Food after gallbladder surgery

I think you're wise to be cautious.  Some people develop bile salt malobsorption, which means that their intestines can't reabsorb the bile that's being released during digestion.  Without the gallbladder, bile flows  constantly into the small intestine, triggering nausea and diarreha, as well as cramping.  

You start out eating whatever you want. They may work and your fine. Other people have what's Calle " dumping syndrome "! Not a pretty word. When they eat fatty foods they have to go to the bathroom pretty quick. Hope all is good

Hi, I had my GB removed end of April.  Like you, I was cautious and felt quite nervous of eating just after the op.  At first I found I could only eat very small portions before my digestive system told me I’d had enough, although now I’m back to normal portions again.

I did get a few occasions after the op when I had very loose bowels and felt queasy for a few hours but haven’t had these for several months now (am I tempting fate by saying that?).

On a couple of occasions about a month after the op, a meal in a café turned out to be greasier than I’d expected or hoped.  Afterwards, the food hung around a bit and it felt almost as though my digestion was debating whether to pass it or not!  It did eventually though without any ill effects.  In the end I just tried a little of something new each time to see what would happen, choosing a day when I didn’t have to go anywhere just in case.

Everyone’s digestions vary so much.  I can now eat fat without any problems although I try to limit it mainly because of the cholesterol.

Hope you'll soon be able to find something more than chicken soup to eat! 

I had mine GB out about nov 19th i was so tired from being in so much pain for 3 days that even though my surgery was at 8 am I did not wake up till about 5pm so they kept me another night. so i stayed 4 nights there. my sugeon told me to eat fat free and i am having a hard time trying to find things i can eat like that. if i try to eat anything else i run to the bathroom and i have had a stomache ache side ache back pain for the last three nights. i am so tired and want to feel normal and have some chocolate ice cream in the fridge. you said you were told you could eat anything? does it not mane you run to the bathroom. 

good luck to you. 

Terry

Hey Sadtum! Glad to see you posting that your surgery went well. I was told to eat no fat/low fat for atleast 1-2 weeks but I found that hard as my lack of appetite disappeared and I wanted to eat everything in sight! I had some heartburn after eating certain foods (never lasted long enough for me to pin down what it was) but that issue is gone now. Most people have nausea/bloating and some people have the dumping syndrome where they have to use the bathroom urgently after eating (mainly greasy/fatty foods). I've been taking a probiotic everyday to try to prevent the bloating (so not sure if I would've ever had the issue) and I also had weird stomach gurgling after the surgery for a few days. A few times after I've eaten out, I'll notice that I need to go to the bathroom but it's not urgent, it's not EVERY time I eat out and I'm not sure if it's just a coincidence that I need to go or not. Guess that's the paranoia after knowing it could happen Test a small amount of something at a time and if you have a bad reaction, avoid it for 1-2 more months and try it again. A lot of people that have reactions (which isn't many) take some time to adjust and may take up to a year to be back to normal.