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Functional Dyspepsia after Gallbladder Removal

Posted , 6 users are following.

grayc
grayc

Hi! My name is Gracie and I’ve had functional dyspepsia ever since I got my gallbladder removed in May 2017. In March 2017, I randomly got very nauseous one day and the nausea stayed from there on out. When we finally figured out what was wrong, after losing about 30 lbs and a lot of my hair because I was malnourished, I was relieved and couldn’t wait to get my gallbladder out so I could finally be myself again! After my surgery, my surgeon told me that my body had started to cover my gallbladder with fat because it was just dead and he told me it looked really bad!  They were very shocked about this considering that I’m a 21 year old woman who is underweight but either way, they assured me I’d be just fine. Unfortunately I felt exactly the same because I developed functional dyspepsia. I feel very full and gassy and every now and then I feel like my stomach is on fire. I’ve improved a lot and I’m maintaining my weight but I still don’t feel great. I just wanted to ask, has anyone ever healed from this? Will this discomfort ever go away? I really don’t mind sticking to such a strict diet to try and keep my stomach feeling tolerable but I just hate how unpredictable the discomfort can be, no matter how strict I am! I’m also on an antidepressant that has made the discomfort lessen significantly but like I see a lot of people say on these forums, there are still some days that are just bad days no matter what you do. If anyone can give me some hope that this will pass, I will be so thankful. Thank you and I hope all of you are hanging in there.

2 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • pippa58442
    pippa58442 grayc

    Posted

    Have you tried a PPI or H2 blocker for heartburn?  Milk is also good for this.  Avoid fatty, rich and spicy foods which can aggravate heartburn.  Were you given a gallbladder diet sheet?
    • grayc
      grayc pippa58442

      Posted

      Yes! I’ve been following all of the diet recommendations given to me by my gastroenterologist! I’ve tried those before and they don’t really help much. I think they made me feel worse in a different kinda way! I don’t really know how to explain it! I didn’t eat dairy for the longest time because I was afraid but I do think adding that in has also helped. Thank you for your reply! 
    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 grayc

      Posted

      I was told by my doctor to avoid oranges to see if stopped my stomach pain. However, avoiding them increased my constipation, nausea ,lack of appetite and stomach pain and my panic went throught the roof.  I went back on oranges and sll my symptoms improved by 50%. He hadn’t realised that my bowel needed the oranges in order to function!   This was the beginning of my IBS.
  • biliarydyskines
    biliarydyskines grayc

    Posted

    Did they removed for stones or non functioning? Did you do endoscopy, colonoscopy,Gastric emptying test before removing GB?

    1)Bcoz even after removal the stones can be formed in common duct. So another round of ultrasound to make sure there is no stones

    2) another might be bile reflux, that needs endoscopy

    2.5) gastric emptying study to see any motality disorder in stomach.

    3)Bile salt supplements you might have to take.

  • danrjlm
    danrjlm grayc

    Posted

    Hi Gracie,

    I also have been diagnosed with FD (and bile reflux) following gallbladder surgery.

    My symptoms leading up to the diagnosis were just occasional right side pain. And guess what? They didn't even find stones on pathology. Far to say that I'm a lot worse than I was before the op.

    Anyway I unfortunately don't have any wisdom to offer. I'm at the beginning of my journey with this and have been prescribed low dose sulpiride (50mg) to deal with the discomfort.

    My main (and worst) symptom is that whenever I eat or drink something I feel as if the food/liquid is simply sitting in my stomach and not moving. I also have developed a severe intolerance to alcohol. Literally two beers will make me sick now. So I have basically stopped drinking.

    This is all aside from the bile reflux gastritis. Although that is being taken care of pretty well thanks to the bile binder.

    Have you made any progress since posting this?

  • david63518
    david63518 grayc

    Posted

    have you tired Fdgard? its OTC natural at cvs and walmart

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