To ask you : How is life without gallbladder ?

I try to keep to a less than 5% fat diet but it can be difficult sometimes. I would love to know what people eat to keep the niggles etc at bay. I know fruit,veg and chicken are good lots of water but get stuck alot of the time x

I wonder whether there is any difference in outcome after surgery related to the age of the patient. As I said, I'm old (71 next month) and have had a lifetime of severe depression and anxiety. It's only recently that physical ailments have started to be a problem too. I'm definitely wearing out!
I forgot to mention earlier, but when my gallstones were discovered 3 years ago, and I was in hospital, I was told a few times "This may never happen again" - 'this' being the pain from gallstones.
It's believed that a great many people have gallstones and are unaware, as I would have been, had I not listened (3 yrs ago) to a programme by the late Dr. Michael Moseley advocating the Keto Diet and trying a Keto bar which was low-carbs/high fat. That was what caused the pain leading to diagnosis of gallstones. That made me believe that all I needed to do was continue the low-fat diet that I had been following for years anyway, and I wouldn't be troubled by the gallstones. After that I had no pain until the bout of cholecystitis last August. I was told that my diet had not been low-fat enough and needs to be under 5% in any meal, which seems to working so far in that I have had no more pain, although previous posts have explained that I could still have pain because of a blockage.

It's horrific! I was in labour for 4 days with DD and look back on that with fond memories compared to when I had pancreatitis - poor you.

I've had no issues as a result of having my gallbladder out, i do still get the odd flare up of pancreatitis though, nothing painful but just a tightening that signals for me to calm down on rich foods and booze for a couple of days and drink plenty of water. It's only ever an issue on holidays and around Christmas funnily enough. One dose of ibuprofen and a few days clean living is all that's needed if I do get a twinge. Again I stress, nothing painful I'm just alive to the early warning signs.

Same here. I had mine out last month and been fine eating everything since then.

I only ever had two very bad attacks but also had a few niggling pains, and really awful nausea. But I was advised to have it taken out as they don't get better and the complications can be very serious.

My DH had his out 3 years ago after some awful agonising episodes. Not one single problem. He eats anything and everything and he's very fit and active. He had keyhole surgery and you can only see one slight dimple scar from the three incisions.

OK, thank you. That must be why, last August, I had a sleepless, agonising night with what turned out to be cholecystitis, meaning nearly a week in hospital on IV antibiotics. In a later consultation with the consultant I was led to believe that it would have been due to having something fatty, which I was sure I hadn't. I haven't had any pain since then, but the consultant has given me one year 'open access' - meaning I can contact his office direct if I have problems and decide I do want to go ahead with removal.

The reason for my puzzlement is that, surely once you know you have gallstones you just stick to a low-fat diet and then you don't get the pain. That's not necessarily true. The gallbladder is triggered to empty by food in the stomach not fat in the stomach. And one of the worst gallbladder pains is if the emptying of the gall bladder tries to push a gallstone down the bile duct.

Gallstones can also cause irritation in the gallbladder itself and that too is painful/

I'm in the same situation. My diet is extremely repetitive and very low fat but since I'm overweight I think that being very strict about having as little fat as possible is good because it's also limiting calories, especially as I'm 70 and have very bad osteoarthritis limiting the amount of physical exercise I can take. I make sure to have a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement with 1000mg of fish oil for Omega-3 for my brain and as an 'insurance' in case I'm lacking in anything from my diet.
This thread is making me feel as though I may be wrong in being so scared of gallbladder removal, as most people seem fine afterwards.

Had it removed with keyhole surgery a few months ago. A bit sore post op for a couple of days but can eat anything with no side effects. Tbh only had one real episode pre diagnosis but was advised to have removed as it obviously could cause problems at any time and had stones and inflammation. I’m a pessimist too, but it has been fine.

Crikey it sounds like I was really unfortunate, had my gallbladder removed 10 years ago and now have BAM and bile acid reflux, and take daily medication for both.

