Even more of the mystery is solved!

[LBTC]

Wikipedia says that the bile in the gallbladder helps with the digestion of fats. If you have your gall bladder removed do you have to be more careful about your food intake?

V.

What I've read is that the gallbladder stores the bile that the liver produces, so the lack of a gallbladder means the lack of storage facilities for bile, not the lack of bile. What can happen is either that the liver produces less bile, or that it produces just as much as before. The first scenario means don't overdo big fatty meals, the second scenario often leads to the runs....and in either case, apparently a bit of alcohol helps the digestion run smoother, which I'm not complaining about at all!

Most things I've read have said that my diet should not have to change after the pesky little thing is removed, and, in fact, since my body has been rejecting some of my favourite foods and there's some hope that I might get to eat them again, I think the post-gallbladder eating should be much more fun!

~T~

[Veronica]

Well that's good. I had to go find out exactly what we had it for ya know, especially since it sounded like removing it was no big deal in the long term - not like say a kidney. I wonder how much it weighs...

V.

[LBTC]

I wonder how much it weighs...V.

I'll have to ask the surgeon! I also intend to ask him to assess the amount of visceral fat I have while he's in there looking around. Gotta be careful of that stuff!

~T~

[velogirl]

I didn't have to modify my diet at all after my gall bladder removal. Actually, I was able to eat a lot of things I wasn't able to eat pre-surgery, so that was very cool!

Of course, someone told me I'd have to eliminate all these things so I bought a bunch of cookbooks which I never needed to use.