Nausea 12 weeks after gallbladder removal

SP, do you have any medication for the nausea? If not, have your doctor prescribe it for you. I have generic Zofran, and it helped me enormously. I only had the diarrhea a few times. I actually seem to be constipated now😐 Some things that helped my tummy:a really good probiotic, one from the whole food market or health store, keep it refrigerated, a good yogurt, preferably with fruit, kefir daily, and eat really bland, fresh fruit, grains, and veggies. Drink lots of water! Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Don't try to do too much. Remember, you had a major surgery with an organ removed, even though everyone tries to pass it off as no big deal! If you can, take some digestive enzymes and ox bile salts. I got them at the health food store also. I can't take them daily, but try a few times a week. Let me know how you get on! 

Am so sorry to hear this. Unfortunately we aren't told of the side effects of removing this vital organ. It's very early days for you. Diarrhea is a common side effect but settles down in most people slowly over time. It may last 6 weeks or up to 6 months and a bit longer in some people. A small percentage develop bile salt Diarrhea. I've been taking psyllium husk powder with digestive enzymes in it for over a year now 1 teaspoon twice a day and it's great for both Diarrhea and constipation and a lot of people with bile salt Diarrhea Take it as an alternative to the bile binders. I tried them and they didn't agree with me at all. Nausea is a common side effect and can last for 6 weeks to 6 months to longer but does go away. None of the nausea meds worked for me. I tried them all and a lot had awful side effects too. I did acupuncture and wore acupressure bands and made ginger tea which helped more than anything. My appetite has never recovered to be honest and I can't eat a huge meal as feel full quicker. I can eat most things now but have totally changed my diet adding in good fats like avocado, nuts and seeds. I don't eat any dairy. I also take probiotics and manuka honey. I took milk thistle for a long time too in drops and would recommend that as it helps the liver to work more efficiently. Unfortunately gallbladder problems are caused by a congested liver so removing the gallbladder actually adds more stress to the gallbladder hence the side effects people get. The milk thistle can help this. The other thing that is great for the liver and Diarrhea is tumeric. I take 2 capsules a day. I'm a lot better than I was however the root of my problems was a hormone imbalance which I'm still dealing with so I don't feel 100%. I must stress though my gallbladder was not my problem but a large cyst on my ovary. I did have 1 large stone but my gallbladder was healthy. You will need to give it time. The liver now has to take on an additional function which takes time to adjust. Just eat little and often too. It will get better in time. Good luck xx

Debbie glad to hear your improving. Milk thistle might help your constipation. It's the most common long term side effect of gallbladder removal and can lead to diverticulitis. It's due to not enough bile so the milk thistle might help your liver work more efficiently. Also Pineapple has fantastic digestive enzymes in it so try adding that to you diet as it might help you. Your right doctors say it's no big deal having your gallbladder removed. They are so wrong and should be honest with people prior to the surgery. The truth is it can take over a year or longer for that body to adjust. I've had other organs removed in the past and far more serious life threatening surgery but this one has had the worst effect on my body. Hope you continue to improve. X

You have some very informative and wise advice, and I appreciate you taking the time to respond to me! So good to hear someone is actually feeling better after the removal of their gb. Hear mostly horror stories. Where do you get the psyllium husk with the digestive enzymes? I have just the digestive enzymes in capsule form, but would be interested in the one you are taking. How many milk thistle capsules should I take daily, you think? I already have this, and have only taken a couple. 

Hi Debbie no problem am glad to help. It's dreadful all the horror stories and unfortunately we all read them thinking it wouldn't happen to us. A good friend of mine had her gallbladder removed 18 years ago and was fine afterwards except for the constipation but she did have that prior to the removal too. 6 months ago she developed bile Diarrhea and vomiting and has been really ill in and out of hospital were they told her she had diverticulitis! She saw the consultant a few weeks ago and he told her this was as a direct result of having her gallbladder removed! The funny thing is that he is the same consultant who recommended the operation in the first place all those years ago! It beggars believe really! The psyllium husk I use is lepicol plus and has digestive enzymes in it. There's no ox bile it it though but I find it really helps. I took milk thistle drops 15 in a glass of water twice a day. Give it time and you should be ok but the most important thing is to look after your liver. The milk thistle should help you with that. You could take 1 tablet a day and see how you get on. Did you have many gallbladder attacks prior to the surgery? X

