Even more of the mystery is solved!

[LBTC]

I read something today that has made my day!!

Apparently, people with gallbladder disease should not eat (or take) ginger.

Well, some of you may remember the horrible spring I had last year with no real diagnosis, except that I seemed to have narrowed the problem down to a ginger allergy.

Now, as I have some test proving a problem in my gallbladder (one more test tomorrow, then probably surgery), and I'm doing more reading on everything, I finally see this connection and it makes me think that last year was the beginning of the gallbladder problem.

To me, that's the best news I can think of! I LOVE ginger, my favourite drink is chai tea, my favourite food is Thai and my favourite deserts are pumpkin pie and ginger snaps.

I never in my life thought I'd be so happy at the prospect of having an organ removed from my body! At this point, I can hardly wait. Not only do I want the current symptoms to go away....I am so looking forward to eating ginger again!!

Happy riding, everyone!
~T~

[chickwhorips]

see it all works out in the end.

good luck with surgery and happy fast healing.

[Bikingmomof3]

I understand. I was so happy to have mine removed. I could eat foods I loved again. :-) Best wishes for your surgery and a speedy recovery.

[emily_in_nc]

Wow, thanks for posting this - who knew? I have a friend with gallstones, and I think she'd mentioned using ginger when she sails on her husband's boat to avoid seasickness. I'll let her know that she either should find a different seasickness remedy or at least check with her doc.

And great that you're getting your gallbladder out so you can go back to enjoying gingery things. I love ginger too! Good luck with your surgery and best wishes for rapid recovery.

Emily

[pyxichick]

Who needs a gallbladder anyway?

Ginger is way more useful.

[LBTC]

Who needs a gallbladder anyway?

Ginger is way more useful.

I couldn't have said it better myself!

~T~
picsie.chick

[Veronica]

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.

[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.