Issues losing weight after gallbladder removal.

[KittyChimera]

I started dieting in October, because I decided that I wanted to be healthy before I turned 30, and my 29th birthday was coming up in November. I got a gym membership and started eating better, and then out of nowhere at the end of October, I had to have emergency gallbladder surgery.

Since I had the surgery, I think that I've gained like 40 pounds, even though I am eating healthier and eating less. I started paying particular attention to what I was eating, and counted calories very specifically and gained 5 pounds over a week. The next week, as an experiment, I ate whatever I wanted and only gained 1.5 pounds. 

Has anyone else had this problem? When I had the surgery, they didn't say anything about how it would affect my body or anything, or how I should be eating if I wanted to get healthy and lose weight. In the follow up with the surgeon, I didn't really get a chance to ask him because he came into my hospital room at like 5am to check the incisions and talk to me and because he woke me up I was really groggy so I didn't really think to ask any questions. 

According to the calculations from Fitbit, I need to eat about 1700 calories a day to lose 2 pounds a week, but people are telling me that that's way too high and I need to cut back to 1200. Does anyone have any thoughts? 

[FiveRun]

Well that makes sense. I’m going to get some oxbile I think. I’ll let you know if it helps. In the meantime I’m going to avoid all fat as well as doing the intermittent fasting, calorie counting, avoiding sugar and alcohol and going running regularly 

Oh, and also. I haven’t eaten gluten since my gallbladder was removed. Joy oh joy, it gives me diarrhoea. 

Maybe if i just eat eat lettuce  and drink water, that would work! 😂

[t56]

😂. Nah, the lettuce will bloat you 😖

[FiveRun]

It probably would! 😂😂

[Tofu27]

I have the same issue as well. Doesn't matter how I count my calories & mind you I don't eat animal products yet I gained 30-40 lbs. I take Ox Bile & eat healthy. My surgeon told to me just go back to eating normal you will be fine. Welp one day I ended up in ER & a nurse I know told me that I couldn't! That from time to time I will feel nauseous & that's normal. She told me that she doesn't understand why this doctor would tell patients this knowing that there is more to it. They both work in the same building & I wasn't the only patience seen that have the same issues. Her advice was don't go eating anything as it can lead to other issues. Not to sound disgusting but I am one of the people that have gotten my gallbladder removed yet I am constipated so I take fiber pills & eat things that contain fibers to help. Some can eat it all & right away they hit the meditation room shortly after. Some lose weight or maintain the weight they had before the surgery. I workout daily & also go to the dojo. From 7am till 9:30 pm I'm active. I don't know either & just come to understand that human bodies works in mysterious ways. I will however continue to do my research & hopefully find a way. Best of luck to you & you are not alone. 

[FiveRun]

Poor you!  Since my original post I have also been eating beetroot regularly and I’ve started doing longer slower runs. This has helped and I have FINALLY shifted a few pounds. I haven’t yet got the oxbile but I am convinced that the beets do help - and they are delicious. 

Still keeping up with the intermittent fasting etc. 

Good luck and thank you for your help. 

[Tofu27]

Yes! I have yet to try the beets, perhaps I can do that as well since I have small portions anyways. Maybe I'll try increasing beets & have that be apart of my regimen. The only downfall is that Ox bile can get pricey over time. Thanks for the advice, greatly appreciated it! 

[DrDebND]

Thanks so much for sharing this. I found the same thing you be true.

I tell patients that they need to reduce the fat intake. With the keto fad
diet it is really tuff to get people to understand that.

[ashleyb223]

I thought I was the only one who gained weight when eating healthy and lost wait when eating awful. 

[Dominique]

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@ashleyb223 wrote:

I thought I was the only one who gained weight when eating healthy and lost wait when eating awful. 

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Who else said they lost weight when "eating awful" (whatever that means)?

[Dominique]

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@DrDebND wrote:
I tell patients that they need to reduce the fat intake.

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I had a look at a couple of sources I would consider authoritative. One (Mayo Clinic) says the same as you about fats:

"Go easy on the fat. Avoid high-fat foods, fried and greasy foods, and fatty sauces and gravies for at least a week after surgery. Instead, choose fat-free or low-fat foods. Low-fat foods are those with no more than 3 grams of fat a serving."

The other one (UK’s NHS) does mention that "[the gallbladder] stores bile, a fluid produced by the liver that helps break down fatty foods."

