Diarrhea, abdominal cramping after Gallbladder removal

Hey Folks

Well, it's an issue I've read just about every post I can find about, but nothing seems too conclusive to me, and I'm at a loss of what to do.

two and a half weeks ago I had my gallbladder removed, the first few days, though sore I was happy and was hoping to get my life back after a year and a half of sever cramping, nausea and abdominal discomfort due to what my doctors believed was my gallbladder. Once removed they did find stones, and though I'm a lot hungrier then I used to be...I find whenever I eat something I have to go right away with discomfort, sometimes several times following with still more discomfort. So, though my appetite is fine, I'm terrified to eat for fear of having more awful bouts of pain in my lower abdomen and diarrhea.

Unfortunately my gallbladder surgeon, though a wonderful fellow didn't really go into any side affects, though he said repeatedly he's read about people having these kind of issues online but felt they were unfounded. I knew better...mostly, and told him about my issues but he didn't seem to feel my gallbladder removal had anything to do with it and suggested miralax,. which is basically the stuff I got before my colonoscopy last year...I don't need to go MORE then I already am.

My diets consisted mostly of toast, rice, bananas and yogurt...with the occasional big meal, like pizza. Oddly pizza doesn't give me that much trouble, but I had a steak last night and had to go before I even finished it, feeling sickly the moment I swallowed my first bite too. I also had a PB sandwich that did the same thing...

So, what I'm asking is, will this ever calm down, will it stop, is there hope? Have any of you been through this and gotten better? I saw my gastro doctor yesterday, and they gave me dicyclomine, it's not kicked in yet as I've taken it but still having diarrhea.

I've read so much...I find myself getting so anxious to the point of having panic attacks as this keeps happening. I can't function or focus on my work at all, it's very distressing. I've read about bile salt binders, digestive enzymes, probiotics, marshmallow root (whatever the heck THAT is) and so on...I don't know what to try, but I don't what to have to be dependent on anything forever, what's the best course?

and finally...am I just being too impatient with my body? I feel I am at times but sometimes I can't help getting stressed and worried, I really just want my life back. I've always had mild IBS symptoms before the gallbladder came into play, and they were mild annoyances that maybe only occurred every other month...now it's just about everyday I have the discomfort! I know it takes awhile to heal, I just don't know if I should keep worrying or not, I'm keeping up on doctor visits but I don't want to keep getting prescribed medications that won't do anything for me.

any advice would be very appreciated, thank you for reading this

Post Edited (WorriedBoz) : 6/25/2013 12:34:02 PM (GMT-6)

I really feel for you, it is scary to have surgery and not be given any idea of what to expect. I guess that I was lucky when I had my gallbladder surgery, my surgeon advised me to eat very low fat foods post-op. He suggested to start with simple foods and add other foods very gradually over a few weeks. Your gallbladder used to store bile to help digest fats - Now your liver excretes bile directly into your intestines whenever you eat fatty foods. This is what causes diarrhea. Your surgeon most likely left one of the bile ducts and if you give your system time to come back on line, so to speak, this duct will take over for what your gallbladder once did, it takes time though for this to happen. I had attacks of diarrhea for about 3 months post op, to the point that I asked and recived a prescription for Welchol, another name for cholestyramine. For me, it caused terrible constipation, that led to other problems. I later on learned to modify my diet, sticking to brown rice, non-fat yogurt, organic fruits and veggies. To this day, red meat, plus fatty, fried or sugary foods still bothers my intestines so I stick to organic chicken and fish and I truthfully have been fine ever since.

It seems doubtful your gastro doctor will prescribe medications such as cholestyramine because you are only 2 and a half weeks post op, but I would definitely discuss this with your doctor. I hope you get better soon, please let us know how you are doing. Ruth

I have found that adding lots of fiber helps with my bile induced D. I eat a lot of apples with the peel on and that has helped me stay away from using imodium, questran, or colestid.
I had mine out almost 10 years ago and still have issues once in a while.

Take care,
Bill

Hey

Thank you all very much for your responses and advice

Going on six weeks now, having good days, but still finding myself obsessing over the bad ones. I'm nervous about making another gastro appointment, the doctors and his associates have been so useless through this whole ordeal. The medication they gave me barely does anything, it's some little green pill aimed at ibs sufferers. I still have days where I have to go at least 5 to 7 times before it subsides, I'm sick of loosing days to this. I don't know how to bring up the bile salt binding powders, does anyone have any advice for that? I just don't want to be shut down, seems every time I see this gastro co-op they don't listen and everything's dismissed as ibs. I'll concede that maybe I have it but up until over a year and a half ago it was just a mild annoyance, now I can't go a week without at least two days being nothing but bathroom visits.

As well I have this pressure/nagging pain beneath my right rib, I think it's gas but I'm not sure. Is there anything I can take to help with that, or eat? It's just been so long since I've felt normal everyday it's just some kind of constant discomfort under my ribs and upper back, I feel like I did the surgery for nothing.

I had this constant loose bowels sometimes with chills and low grade fever especially after eating anything with sugar or fruit when I had my gallbladder out in 1982. Went 20 years with loose bowels causing small polyps in my large intestine in 2005. I could not go anywhere without knowing where the bathroom was...very miserable life.


To heal it I took molybdenum 1000mcg per day (this has been proven to heal the epithieal linings all over the body including the large intestine, when the dr removed my polyps he said that my intestinal walls were so flimsy he could hardly get ahold of the polyps) and 1 tsp of L-Glutamine every morning on a empty stomach. I still do the molybdenum everyday, and did the L-Glutamine for a year.

I also take boron 6 mg a day with food which helps to control intestinal yeast, I surmised I had leaky gut which can be caused by yeast and loose stools making small holes in the intestines so food can get in the blood. I have had an IG test done that proves that and I have blood reactions to 11 different foods which I was eating at the time of the test.

Please contact me if you have questions or want to find out more.
Hugs
Roxi

Hey Everyone

Thank you for responding to me, I really do appreciate it.

I'm sorry I had not gotten back to this sooner, but might as well review what's going on now...

Since seeing my gastro doctor, they put me on welchol 650 mp pill and advised using a probiotic, admittedly i haven't really tried much of probiotic.

For the first few weeks I took one pill a day, and it worked great at first...four weeks later though I can't say the same thing.

All this week I've had to go a lot again, I have this queasy/wiggy/pressure under my right rib, and I always feel like I have to go even when I don't (IE, a sensation of pressure in my backside) it's horrible...Usually I now get a yuck gassy feeling of air just before I have to go and it's not as formed, sometimes outright watery.
I felt so close to normal, I tried taking two pills and I still get the icky pressure sensation and I don't know what to do about that now. I haven't changed my diet any, I don't eat much at all really, I avoid dairy outright as I still don't trust it, I've been tested for gluten allergies..though not sure how reliable those are.

Should I consult my doctor yet again? Seems every time I try anything it works for awhile then just stops, I don't feel like I'll ever be back to normal.

Is there any difference between the powder and pill form? Would either work better? I'm just so discouraged right now...

Post Edited (WorriedBoz) : 8/18/2013 1:23:42 PM (GMT-6)