Posted , 8 users are following.
Hi, has anyone taken any bile replacement supplements or digestive enzymes? If so did they help and what brand did you use? I had my gallbladder removed 3 months ago and have been sick since having it out with nausea, pain under my ribs, fatigue, loss of appetite, diarrhea and I've lost 20 lbs. Just wondering if they would help and wanted to see what others experience is with taking either of them.
0 likes, 28 replies
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hope4cure johnette_68826
Posted
digestive enzymes didnt help. i stayed away fast foods, no fried foods, high fiber foods. there is a diet posted online safe foods to digest . it better to also keep a food diary listing all the offenders.
its difficult to break down high fiber foods and fatty foods because that was the job of the gallbladder it took many months to finally adjust . once certain offending foods are avoided then its so much easier to eliminate the problem and food becomes safe again.
johnette_68826 hope4cure
Posted
Hello, thanks for your response! when did you have your surgery and what were your symptoms after? How long did it take for you to start feeling better?
jenn03028 johnette_68826
Posted
for the diarrhea i would give a natural or rx binder two days . to heal any pain i would give a week or two.
psmpage johnette_68826
Posted
I had mine taken out in November 2014 and pretty much suffered from nausea from day one and acid/bile reflux at night, I have to take 15mg lansoprazole every day to reduce the stomach acids, this has stopped the nausea but I can't eat anything after 7pm otherwise I still get the bile/acid reflux throughout the night just like I did prior to having the GB out, I really notice the difference if I forget to take the lansoprazole or take it too late in the day.
Luckily I've only had a few real bad occurrences of diarrhoea over the past 4 years and that was down to me over indulging in very rich food while on holiday, the first time was where I had eaten out at restaurants 5 nights in a row and my body told me it had had enough on day 6 where I suffered horrendous sulpherous burps (stench like rotten eggs) and constant diarrhoea for the next 2 days till my body reset itself.
Another time was when I was at a 3 day BBQ festival and I had the same symptoms on day 1 so ended up missing the next 2 days.
So I've learnt to watch what and when I eat.
What I've also learnt over the years is that everyone seems to recover differently after GB removal as I know several other people that had theirs removed not long after me and ones not been able to touch dairy products since another has to stay away from bread and another has not had any issues.
I don't think you need to look at bile replacement as your liver should still be producing the bile, the GB just stored that bile and released it when required, now it just constantly drips into the stomach so you end up with not enough to digest certain foods if you eat too much at once.
ann55375 psmpage
Posted
you have some very good advice. i had mine out as nausea was a problem beforehand. its now no better, maybe more often too. i also have anxiety which i think makes it worse. what do you think best for nausea, thankfully the major diarrhoea has left.
psmpage ann55375
Posted
Have you spoken to your Dr about the nausea, I had a really good one back then and she put me on the lansoprazole which took care of acid/bile reflux (if I don't over do it with the wrong foods or eat too late) and stopped the nausea I was waking up with.
johnette_68826 psmpage
Posted
Thank you for your reply. I do feel the worst in the morning. i wake up with nausea, heart palpitations, fast heart rate and my blood pressure is high and I am lightheaded when I first wake up. It takes about an hour of so for it ti settle down. Do you remember feeling this way? My stomach does not feel right all day, its nauseous and hurts. I also have pain everyday here lately where the gallbladder used to be and it goes all the way across my abdomen to the left side. Did you have that? I know yo can get the pain where the gallbladder used to be but I would have thought that would have subsided after 3 months post op. My doctor doesn't seem to concerned about it. This has just been a nightmare and I have been sick straight now for over 3 months. I feel like doctors are missing something.
johnette_68826
Posted
How do you know if you are needing more bile or you have too much bile after gallbladder removal? How do you know which you need a bile replacement to add bile or a bile binder to soak up the bile? Are there tests for this and what symptoms do you have for both too much bile or not enough bile?
jenn03028 johnette_68826
Posted
without a gallbladder your liver just drips bile all day without storage.
if you have constipation ive read some have luck with digestive enzymes or bile supplements
if you have loose stool/diarrhea you have too much stool sitting in your stomach.
there are no real tests that doctors will do and usually will trial you on a an rx bile binder and you will know after a few days if they work or not.
jenn03028
Posted
i meant too much BILE
joanna17875 johnette_68826
Posted
just for info on this subject, lansoprozol and the like only stop acid reflux and have no affect on bile at all. According to my dr if u have nausea and dirroreah it is most likely your stomach has too much bile which it is not used to.
good luck everyone.