Other than that, it just says:

"You can lead a perfectly normal life without a gallbladder.

Your liver will still make enough bile to digest your food, but instead of being stored in the gallbladder, it drips continuously into your digestive system.

You may have been advised to eat a special diet before surgery, but this doesn't need to be continued afterwards.

Instead, you should aim to have a generally healthy, balanced diet."

Interestingly enough, neither mentions gaining weight as a problem after gallbladder removal. I’m not denying that weight gain can occur post-surgery, but has direct causation been established? 

[lunrue]

I just had my gallbladder removed and this terrifies me. I have done some research and have read some having results if they don’t drink and eat at the same time. Stop drinking a minimum of 30 minutes before meals and don’t drink for 30 minutes after. Doing this increases the ratio of bile in the stomach for digestion. Drinking reduces the bile concentration and can cause foods to not digest properly. I am too early out from surgery to know if it works but wanted to let you know I have read some with success.

[FiveRun]

Thank you! I shall try that. 

[t56]

The only thing that helps me is running, in place or running regular. It moves the fat deposits around and my tummy goes down. If I go 3 days without doing it, the fat deposits gather.

[UkuleleMama]

That's pretty much me also -- the only thing that keeps me halfway "in shape" is running. Unfortunately for me, I really can't keep at it every single day and, if I don't, the fat piles back on. The weight creeps up, too, but I can fight the weight a little by what and how much I eat. I can't fight the fat with diet. I can weight 128 lbs. today and -- in clothes -- look okay. If I don't run for a week, a week from now I may still be 128 lbs. but look like I have a tire around my waist or be 8 months pregnant. I mean, I always look kind of blubbery, it's just degrees. My initial run-like-crazy-every-day-routine has had to taper off because I have so many other obligations, so that I'm only out there 3 or 4 times a week now. That much running is keeping me around 128 lbs. but, like I said, the more I run the less blubbery I look in clothes (naked I still look pretty awful, if you ask me), and the less I run the more blubber I can grab ahold of and the more noticeable it is even in clothes. No matter which way you look at it, I feel awful. I don't feel like me. 

[t56]

Exactly.

[Dominique]

@UkuleleMama : how tall are you? It’s hard to believe you would be considered overweight at 128 lbs, even if it’s 10-15 lbs heavier than what you were at a younger age. OTOH, it is not uncommon for people to be 10-15 heavier in their sixties than in their thirties, even if they didn’t undergo any sort of surgery or didn’t have any particular medical condition.

[t56]

Why do people keep saying “it is normal for people to gain weight as they age”? It doesn’t have anything to do with that. Why do people look for another excuse for this? This is, without a doubt, because of the loss of our gallbladder. Why do they say there is no correlation? There is correlation, just listen to everyone. Why do people not want to help? We don’t need to be told about reasons for weight gain; we already know the reason. What we we need is for the medical field to find out what we can do. We need something that will make our bodies think we still have a gallbladder; just like they do with estrogen. Why do they just try to blame it on something else? We run, we don’t eat. We are not gluttons, we have fatty deposits that are settled in our guts. So frustrating

[UkuleleMama]

I answered this yesterday but don't see my reply anywhere. Sorry if it's now here twice. I'm 5'4". And I doubt most people would say 128 is overweight if they're just thinking weight alone. But I was 118 lbs. pre-surgery and then went and gained a bunch of weight incrementally immediately post surgery. I'm not comparing weight from when I was in my 30s to now being 63. I'm comparing 62 to 63 with the only difference being getting my gallbladder out. And that extra 10 lbs. is all around my waist. If I want to wear a nice dress or even my jeans, I have to wear a stiff girdle or else my gut just rolls over the top of the jeans. It's more a matter of how the weight looks on my body. I know plenty of people who are my height but weigh more and yet look a heck of a lot more toned and in shape. Most people would say, oh, you're still thin but most people aren't seeing me without clothes. I could easily live with being 128 lbs. if it weren't for the fact that the fat all around my middle is unsightly and probably unhealthy. And now my upper thighs are beginning to look fatty. There is something definitely wonky going on. Fat is visibly depositing itself all over. 

[DrDebND]

Glad to see you drank the kool aide. No offense, but I have worked in health care 25 years and I have seen this problem with patients all the time including myself. It  has been a problem I have seen many times. 

[j916j916]

Drank the koolaid?