too keen on fatty foods anyway, so discuss if you are safe to drop those levels acid levels, with your Dr'.

You also want to make your guts and stomach calm and happy - so Peppermint Oil is a known thing to help with this - Peppermint Oil Capsules are available on the NHS. - again take daily, and at the first sign of an attack approaching.

You want your Liver, Gallbladder and Bowels to function smoothly, and in an attack - you want to stop the Gallbladder spasming. So you need a anti-spasmodic drug like Buscopan. However - you also need to have on standby the other anti-spasmodic drug called Colofaq (or Mebeverine). Buscopan is broken down in the Liver. Your Liver in an attack is far to busy dumping Bile all about the place, to deal with successfully taking in Buscopan.... so as Colofaq is broken down in the Spleen, therefore, you want to be taking that, as well as a Buscopan, as soon as you start getting attack signs.

Don't forget your pain meds at this time - but as always - seek medical advice first! Ideally a pain med with an anti-inflammatory property is best. Your Gallbladder is inflamed, so you might as well give your body a hand.

In an attack - most people also feel sick, and/or are sick. Ginger Root Capsules will help you out there. Another health food store gem. Ginger Root is well known to stop nausea, but more recently it was discovered that it soothes the upper gut too. It also can help ease bloating. Perfect!

Talking of Bloating. You can take a anti-bloat med, like Windeze. Bloat is painful and not helpful when you really want your guts to be concentrating on dealing with the Bile. Windeze is safe to mix with the meds in this post.

Sip water slowly - even though its the last thing you feel like doing. Water will help dilute the Bile that is being spasmed into the stomach. Also - if you vomit, then water will soothe your throat. When I was sick, if the pills had been taken within the previous 5-8 minutes, and were vomitted up whole, and undigested, then I retook everything immediately (Do not retake Paracetamol based drugs).

Then its a matter of riding the pain. Get down on all fours, bum in the air, or with a straight back in the air and rock gently and slowly back and forth. All that Bile, is producing gas in the guts - so in that position, and rocking, with a pillow under your poor belly, may help get rid of that buildup. It will certainly help manipulate your guts.

So to summerise the pills:

>Anti-Acid - take Daily

>Buscopan (Anti-Spasmodic) - take daily - 3 times a day, plus extra 1 when you start the signs of an attack

>Colofaq (or Mebeverine) - take when having an attack

>Slippery Elm - take 3 times a day, plus extra 1 when you start the signs of an attack

>Peppermint Oil Capsules - take 3 times a day, plus extra 1 when you start the signs of an attack

>Ginger Root Capsules - take 3 times a day, plus extra 1 when you start the signs of an attack

>Pain meds with anti-inflammatory properties - take when having an attack

>Windeze (or anti-gas tablets) - take when having an attack

Above all - as I said - this is NOT a replacement for proper medical advice, and not to be used to delay treatment. Untreated Gallstones can be fatal, and I cannot be held responsible for any issues arising as a result of you, or people you know, trying this method. Always seek medical advice, just like I did, before starting any new tablets....especially for breast-feeding mothers.

Wishing you and your daughter the best of luck.

Hi All

I've noticed that recently a few of my threads have had activity on them (although I started them way back and not logged in for 3 years!).

If interested, you can read how I got on here: https://patient.info/forums/discuss/surgery-over-and-done-with-31168

Been over 3 years now without a Gallbladder, and I must say, I don't miss it one bit.

Hey I'm a 31 year old student and was diagnosed with gallstones three months ago. I had suffered with a number of pretty severe pains (at one point thought I was in labour) and it massively affected my studying. After being diagnosed I looked up things to help the gallstones, ideally to dissolve them and saw articles on various things including green tea, lecithin, and vitamin c. I used all of these and the attacks calmed but didn't stop. I had also altered my diet to clean eating at this point (lean meats, salad etc)

I heard about an aloe vera gel drink from a friend and given my frustration I tried it out, not had an attack since.

My monthly women times no longer makes me constipated either so that doesn't aggravate my gallbladder, which is a massive relief!!

I feel far better overall and can actually eat some of the naughtier stuff again though I do tend to pop a lecithin before hand just to be sure.

xxx

Hi Bernal,

Please be aware - once you have Gallstone Attacks, you can't avoid surgery for long. There is nothing available to dissolve gallstones successfully. There are tablets that are meant to aid it, but the reduction in stones in patients over a 5 yr study was not significant enough to be valid. These tablets are now only given to people with 'Sludge / grit' in the Gallbladder. Sorry to be the barer of bad news. But Gallstones can be fatal, so while you may be able to continue happily for a while - please seek medical advice when you are having your attacks.

Try fresh (not from concentrate) Apple juice too. The medical profession do not understand why this has been proven to be beneficial, but taken every day, it has been seen to reduce the severity of attacks, and improve patient health.... it has not, however, stopped patients needing surgery.

Glad you have found something to make things easier for you to bare your attacks. Just take it easy and seek immediate medical advice when having additional attacks.

I've spoken to various medical professionals, including osteopaths (cranial and structural) the specialists at the hospital and my GP all of which had no issue with me managing my stones with diet etc. I'm also studying osteopathic medicine myself and I am fully aware that gall stones can become fatal but the size of mine are too big to become lodged in my bile duct or any duct in fact. This being said, using the lecithin (which emulsifies fats) as well as the aloe gel to support my digestive tract lining has been very successful for me.

I also find not over eating avoids an impacted colon, which lessens the pressure on the gallbladder itself. Stress can cause a number of issues in your digestive tract, constipation is a major one and that definitely will aggravate the problem.

I don't believe in the gall bladder flush articles though I do drink apple juice, purely out of choice not for my GB.

As much as stones can be a threat its also a fact that there are a significant amount of people who have been found to have stones but have had no attacks or issues with them otherwise.

I hope this helps and thank you for replying.