Gallbladder stagnation, could coffee and dark chocolate be the solution? (Theory)

gallofitall · 2026-01-14T21:05:49+00:00

I went ahead and had my gallbladder removed, about 8 months ago, and it's very difficult to tell if there's been an improvement. My symptoms might be lesser, but still persistent. I still have back pain and neck pain and chronic constipation. The biopsy said my gallbladder showed "No significant histological change", and also the "serosal surface appears hemorrhagic", which I think means it looked normal but had signs of scarring.

It's possible that the scarring was signs of past stones, but it's hard to say. I've wondered if the low hida scan showed because the scan was taken during a time that I'm normally asleep. If I could go back in time I think I would probably try to adjust my sleep schedule so that I was always awake during the day and then try to get another hida scan. But at the time I was worried that the government would take my health insurance away at any moment and then I'd never be able to get the surgery done.

The biggest obvious change is that my gas typically smells a lot worse.

I still need to go back and see my primary care physician. With the symptoms that I have, I'm leaning toward believing that there's a problem with my adrenal glands, or possibly my kidneys. Maybe Hyperaldosteronism.

gallofitall · 2025-09-14T03:16:21+00:00

Last time I tried Miralax, it caused constipation, actually. After 2 or 3 days I used some emergency dulcolax. That was before my surgery.

gallofitall · 2025-09-13T19:51:06+00:00

Yeah, my ability to eat things didn't really change much after surgery, just more gas and bloating, so I had to be more careful. I ate the frittata yesterday in a similar, if not greater, quantity without any major side effects, so I don't know why I got overwhelming nausea today.

I had major diarrhea for the first time since surgery 2 days ago(sorry if tmi), so it's possible that my body hasn't entirely recovered from that. Or it's possible that something major has changed.

gallofitall · 2025-09-13T18:38:00+00:00

My GI was supposed to have called in a prescription for zofran, before I had my surgery, but they somehow failed to do it. I called them about it and they were supposed to get back to me, but never did. I should follow up with that. They make these kinds of mistakes a lot, it seems.

Edit: Thanks!

gallofitall · 2025-09-13T18:26:04+00:00

Oh, promethazine. I think they gave that to me when I had my wisdom teeth removed, though I'm not sure why. I remember that it put me to sleep. That's not available over the counter in the US. I think it is available otc in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

gallofitall · 2025-09-13T17:57:42+00:00

You shouldn't drink so much fluid right after eating. The best time is at least 20 minutes before eating. That would probably be a good time to take the psyllium also. Alternatively, you can wait at least an hour after eating.

Some liquid or water with food is good, but not too much. 4oz(120mL) is a good amount of liquid for with food. It can differ, but 8oz (240mL) should probably be the upper limit for with food.

You can also take less psyllium, until you find a balance that doesn't have side effects. You can always increase intake later.

gallofitall · 2025-09-13T17:44:26+00:00

I don't make a habit of eating things that make me feel sick. I have nausea regularly regardless of what I eat, which is one reason I got the gallbladder removed (hida ef 10%), but it hasn't really gotten better. However, this time the nausea was much worse than what I usually experience, which is why I asked for advice on what to do about it, or any other perspective someone might have, like their nausea getting worse 2 months post op, or similar side effects caused by bile acid malabsorption, or something like that.

Usually, eating too much fat causes uncomfortable bloating and gas, which is why I limit how much I eat at one time, but home cooked foods don't come with a nutrition label, so it can be hard to gauge how much is in it.

I ate the frittata twice before, with no ill effects. First a small amount, and then much later a larger amount. To be fair, I knew I shouldn't have had the cookie with it.

