Anyone ever had their gallbladder removed and had issues a few years after?

twinkletwinkle89 · 06/01/2023 22:05

Hey! I've had mine removed and yes unfortunately can have an upset stomach if I eat something rich in fat xx

Delphinium20 · 06/01/2023 22:06

Yes. I had issues with raw onions and fatty food, and sometimes I had pains. It eases a bit after a few years.

Delphinium20 · 06/01/2023 22:07

And the coffee/chocolate diarrhea issue never went away

parentallyadept · 06/01/2023 22:07

Yes me! I had mine out as an emergency in 2018 and had all the symptoms you've described. I was referred to a gastroenterologist, and after a whole raft of tests I eventually got diagnosed with post-cholecystectomy bile acid malabsorption syndrome and have been put on life-long medication that I have to take immediately after every meal.
It has literally given me my life back! I can now go out without panicking about where the nearest loo is. I still can't tolerate lots of fat, but I can now eat a fairly normal diet, whereas before I was on a very limited diet to try and minimise symptoms and becoming more and more low and reclusive.

SeaToSki · 06/01/2023 22:10

Def go back to the specialists and get assessed. You can have a slow leak of bile from where they tied off the bit they removed, or there could be something else going on. Either way there are likely to be ways of sorting it out.

Jenasaurus · 06/01/2023 22:16

Cottonbud25 · 06/01/2023 21:50

So I had my gallbladder removed in 2020 and had no issues the months following. But lately I’ve been experiencing regular stomach problems. Ranging from pain to chronic diarrhoea. I feel like I’m always complaining about my stomach one way or another. I can’t drink coffee in a morning without ending up on the loo and if I even dare to enjoy a fatty meal or two you can guarantee I’m straight on the toilet. I haven’t seen a doctor since having it removed, and I’ve just been kind of left to deal with it. Has anyone experienced similar problems?

i had my gall bladder removed 27 years ago and I ended up with constant diarrhoea. I went up to 12 times a day. I sort of lived with it for years and then I had a terrible reaction to morphine and also codeine when I had surgery. I would get agonising chest pains. It turns out I should have been taking an enzyme after having it removed. However I’ve recently been diagnosed with fatty liver and diabetes. The changes I made to my diet to help these issues have resolved everything and I feel well again. Apparently sphincter of oddie is something that can occur after your gall bladder is removed and caused a lot of my issues. One thing I did have was almost bright yellow stools similar to the orange oil produced when you take Ali

tealady · 06/01/2023 22:16

Sounds like bile acid malabsorption. There is a simple test for diagnosing this called SeHCat scan - read more about the condition here www.bad-uk.org/why-does-it-occur. Mine also started after gall bladder removal but it is easier to deal with once you know what is happening. Sympathies though as its no fun to deal with and not something I was warned could happen when I had my gall bladder removed.

Jenasaurus · 06/01/2023 22:19

Solar enzyme from Holland and Barret is supposed to help after your gall bladder has been removed. I found cutting out sugar and reducing carbs plus losing weight has cures me. Although I now have the opposite issue. I’m often constipated

Jenasaurus · 06/01/2023 22:24

solgar.co.uk/products/solgar-digestive-enzymes-tablets

holland abs Barrett are out of stock but these are good

Mummymidwife33 · 06/01/2023 22:29

Following with interest. Had my GB out last year and had terrible diarrhoea at first. Has settled now but still get bouts, ie today randomly had 3 episodes after drinking water and a coffee.
Also had horrific chest pain after codeine recently so that's very interesting as I thought it could be linked. Was like the biliary colic pain I had prior to GB removal.

Mischance · 06/01/2023 22:34

I had mine out many years ago and now have SOD (aptly named) which is Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction. It is an affliction that only happens to people without a gall bladder and consists of a spasm of a duct in the biliary system. It is intensely painful and I have been admitted to hospital twice with this after losing consciousness. Bizarrely one of the diagnostic tests is to administer morphine or any other derivative (e.g. codeine) and this sparks the symptoms. No-one seems to know why this is so.

I was put on Losec - I have no idea why this might help - and I try to avoid fatty food. It has not happened recently, except following back surgery when I was given morphine patches. It does create a problem for post-surgery pain relief - so I try and avoid surgery.

