Gallbladder attack pains two weeks after removal

Digestive health
1

My husband had his gallbladder removed two weeks ago. His doctor said it was extremely inflamed and had quite a few stones inside of it. For the past two nights in a row, he has experienced the same pain in the same area that he would have pain before his surgery. The sharp, stabbing pain that leaves him sweating, shaking, and unable to even get out of bed unless it's to throw up. And these "attacks" always last 4-12 hours. I don't understand how he's still experiencing the same pains if his gallbladder was removed. 

Nobody gave him any instructions on what he was supposed to eat. They just said that fatty foods might give him diarrhea (which he hasn't really experienced). The only problem he's had after surgery is that the pain came back nearly two weeks after removal. Nobody mentioned anything about the pain coming back.

We spoke with his doctor's assistant because his doctor only works in the office once a week and she told us that if he ate anything fatty or greasy, it could cause the same pain as before, but I'm having trouble find any articles online that mention food causing a gallbladder attack after the gallbladder has been removed. What I've read is that eating fatty or greasy food can cause diarrhea (again, he hasn't really experienced this).

Does this issue sound like a common issue this soon after removal? Did he try to go back to his normal eating habits too soon? Do you think eating a bland diet for the next couple weeks is the solution?

If anyone could offer any peace of mind or advice, that would be great.

2

Ashleynchl.

hi yes I had mine removed 13 weeks ago tomorrow and I felt great for 2 weeks lol.

then the sharp stabbing ripping pulling pain in the area where gallbladder was started intermittently?

it also got worse when I was on my back  I don’t really coralate it to eating though, also have a 

 punched feeling in the mid upper tummy area mildly but pretty much constant.

i never had the d and still do not if anything now problem is constipation.

i have put on 21 pounds in weight so far which I am happy about as I lost over 63 ponds in total with

this nasty illness.

but yes I pretty much think this is quite normal especially for us men it would seem who do not 

tolerate this opp as well as women for some strange reason,but is actually a fact that men are more likely to experience complications and disease after removal!

i was told by my surgeon that I can eat anything I want !

i stepped into the fatty food department gingerly but do seem to be able to eat anything !

but yes I’m still experiencing the same pains 13 weeks post opp.

try not to worry to much I think it’s quite normal from what I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot !!

it does seem to start to calm over time very slightly.

remember we have lost an organ after all and it is no joke this surgery no matter how much it’s played down 

it’s still major intra abdominal surgery at the end of the day and we need to rest well eat well and give our body time to recover and our liver time to adjust to having no gallbladder!!

hope this helps to ease your worry’s somewhat.

merry Christmas.

3

HI here in uk it seems we are told we can eat what we like but I have noticed our USA patients are told to eat a low fat diet and many are warned about developing a fatty liver ... 

once removed our livers now just produce a constant drip of bile down into our stomachs some have a slow drip and experience constipation due to a lack of bile and get food intolerances as they don’t digest as well as before many take ox bile to help, others experience diahreah as too much bile is constantly dripping into the stomach while others it is just right.. 

if we eat a fatty diet our stomach still requires extra bile and our poor liver does try to increase production therefore making it ache ... there is no longer a gallbladder to store and regulate bile there is a a direct bile duct into the tummy ..

two weeks post op your hubby has not healed yet .. and all the inside stitches are still healing .. putting a strain on these ...

the other thing is a stone could of been left in the bile duct 

it may have passed hence pain ..

but if he gets this again ask gp or A and E for a scan to check there are no stones blocking anything (that’s rare but many on here have experienced it) 

I now have a fatty liver 3 years post op .. I ate what I wanted enjoyed myself and now am on a low fat diet to try to improve my liver ..when googled you will see fatty liver and gallbladder disease go hand in hand , wish I had been forewarned ..

hope his pain doesn’t reappear ..

sally 

4

Hello, I think its very very early days into his recovery. Information and help seem to be lacking from the medical people both while waiting for surgery and post operative. I suppose in fairness its difficult because we all react differently. I found the most help from this website, particularly when you're desperate and worried during the night while the world sleeps. Anyway my suggestion (only my opinion) would be that bile going through his system when his stomach is empty is upsetting him. I used to try picking tiny bits off a slice of bread to soak up the bile. Don't know if there is any science to this but it helped me. I think we experience many strange things as our body tries to adjust to life without an organ that was never just a spare part. In my experience it takes many months to be as good as your going to be. Some people will be fine after a few weeks. Eat what you fancy I'd say but try smaller amounts first . 2 weeks is very early day. I would ask your doctors advice but I wouldn't expect much in the way of definitive answer. Take care and get well soon to your husband. Oh and just a thought fresh not from concentrated apple juice apparently the malic acid softens the liver (there is quite a bit of info on the web about it) I have no idea if its true but it helped me a lot both before and after op, I still have some everyday now particular if I feel my side go tight.