Gallstones. What can I eat?!

[needingadvice12]

After 2 attacks over the weekend I’ve been diagnosed with gallstones and referred for surgery.

Ive had issues since March and seems to be triggered by a long period of not eating then binging. They have also referred me to counselling as I flagged up as a risk for eating disorder. I’ve not eaten since Thursday. I am petrified of another attack.

What can I eat?
I’ve got rice crispies, brown bread, salted corn cakes, rich teas, jam and wafer thin sliced chicken

I work long hours so usually take a ready meal. I was looking at the M&S count on us ones. Any advice?

Just avoid dairy, and you'll be fine.

TBH .. I’ve never had much rhyme and reason to my attacks, seem to come out of nowhere. Advice has been to avoid high fat foods .. but honestly, never noticed much of a difference

Just a regular healthy balanced diet. Moderate fat. Regular meals, sensible portions. Try to avoid rapid weight loss as this can cause gallstones to grow and make things worse! (Dietitian)

You have to find out what triggers it for you, unfortunately its trial and error. Medics will say its about fat but its not for everyone and some people can eat a particular type of fatty food or oily food but not other types.

I would say no dairy at all. Very low fat. I could eat olive oil as a light dressing on salads but no butter or other oils. I could eat smoked salmon but no lamb or chicken skin or pork. No pastries at all, barely any bread. I could eat proper oat cakes and oat biscuits but no other biscuits. As much fruit and veg as I wanted. Absolutely no eggs sadly. So lots of chicken breasts cod salmon fillets smoked salmon veg and fruit and masses of oatcakes when I wanted something to chew on. Rice cakes also fine but dead boring without butter or cheese!

This is what I’m struggling with. The times I’ve had attacks have been where I’ve eaten wayyyy too much. I can’t actually pinpoint a particular food. They also occur once a month either just as I ovulate or just after

My surgeon told me nothing with more than 3% fat while I was waiting to have mine out. It did seem to help as I didn’t have another bad attack in that time.

Very low fat. No eggs. If I stuck to that I didn't have an attack.

I was told small meals, little and often. If I eat biscuits I'm in a lot of pain

This isn't correct ^^

Loads of people can eat plenty of dairy products without triggering gallstone attacks and there are many other things that are dairy-free which can really aggravate gallbladder issues. It also varies from person to person.

I had gallstones. For me, the worst things were anything fatty (especially pastry, biscuits, chocolate, high fat meat and fried food) and anything very acidic (citrus fruit, fruit juice, white wine, tomato-based sauces especially). Tea and coffee also made it worse, especially coffee. Also eating too much in one go.

That said, I actually had my worst attack after eating a really bland, light, low-fat meal. Essentially, the gallbladder contracts every time you eat, so you can never guarantee that something won't cause an attack, but fatty food seems to be the worst culprit for most people.

Hope you get your surgery soon! And also that you get the support you need with your eating disorder, of course. Fingers crossed for you and hope you feel much better very soon.

Did the Dr give you pain killers for when you have an attack.

@Moonpye could I please ask for your thoughts on what ‘rapid’ weight loss would look like? Would it be more than 2lb a week?

I’ve just had mine out and whilst waiting for surgery was on avery low fat diet - less than 5g fat. Chicken sarnies, ginger nuts and bananas were my friends!

Avoid rich food, fried food, blue cheese. Try to stick to bland food and small portions until operation.

Oh, you poor thing. I had mine out a couple of months ago after loads of attacks that eventually led to jaundice and pancreatitis, I've never forgotten the pain.

In the end, everything set off attacks for me, including low fat food. I ate high fibre cereal, brown rice/pasta, sweet potato, loads of veg and salad. It was a horrendous time as I'd just had a baby, and i also had attacks while pregnant, I'm truly sorry you're going through this!

OP, it’s fat that triggers it. I had gallstones - had them out a long time ago. So walk away from the cheese, butter, bacon, sausages, mayonnaise…
All the things on your list should be fine!

I also remember the not eating anything for days, but I think that's actually bad and you should eat little and often.

Can I use any spread on my sandwiches?
Or does it have to be dry bread and chicken?

Can I eat any cheese? low fat? Plastic burger cheese?

You sound just like meOP with the eating habits.

I have had mine out now but I ate water biscuits, Ryvita with cream chees, baked potatoes. To be honest, I never had a known trigger of food . It was anxiety and poor sleep plus bouts of constipation (due to poor diet) that did for me.

Cheese was fine. Pasta bad (although it's all I ever want to eat!). Onions and garlic bad.

Yeo Valley butter fine on bread. Dairy isn't the issue for me.

And 100% yes to Ginger Nuts!! Godsend.

This is also the case with me. Are you actually me??!

Bad around period too.

Have you been on the Mirena by any chance?

No, never.