Jenasaurus · 06/01/2023 22:35

Mummymidwife33 · 06/01/2023 22:29

Following with interest. Had my GB out last year and had terrible diarrhoea at first. Has settled now but still get bouts, ie today randomly had 3 episodes after drinking water and a coffee.
Also had horrific chest pain after codeine recently so that's very interesting as I thought it could be linked. Was like the biliary colic pain I had prior to GB removal.

Sounds exactly like what I get if I have codeine. I took 2 at work for toothache and was doubled up in agony. My boss thought o was having a heart attack. They don’t tell you this when you have it removed that you could have problems. Well they didn’t 27 years ago when I had mine removed at the age of 30. It was only after suffering I did some investigating and discovered this other condition that can occur as a result and all my symptoms matched. Weirdly I can still eat fat like yoghurt etc but found carbs set me off to the loo

Jenasaurus · 06/01/2023 22:39

Mischance · 06/01/2023 22:34

I had mine out many years ago and now have SOD (aptly named) which is Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction. It is an affliction that only happens to people without a gall bladder and consists of a spasm of a duct in the biliary system. It is intensely painful and I have been admitted to hospital twice with this after losing consciousness. Bizarrely one of the diagnostic tests is to administer morphine or any other derivative (e.g. codeine) and this sparks the symptoms. No-one seems to know why this is so.

I was put on Losec - I have no idea why this might help - and I try to avoid fatty food. It has not happened recently, except following back surgery when I was given morphine patches. It does create a problem for post-surgery pain relief - so I try and avoid surgery.

Yes I remember coming round from a 4 hour op and the doctors could t work out why I was so unwell then they realised I could t tolerate the morphine. They gave me
paracetamol instead and I cried myself to sleep in hospital with the pain for nearly a week until a patient suggested to the doctor to give me tramadol. They did and it didn’t affect me so not sure why it was OK but codeine and morphine were not. I also react badly to general anaesthetic

Heronatemygoldfish · 06/01/2023 22:42

I too have the codeine reaction about half the time I take co-codamol. I'm still trying to work out what to eat with the pills so it doesn't happen. I did know it was a risk before I had my gb removed, and I do take codeine for migraines. Now I have to weigh up if I want to get rid of the headache more than I want to flip a coin over 5 or 10 mins of coliclike agony. Sorry to hear others are in same boat. I hoped I'd also get, um, slightly looser stools after a lifetime of the opposite, but nope. Still also get twinges from the upper rt quadrant where the gb once was. I suspect its the clips they used to close off the pipework 🙄

woodhill · 06/01/2023 22:46

Yes I'm a bit like that

Suffered last weekend after eating a dinner for New Year's Eve and some Proseco

Original poster

Cottonbud25 · 07/01/2023 11:48

Jenasaurus · 06/01/2023 22:16

i had my gall bladder removed 27 years ago and I ended up with constant diarrhoea. I went up to 12 times a day. I sort of lived with it for years and then I had a terrible reaction to morphine and also codeine when I had surgery. I would get agonising chest pains. It turns out I should have been taking an enzyme after having it removed. However I’ve recently been diagnosed with fatty liver and diabetes. The changes I made to my diet to help these issues have resolved everything and I feel well again. Apparently sphincter of oddie is something that can occur after your gall bladder is removed and caused a lot of my issues. One thing I did have was almost bright yellow stools similar to the orange oil produced when you take Ali

Show quote history

Thank you for this! I’ve noticed it’s bright yellow but I’ve also had a bout of covid not so long ago so I thought it was that. I might have a chat with the doctor and see what’s going on x

OP posts:

Original poster

Cottonbud25 · 07/01/2023 11:52

Mummymidwife33 · 06/01/2023 22:29

Following with interest. Had my GB out last year and had terrible diarrhoea at first. Has settled now but still get bouts, ie today randomly had 3 episodes after drinking water and a coffee.
Also had horrific chest pain after codeine recently so that's very interesting as I thought it could be linked. Was like the biliary colic pain I had prior to GB removal.

Thank you for this! I have also had it after drinking water and coffee, and I do take codeine often so it could also be that x

OP posts:

Seekingadvice40 · 24/04/2023 13:41

Hi I’ve had my gall bladder removed 6 months ago and had a full hysterectomy 10 months ago
and I’m in constant agony with my tummy too nothing works at all I’m awaiting a cy scan and a camera down ive Been in hospital 3 times in the last 2 months and starting to give up hope xx