I have gallstones but have opted not to have my gallbladder removed for the time being, preferring to adhere to a low-fat diet to see how I get on.
I'm puzzled by those people saying what a relief it is not having gallbladder pain any more now they've had it removed. The reason for my puzzlement is that, surely once you know you have gallstones you just stick to a low-fat diet and then you don't get the pain. This has been my experience and how it was explained to me regarding what happens in the gallbladder when you have eaten fatty foods, i.e. it contracts around the gallstones, causing pain.
I was reluctant to have my gallbladder removed because I had seen an article about a condition which can happen to people who've had theirs removed called sphincter of Oddi disfunction which is agonising but incurable. The article said it happens to about 20% of people who've had their gallbladder removed and since I'm a terrible pessimist I was worried I would be one of those people.
Did those people who got repeated bouts of pain before gallbladder removal experience this despite ensuring their diet was very low in fat?

DH had his out 25 years ago. No issues at all ever since. (That he's aware of!) Good luck.

DH had his out about 12 years ago. Had absolutely no problems since and just eats normal diet - although I will say that we eat mostly home cooked food anyway and not a diet of greasy takeaways.

I can't eat dairy and high fat on an empty stomach or else I get diarrhea. But if I have had something else in the day I am totally fine!

Absolutely no issues and I can eat anything I want (as long as in correct order in the day).

Had mine out I Novmber. I haven't had any adverse reaction to anything, I can eat whatever I like. Cheese, pizza, fried stuff - no issues.

Had a slightly upset stomach for about 5 days after the OP. That was it.

The pain from Gall stones is incredible. I had all of my kids without pain relief. I was popping temazepam every couple of hours with gall bladder pain. The relief from pain far out weighs the inconvenience from fatty food.

I had mine removed a few years ago after a nasty infection and honestly I've not really noticed any difference at all. I do also have IBS so my insides are not perfect but the gallbladder removal didn't impact me in any way. That said I don't eat much fatty food which would potentially cause issues.

I had mine out in 2012. I have to be careful with food that is fatty. Doesnt make me ill just gives me the runs.

For those saying they ‘suffer’ after eating fatty things, do you mean you get immediate diarrhoea? A bit of a loose stool later on? Or indigestion type pain?

I want to be able to eat out like I enjoyed before, but if eating a nice meal causes diarrhoea immediately I’ll have to still avoid it. Just interested to know what I could be looking at.

Had mine out 3 years. No problems at all.
I had a speedy recovery.
I eat no red meat, fried food or processed stuff. I do like cheese though.

Please don’t worry about the ERCP… I’ve had it & it was a breeze!

I had a ultrasound 3 years ago after suffering a ache on my right side and lower back. It was found that I had a 2cm gallstone. My Dr said that if I could manage with the dull ache(I didn't want my gallbladder out) I needed to change my diet and see how I get on. My diet has barely any fat in it quite boring at times but up to now I'm ok. I'm really scared to have the op but know I will have to at some point. The comments have helped me come to terms with the fact and I'm just glad I'm not on my own. X

I had mine out in January last year and I've been fine ever since. I can eat anything now. It's absolutely wonderful not to be worried about the pain of gallbladder attacks.

I hope your op goes well.

I had mine out in 2021. I got admitted in Feb 2021 as I couldn't breathe as the pain was so intense- it felt like someone was tightening a belt around my chest. I ended up having jaundice, pancreatitis and a blocked bile duct as well as an overflowing gall bladder. To top it off I got cellulitis in my hand where the cannula went in. I had an ERCP to remove the ones causing the blockage and surgery to remove my gallbladder was within 3 weeks, at the Nuffield (they were doing surgery for the NHS to clear some waiting lists).

4 years later I can eat mostly what I want - although I suffered at Christmas as I love a cheeseboard!

I had mine removed over a year ago, I am so pleased I did it, it took me a while to settle with the food and only have issues if I eat fatty food. My only concern was the NHS wait as I was told it was a 3 year wait, so I went private as I was sick of the pain and feeling so ill, the surgeon after removal said if I had waited any longer it would have burst! Anyone who is on the NHS waiting list please keep pushing for a surgery date.