Issues after gallbladder removal (TMI)

[frazzled101]

I had my gallbladder out in January and wasn't given any advice on diet for afterwards, it wasn't even mentioned.

I noticed myself that a couple of times after eating higher sugar or high fat I would have diarrhoea and so have been mindful of that since. A quick Google also confirmed that that can happen.

However this seems to now have extended to eggs, as I had 2 on Sunday morning and had awful diarrhoea afterwards. Yesterday I had chicken and rice in a milk based sauce and had stomach cramps and wind.

Is it usual to also develop foot intolerances after gallbladder removal? Also it's been 5 months so don't know why it's only having an impact now.

I don't think it's food intolerances I think it's a common problem due to the bile. I remember chatting to a lot of people with this issue when I went for a scan to test bile acid malabsorption. Maybe cholestyramine would help?

It could possibly be bile acid malabsorption. This is fairly common after gall bladder removal, which they don't tell you about.
I had mine removed about 12 yrs ago, and then developed what i thought was ibs. Three years ago after a Sehcat scan I was diagnosed with bile acid malabsorption and now on what is known as binders [ tablets which soak up the bile ]. I am on Colesevelam. There others available. You would need to be referred back to the hospital to get this scan.

Thank you for your comments. Did certain foods cause problems for you, or did it happen after all meals?

For me it was almost all foods, but triggers were milk, cream, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions. I tried the FODMAP diet prior to diagnosis which helped for a bit.
Even now on medication I still get very bad days and end up having to take Imodium to get through.

@Londonnight that's awful and your trigger foods aren't even unhealthy!

I'm going for a night away this weekend, first time in 5 years, and I'm afraid of what I can or can't eat.

I am not sure that it is about specific foods, but eating triggers the release of bile, whatever it is.

I was on cholestyramine for years because of this problem, which had previously been treated as IBS.

Unfortunately I also have Sphyncter of Oddi Dysfunction (known as SOD - an apt title) and sometimes this causes acute pain in the form of a spasm in the biliary system. It can happen after gall bladder removal. It has caused me to lose consciousness on 2 occasions. A known trigger for this (bizarrely) is codeine, which is sometimes used as a diagnostic test. And no - no-one told me about these potential effects.

@Mischance it's really strange as i ate chicken goujons and chips on Sunday and just had mild cramping. Today I had an egg and toast and had severe cramps and diarrhoea. The fat content on Sunday would be a lot higher.

That's interesting that you mention codeine though as I took a tablet with codeine in it this morning so perhaps it's a combination of the 2.

@Mischance I'm so glad you commented the other day. I've now had no codeine for 2 days and problem solved!