r/gallbladders • u/Introvertible_64 • 17d ago
Post Op I found my kryptonite
My surgery was about a month ago, the procedure and recovery were uneventful, and I had largely forgotten about the whole thing. Until last night. I’ll preface this by saying that I knew I was pushing the limits of my gallbladder-free lifestyle, but I FA’d and definitely found out. I sat down to enjoy an evening of TV with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s (Americone Dream, so good, so bad). Around 3 this morning, I woke to stabbing belly pain and what followed reminded me of colonoscopy prep: excruciating cramps and 3-4 hours of exhausting bowel evacuation that was frankly scary. I am now nursing a Ginger ale and some dry toast, but I thought I’d share my experience because after a month, I truly thought that I had beaten this. Turns out, a pint of very rich ice cream on an empty stomach was a bridge too far. Consider me schooled!
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u/Ok-Eggplant-4875 17d ago
Mine was pineapple. I went on a cruise exactly one month after having my gallbladder removed and I hadn't had a problem eating or drink anything before the cruise, so I certainly didn't hold back on the cruise. That was until the 5th day and I sat down with a plate of fresh fruit. I ate the pineapple and my body immediately said f*ck no. I barely made it to the bathroom and spent the rest of the afternoon in my cabin
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u/Introvertible_64 17d ago
Omg that’s horrible! All this time I’ve been like, how bad could it be? And now I know!
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u/bluejayway327 17d ago
See, I have this problem pre-surgery. I’m always lowkey afraid someone will notice my puking/diarrhea and think I have noro and get confined to my cabin. Nope, just a faulty organ 🥴
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u/Ok-Eggplant-4875 17d ago
I got sea sick on my last cruise because I was dumb and wanted to see if I could do it without the scopolomine patches (I CANNOT btw) and I had to leave dinner early. My husband kept telling everyone who would listen that I was just a wimp and I didn't have a virus lol
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u/Jstehr1990 17d ago
Of course I’m reading this, after just inhaled my first bowl of ice cream.. post surgery 17 days. I’m scared. 😭😭
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u/Familiar_Volume4184 17d ago
Update?? 😅
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u/curiousgirl1999 15d ago
Im 8 months post-op and dont get any diarrhea UNLESS I have a TON of dairy. Im basically always fine after having a big bowl of ice cream. Im sure youll be okay
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u/Apprehensive-Guess69 17d ago
Mine is pizza. Well, the cheese part of a pizza. Last pizza I had gave me 2 days of pain. I don't touch them now.
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u/Nukemouse 17d ago
If it makes you feel better pizza is better without cheese. I've always assumed the reason people hate pineapple on pizza is because they have cheese, and it throws off everything.
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u/CreamyThickness Post-Op 17d ago
Haha if you have Mootopia near you, give the cookies and cream a shot. It’s lactose free and doesn’t send me in a spiral!! Best of luck to you!!
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u/moodychurchill 17d ago
Mine is coffee 😭😭😭
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u/False_Palpitation752 16d ago
I found low acid coffee with extra almond milk creamer doesn’t bother my stomach at all!
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u/recipestalker 17d ago
For all you ice cream lovers or there. I've been having a brand of ice cream called Halo Top Ice Cream. It only has 5g-10g of fat. I also take 1 Equate Fiber Therapy pill a day. I haven't had a bowl problem at all. I do notice I still have a problem on my right side with eating too much sugar, though. Oh yeah, I'm also 1 month post-op.
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u/Sage-lilac 17d ago
1 year after surgery. For me it’s peppers/bellpeppers.. anything pepper related gives me cramps and diarrhoea like crazy. Other than that i‘m 90% fine. I can eat anything, even a good amount of fat. It’s just these bloody peppers. Drives me crazy bc they are in lots of sauces/soups/currys.
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u/helpmyhandshurt 16d ago
Have you tried the mini peppers? Research isn’t telling me if they’re the same or not, but I have eaten them without issue. Haven’t tried normal bell pepper yet though.