My story is somewhat complex. I just got really sick in January, with a huge amount of symptoms....debilitating nausea, lightheadedness and dizziness, loss of appetite, weight loss, weakness, especially on left side, tremors, both inside and out, crashing fatigue, and on top of all that, I have been battling a chronic UTI since last summer. Never had the classic gallbladder attack signs. I forgot to mention I had chest pains also, which I went to the hospital for. This is when they diagnosed me with Gerd and gallstones. Cardiac checked out ok, GP sent me to surgeon for gallbladder removal. I should have gone to GI doctor at that point for a second opinion, but was so sick, I just wanted relief and believed this was my problem. The surgeon was an a**, should have been a red flag, but had it removed on March 2nd anyway. It was obviously not my problem! At follow up, surgeon couldn't even tell me how many stones I had, or the condition of my gallbladder or any other organs!  Boy, I believe I made a huge mistake! I'm better than in January and February, but things sure aren't right. Something else is clearly wrong! My GP is horrible too, so am getting a new one! Menopause may also be in play for me, so that factors in too! I have a question for you: We're your liver enzymes ever elevated?

Your friends story is horrible, especially since it hits home. I have always been constipated too! I am having a bout with it now. I hope she gets feeling better, and makes a great recovery! 

This is so awful Debbie. So many people having this organ removed unnecessarily. I was having hormone symptoms all 2014 and kept going to my GP. She said it could be early menopause but didn't do any tests and sent me home with a multi vitamin! I was having night sweats. Headaches, flushes, insomnia and irregular periods. I had been on steroids for a few years for my bowel which caused me to be low in a hormone and my endocrinologist put me on a synthetic version of it which I believe made things a hell of a lot worse! I only saw him once a year and he never checked my estrogen and progesterone levels. In August 2014 I was getting indigestion and heartburn and tummy pain and my surgeon whom I've known and trusted for 23 years did a scope in October and then decided to do a scan. The scope showed inflammation in my tummy but I was on a ppi for a few months so it was healing. I had been taking anti inflammatories for my back a few months earlier which caused the tummy problems. My surgeon said a week on them can cause an ulcer.,anyway the scan showed 1 large stone as the radiographer told me on the day. I started getting burning pain under my rib a few weeks later and my surgeon called me with my results and I told him about this pain and he said it was the gallstone and my gallbladder would have to come out! It wasn't even inflamed or infected! I asked him on the day of the surgery what causes gallbladder problems and he said hormone imbalance. This all happened within 5 weeks. He told me there would be no side effect as I was concerned as I'd had previous bowel surgery many years ago. He said it wouldn't effect me! Boy was he wrong! I got the diarrhea straight away and vomited in hospital. That stopped when I got home but started again 6 weeks later. I ended up in hospital and that's when I found out about the cyst which they found when they found the stone and no one told me! Had they told me I would never have had my gallbladder removed at all. I was treated really badly by my consultant who never admitted it was the cyst causing the problem. He kept telling me he never saw this before. I saw the top gi doc in Ireland and he told me it was a rare side effect of gallbladder removal and shouldn't have happened with my history. I saw a gynaecologist who said I had a large cyst on my ovary (4inches) and he wanted to remove it but my surgeon said no due to my previous bowel surgery. I was left most of last year believing it was a rare side effect of gallbladder removal. My GP even said the same as she said she had seen it before with other patients and it could last a year! She didn't know about the cyst until I told her. I saw another gynaecologist in October and he told me it was never my gallbladder but the cyst causing all my symptoms and he said my gallbladder should not have been removed. I've been attending an acupuncturist since last summer and she explained more to me than any doctor and she explained removing the gallbladder made it worse as the underlying problem wasn't treated. I began researching it all myself and was horrified to find out that estrogen dominance is the cause of gallbladder problems as the progesterone levels are low causing an imbalance in the ratio of estrogen to progesterone. This causes so many problems and is closely linked to all forms of birth control and hormone drugs and steroid drugs. It actually is listed as a side effect on some forms of birth control. This explains the epidemic in so many young women. What upsets me is that doctors know this and continue to remove the organ. A lot of women have gynaecological problems too like me which are caused by the same thing. Unfortunately I took the pill many years ago and also had a coil fitted too. Also excess weight causes excess estrogen which causes this too. My friend who is sick now 18 years later didn't have stones just a diseased gallbladder. When I told her what I'd researched she told me she had a coil fitted 25 years ago and got bad symptoms and really bad periods. She saw a gynaecologist at the time who recommended a hysterectomy at 39!! She asked him if it was the coil as she was ok prior to having it and he rubbished her. She had the hysterectomy and of course she then developed gallbladder problems and had that removed too. She said looking back now she believes it was a hormone imbalance causes by the coil that caused all her problems! My liver enzymes weren't elevated at all! My surgeon told me after the operation that my gallbladder was fine but tried to backtrack a few months later when I questioned him again on it and he said it was inflamed. My dad was with me when he said it was perfect so I believe that to be the case. My gynaecologist summed it up for me when he told me the principle of medicine is "you have a pain under your ribs, we do a scan we find a gallstone, we remove the organ and hope for the best. Sometimes we get it right sometimes we get it wrong" they are not trained to treat the cause just treat the symptom by medicine or surgery. My GP has now also admitted it was the cyst and said they can cause awful symptoms including pain under the ribs! I was very angry over what happened to me but there's nothing I can do about it now. I also believe we have to take control of our own health and do our own research prior to seeing any doctors. Unfortunately I think we just want a quick fix as we all have busy lives but sometimes the quick fix has long term consequences. I had spoken to so many people prior to my operation who had the surgery and they all said go for it. When I started having problems and went back to the same people and questioned them some more I found out most had an intolerance to some foods since having the operation. One person had diarrhea for 38 years!! Some had constipation and a number also had hysterectomies too! The liver is the key to all this as it balances hormones so working on that is vital for anyone whose had the operation and for those who haven't it's the key to preventing the surgery. Also many get indigestion and reflux after the surgery and again this is linked to the liver so working on the liver will help that. Unfortunately most will go to the doctor and take ppi meds which is the worst thing for the liver as it stops the tummy producing acid causing the liver to work even harder again! It's a minefield but the liver works closely with the digestive system and if the liver is stressed it will affect the digestive and hormonal systems. Xx

