Gallbladder is gone so where is this pain from?

Hay CoffeeCycle22 . PLEASE READ FROM FELLOW CYCLIST – We and many others are identical clones

I read your post. heart breaking I know, Outdoor exercise freak to : "I used to pedal 350 km's a week, work out, climb and live life, now most days I can barely function and spend the days housebound sleeping on and off on the couch, It's no way to live"

I'm been living with similar problems for 12 years now post GS. I would like to share with you a support treatment supported by medical opinion.  it’s NOT a cure. Sadly it confirms a simple fact, the gallbladder function in food digestion does more than what we were told "just stores" bile and the “GB not need, can life normal life without it” I’m dyslexic, so please be patient with my writing, likened walking on glass. 

I’m writing because I don't want to see another two years of your life wasted, with no answers. I lost many years looking for answers, after many DR’s and GI’s I have not received any  definitive treatment or even a diagnosis. There is none, only trial and error and personal extermination around diet. As a result, I lost my career, jobs, income, relationships, every goal in life set. But first some questions to consider:

-Why are the opinions provided to patients so variable on likely outcomes? On the far far left is the DR's and Surgeons and patient handout information. In the middle is all these people experiencing many post problems I.E testimonies see throughout this forum, patients  receiving treatments that kind of don’t work, no real diagnose / answers received and if you look through carefully many have the same 101 post issues which seem to be around ( IBS, Acid reflux, pain, fatigued, digestive issues ) . And on the far right are the medical studies, evenout of the NHS, all detailing (PCSyndrome ) outcomes , high as 43% woman being affected, chronic and life long and a long list of horrible problems never disclosed from the far left or during problem medical assessments.

- If the far left opinion is being used by DR during investigations, is this going be a problem and prevent treatment help?

-Any why is it, if you walk into a Holistic / naturopathic doctor’s clinic, you will receive an immediate answer on what’s going wrong and treatment which involves around diet, food elimination and supplements to aid digestion as opposed to chemical based drugs treating side effects ?

My share on what helped me recover get well in your exact situation is this: My health failed immediately after my GB was removed. Lasted only 5 months before IBS issues kicked in, stomach pain, Acid reflux (but really bile causing Acid) and massive fatigue and mass / weight gain to boot. I used to do 200 sit-ups every day. I watched this mass slowly take hold before my eyes. At 11 months, had to take extended leave due to fatigue at work.  I always ate a low fat diets (probably why I lost my GB! to single pigmented stone, as I was told at the time remove the GB required). At 3 year mark. Sick in bed, stomach pains, not able to work, lost my job, hospital advising I had not problems, no access to treatment or support would be provided, I decided this was no way to live. Exit planning took place. I decided on a location. Maxed out my credit cards, flew to France for some last rides, my passion for 26 years prior surgery, started cycling very young . Day one:  felt like my heart was going to give out on the smallest climbs, supper scared of peddling hard – heart attack. Day three, with alp d'huez on my left, I rode past the spot Id picked out.  Cut a long story short and to a solution. I kept riding past this awesome high view spot. Over the next week, riding in summer heat, Vitamin D, (liver being flushed out, all the toxins from food not processed being burn out of my body) I started to recover very rapidly. Rode up a hill in pace, (you know ones you can sprint up due to being small and low gradient) without the stomach pain as experienced every time I cycled for over a year. Longer story shorter , at week Six and 3000km under my belt, I found myself cycling around an Italian lake section, with a local rider hanging on for life,  average 35-40km . I was back to normal pre surgery 3 years prior, a very long list of PCS issues flushed out of my body and I can eat anything I liked (everything on the bad list also!!).  Ant the end of that ride I stopped for lunch on the lake side, cried my eyes out for an hour.

I put it down to, getting more bile out of a flushed out liver to food, food is digested better, nutrients extracted better, body heals. As I said this is not a cure only a root cause confirmation, as soon as I return to a desk job, despite cycling as you normally do in weekends and offer work, the body slowly shuts down. At month 9 I end up having to quit work due to the health issues, in so much pain.  I’ve managed to extend working to 12 months, cycling to work 10-15km + 4 weeks off doing the cycle thing very much helps. So is the Mediterranean and Paleo diet – not a solution without exercise to help bile to food. I found if I did not return, cycled 2 hours a day and NOT seated at a desk for more than 4 hours a day, I can retain my health.

I’m in France again right now recovering my health again. I fell off a MTB in March. Total immobilized DR orders for 2 months. Sure enough immunity issues kicked in, got sick with flue bugs for another 1.5 months, weight jumped 8KG, massive breast plate of fat kicked in, huge belly, could hardly ride up a small hill with about becoming exhausted, could not breath – more like panting like a dog.   Ground HOG day, experienced health shutdown before many times!!  It’s taken only 2500km to recover, I’m feeling lost better, 85 -90% normal fitness, and another 3 weeks should do it.

So my advice to try. Crawl out of your sick bed, in summer heat, start riding daily for hours on end – SEE WHAT Happens !! First week will be horrible as the stored toxins from poorly procced food hit the blood stream. I’ve even experienced liver stones passing type pain for first 2-3 weeks.  You will find hard long rides have great impact, results seen next day.  We are all different. My issue has always NOT been the big D but Constipation, massive weight gain, fatly liver from know where. Diet change won’t work for me alone, need  zero impact cardio exercise, Medical studies confirm diet + exercise helps PCS issues. Running I find is bad, just bounces the mass around for more fat to be squeezed in as testified by others! I may have had bile duct injury repaired on the fly, but my doctors / hospitals won’t investigate, they take the far left opinion, post issues don’t exist, it’s in your head , take some antidepressant medication for IBS. After 5-6 GI’s in private consultations over many years looking for a diagnosis one wonders what it’s like to be an ATM machine, very painful with no income what so ever for years. 

I’ve discovered a lot more through years of reading medical studies. And I think Mediterranean diet works well but you have to live in heat, Mediterranean climates. Happy to share more. There a FB group called GB S ruined my L, I’m a member, touch base I can share more notes to a fellow cyclists – health, fitness and outdoors freak. The very very best Jason    Note: we are all different, male , female, no procedure done the same for all, 4 different types of stones, 20+ different root causes , removing the gallbladder doesn't  always fix problems. but can makes more issues or exciting worse of for the majority , majority  all is good after removal?.  GB must come out if its about to KILL you

I'm really sorry to hear this.  It's awful.  I'm now 5 years into my saga and still need more surgery.  The thing with these operations is that most of the time they go well.  But, and it's a big but, when they go wrong they go wrong big time.  And the NHS just band together and don't take responsibility.  It's dreadful. Keep strong