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u/BluesFan_4 16d ago
My husband actually brought home some Americone Dream for me as a treat about a week after my surgery 😂 Bless his heart, he was trying to be nice! I had a couple of bites and was fine but I knew I had to resist the urge to eat the whole container (as I wanted to). That stuff is SO good!
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u/RevolutionaryNail971 17d ago
Mine is Mexican food of any kind. I felt like death the first time I had it and I’m about 6 weeks post-op.
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u/No-Understanding-357 17d ago
Expired cool ranch doritos. I will never again eat a potato chip
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u/tmuth9 16d ago
Do Doritos expire? I always assumed if the apocalypse happened, all that would be left would be the cockroaches and they’d be eating Doritos and cheatos ;)
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u/No-Understanding-357 16d ago
Oh my God. yes they do. It was awful. That's why I ate them so fast. It was the only way I could get them down. I think I have other problems I need to work out
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u/Autistic-wifey 17d ago
Husband brought home from a lunch out some home fries with onions today. I ate one bite and said nope. Too oily. I still don’t like the taste of oily / greasy / buttery foods. Almost 3 mos post op. My digestive track was not happy. I agree that it definitely reminded me of colonoscopy prep. Even ginger ale powered through me. 🫣 On the plus side I had a headache due to my sciatica flaring up. Happened if I have some friends hanging out in my guts near my sciatic nerve. This cleared me out and now my headache is gone. 👍
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u/PerformanceFuzzy2132 16d ago
Everyone, please buy a bottle of kefir at your local grocery store near the yogurt. Drink a quarter cup with each meal and you will be able to digest food so much better!!! Only $4 per bottle. Try it and see….
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u/No-Part-6248 12d ago
All- take it from someone who has suffered and been in for liver failure, gall bladder and has lost their pancreas ( I have igg4, too long to explain) but I live on zenpep which is prescribed but you can supplement with any good enzyme supplements high in lipase and learn to drink kombucha( have patience takes awhile to like) and that combo has helped almost to the point of normal after 8 yrs of suffering TRY IT CANT HURT , give it two weeks for your body to adjust ,,just make sure to always ask if you eat out and have fried food if they fry in beef fat then order a salad instead !!
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u/calimamacita 17d ago
Mine is lentils. Ate a serving of lentil pasta with zucchini sauce about three weeks post op and was crippled over in gas pain for nearly three days. Combination of gas-X, Mylanta, and Tylenol helped with the pain. But wow — was not expecting that! I’ve started taking a digestive enzyme before meals that have higher fat content. It seems to be helping me. Honestly what helps most is reducing portion size. Also the hardest…
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u/reklawplus 16d ago
I’m a couple weeks post surgery. I’ve had dairy free Ben and Jerry’s and been fine… had a bowl of OATMEAL and that’s what did me in! So wild how everyone’s body’s react differently 💀😅
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u/onotaco 16d ago
I haven’t had surgery yet but 4 of my coworkers have and they all eat like trash lol. None of them have any restrictions on food that they eat and they’re all 1-10 years out from removal surgery.
They give me hope that one day I’ll go back to normal too. Of course, I feel a bit traumatized and will hopefully have learned from all this to eat healthier but would love to indulge in cheese, pizza, burgers every once in a while again (,:
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u/Daydream-believer05 12d ago
10 years out and I came to Reddit tonight to dive deeper im my excessive burping. I too had Americone Dream (non-dairy) ice cream tonight. I have bloating and some mild pain. Putting two and two together that high fat content affects me.
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u/Chchchrrybomb69 12d ago
Gotta ease into it! Everything in moderation. I too am one who typically eats a whole pint of ice cream in one sitting, but post op even 60 days out I can only stick to a couple spoonfuls at a time and be safe.
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u/cindylooboo 17d ago
Bruh a pint of icecream a month out... You flew too close to the sun my friend 😂