So what things should I be doing to help my liver? I have ACV, digestive enzymes, milk thistle, and bike salts. I have digestive issues, so I find if I take too many liver tabs or the ACV, I get kind of sick to my tummy. I'm so upset I had it removed now, knowing it wasn't the culprit! Seeing GI doctor Tuesday, so expect to have testing done in my future. Perhaps I need to see gyno and demand scans for female issues, as I'm having the rib pains and abdomen issues too. 

Hi Debbie try not to upset yourself. It's not your fault. We all do what we are advised to do. The best thing for your liver is the milk thistle. Acv and digestive enzymes are for gastritis, low stomach acid and for helping break down the food as is bile salts. I would stick with the milk thistle and also just take 1 digestive enzyme a day. Most say take two but take one and see does it help. There's usually ox bile in the digestive enzymes. Would also suggest getting your hormone levels checked especially estrogen and progesterone as low progesterone is usually the cause of gallstones. Low progesterone also causes digestive issues so explains why so many still have issues after gallbladder removal as their levels are still low. Try not to worry you will be ok. Give it time x

Thank you! You are a wealth of information and a calming voice. Had my hormone levels tested by gyno. I had to call her and ask about results, to which her nurse asked, and then just said, "Yes, you are in menopause ". So, I need better clarification. I saw GI doctor today, am having a endoscopy and a colonoscopy next month. Not really looking forward to that, but is needed, I guess. Maybe in meantime, I will make a rheumatologist

appointment, endocrinologist, and another gyno appointment to discuss

treatment. I will try the milk thistle once a day, and the enzymes maybe a couple times weekly. Thanks for your help! Keep in touch. 

Also in the US-I got so weak from lack of being able to eat that I couldn't stand. I finally started taking Remeren to stimulate my appitite and for depression. The depression was a result of the debilitating condition.

MY appetite picked and I began to get better, but still 18 months our of surgery I am still nausated most of the time. I do have a few perfectly normal days, but want all of them to be normal.

I do hope you will recover more quickly than I have; most people do.

this sounds very similar to my story. I am only 6 weeks post op and not feeling well. Limited appetite and nausea. I wish I knew when this would go away.