I'm so sick 3 weeks after surgery but doctor said I'm ok & need to adjust

Hi there am glad to see your post. It gives me some hope. Did you have diarrhea and nausea for the first 4 months after the operation too? I'm 9 weeks post op and am not great. Taking calcium and probiotics to control the diarrhea which seems to be working and haven't vomited since Monday but have terrible nausea. Doctor keeps telling me it will sort itself out but sometimes it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Yes, all of that happened to me. You go through a period called "dumping", and your body basically does just that. It lasted maybe 5 months. I'm almost 2 years post op and my bowels have never been the same as before surgery. Expect an entire lifestyle change. Diet can really make a difference, but as far as I've found, there's no cure.

Thank you so much for coming back to me. Are you still getting diarrhea now or just looser stools depending on what you eat. Do you regret having the surgery? Has it really impacted your life? X

I basically have the symptoms of IBS now. I get both C and D, and sometimes both in the same day. I personally really regret having it done. It's not that it's made a huge impact on my life or anything, it's just that it may have been completely unnecessary.

I understand what your saying. I only had 1 large gallstone and my gallbladder was normal. Was just getting pain from the stone. I regret it too myself and am so annoyed with myself for not trying to get rid of the stone with alternative medicine. It seems doctors are too quick to remove the gallbladder and tell you there's no side effects and that only 5% get long term problems. Have you tried caltrate calcium 600 tablets with vitamin d? A lot of people are taking them after gallbladder removal instead of the bile salts drugs. It may help your ibs symptoms. Worth a try.

I have one gallstone and am waiting to have my gallbladder removed.

My understanding (I may be wrong) is that the reason they remove your gallbladder is that once you have had gallstones, you are more likely to get them again. So alternative treatment may get rid of a gallstone but it will not prevent you getting another one.The only thing that will prevent this is gallbladder removal. Maybe I do not know what I am talking about. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Is your gallbladder inflamed? Mine wasn't at all just pain from the stone which was triggered when I ate scrambled eggs! I believe they can give you medication to break the stone down which can take a long time to work and there isn't a guarantee it will work. They do say that once you have one stone you could get more. I did try drinking apple cider vinegar to break it down but it didn't work. The majority of people who have the operation are fine post op but beware you may have diarrhea and nausea for a while and then again you may not. It seems to me to be just down to how your body copes without it. I researched it all prior to the surgery and spoke to loads of people who had the op and we're all fine within 6 weeks. My surgeon said its very uncommon to have problems afterwards and usually only affects 5% of people but it should settle down it time. The one mistake I made since the op was going onto sites looking for answers which made me freak out. Remember it's only a small percentage who could have issues and they should resolve over time. Best of luck to you. X

Scrambled egg seems a funny thing to set it off. I thought it was only eating fatty stuff that set it off.

No my gallbladder is not inflamed either just a lot of pain with the stone.

When they gave me the result of the scan they immediately offered me surgery so I assumed that was how they sorted it nowadays.

I too have spoken to loads of people who have had their gallbladder removed and are so much better afterwards. I think you have just been unlucky. Hope it all settles down quickly for you. Sarah

Thank you Sarah. I hope it settles down soon too. It's a nightmare. Wishing you the best of luck with the operation. Let me know how you get on. When are you having it? X

6 - 8 month waiting list for urgent cases. As I am not urgent at the moment I still have no date, but have said I would go in at short notice if there is a cancellation.

Hi Lyndi,

Sorry to annoy you but am at my wits end here! Just wanted to check with you if you were vomiting bile as well as the Nausea and diarrhea in the first few months after your operation? I haven't had much diarrhea the last few weeks but am vomiting bile nearly every day first thing in the morning. I'm waking in the middle of the night with the nausea and then either dry wretch or vomit bile up. The nausea sometimes improves at about lunchtime. Any advise welcome? Thanks x

I had my gb removed in 2004. Statred having pain where the gb was, awful diarrhea, nausea. My dr. put me on a holestimine pwder 3x's a day and I also take 3 immodium tablets every other day. This has worked wonderfully for me! I have IBS and coffee works like a laxative on my system so, i cup a week for me.Everyone is differerent, but I know how bad my diarrhea has been. I, too, have been on probiotics and they are good . Good luck to you!  

Hi Angela did you have the diarrhea and nausea immediately after the operation or did it develop later on? How long are you on questran? I tried it for a week and it made my diarrhea worse and made me vomit. I am hoping it will settle down over the next few weeks/months as it seems to settle for some people. Hopefully I will be one of them. X

Yes, I started having terrible diarrhea after surgery. There are times I still do, but the powdwer and immodium tablets check it pretty good. At times I will not take anything and allow diarrhea to run its course. Cholyestimine powder is real good.