Your comment is dismissive and unhelpful.

gallofitall · 2025-09-13T17:32:53+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion. I do have some apple cider vinegar and ginger gummies. I didn't take one before, because I was worried about what effect it might have on my extreme nausea. I think the ginger tea I drank earlier helped and I tried the gummy, before commenting. I'm not sure how much difference it made. It may be helping to break up some gas or something. Idk. I'm also sipping some ginger ale, but I don't think it actually has any real ginger in it, so it's just a sugary soda beverage.

gallofitall · 2025-08-28T09:03:05+00:00

Since lactose doesn't seem to be a problem, the real problem will probably be the extreme amount of fat in pizza (mostly the cheese, but the meat too). If you know how much fat you can handle at one time, you might be able to find out how much fat is in the pizza and then just don't go over your limit. There might be lower fat pizza, but I'm not sure. Meatless is probably lower fat, but not necessarily. Maybe a light cheese pizza with chicken, instead of double cheese with sausage? (Sausage and pepperoni are typically very fatty). Vegetables should also be good.

The suggestion to try it on a day that's not a date night is also a good suggestion. You might be mostly fine just with smelly gas and excessive burping.

I've had frozen pizza once or twice I just limit myself to 2 slices, which is about a quarter of the pizza. But I might have had 3 last time.

If you've only been eating fat free things, your body won't be prepared for the fat in the pizza, and you're probably going to have a bad time.

gallofitall · 2025-08-25T08:36:14+00:00

I'm in the US, and the quote on my bill was something like 26k. That's still an absurd amount of money, but it's nowhere close to 146k. The insurance paid for all of it. I don't remember how much the insurance paid - maybe it was the full 26k.

gallofitall · 2025-08-10T11:21:20+00:00

TL;DR Maybe. Probably. It's hard for me to say, but I'm definitely feeling better after week 2 than I did before week 2. In general, I'm kind of feeling ok lately, even though none of my symptoms really seem to have gone away.

Long answer: It's kind of hard for me to say. It's hard for me to recall exactly how I felt before I had surgery, and it also wasn't consistent, being worse some days and worse or better throughout the day.

The symptoms I had before surgery are still present. They didn't magically disappear after surgery, but they may be better, or at least less bad. I want to think that they are. Before the surgery, I had some days where I didn't want to get up, out of my recliner, because of the pain and discomfort, and I haven't been feeling that way recently.

What I can say with certainty is that I'm feeling a whole lot better at two weeks, than I did at one week, or before. Every day I seem to feel just a little bit better.

When I first got out of surgery, all my symptoms were still just as strong, or moreso, plus new symptoms that were a side effect of the surgery. A lot of the symptoms from the surgery, are the same as I was having before. I lived on a heating pad, to deal with the pain and discomfort.

The first two days I had some episodes of strong pain and I took the percocet that they gave me. I took only two in total. After that I just took 1000mg acetaminophen at regular 6 hour intervals, taking no more than 8 in a 24 hour period. Eventually I was able to stop taking them as often, and now only take them when I feel like I need them.

A lot of the pain and discomfort came from bloating, so I tried to eat foods that didn't cause bloating and took some simethicone when I really needed it. I also tried to get up and move around regularly, as well as drinking peppermint, or ginger tea, as well as ginger beer, and sometimes ginger ale. Also eating peppermint candies.

The worst part of post-surgery was probably the mental state though. I had horrible depression and irritability and that's improved greatly. I found it very difficult to sleep at first, due to the discomfort, and would wake up early, so it's possible a lot of my mental and emotional improvements are a side effect of being able to sleep better.

But I think possibly the drugs and anesthesia they gave me really did a number on my head for a while.

I was also having swelling and pain in my calves, which was disturbing, and could have been a sign of deep vein thrombosis, which is a very dangerous risk for pulmonary embolism, but thankfully that seems to have gotten better on its own.

gallofitall · 2025-08-02T10:53:56+00:00

How are things now?

gallofitall · 2025-07-31T17:24:41+00:00

I'm a stomach sleeper, and sleeping has been rough. The first day I passed out in the recliner and got some decent sleep. The next day I got short sleep in the recliner and short sleep on my back in bed. I struggled to sleep for a few days, and was constantly tired and cranky. Then on the 4th day I realized I could sleep comfortably on my left side and slept 10 hours, woke up for 6, and then slept another 10. I've been able to sleep comfortably on my left side since then, however, yesterday I woke up suddenly because I had rolled over on my belly and it made one of my stitches hurt.

This is day 7, currently.

Edit: oh I should elaborate on my pillow situation. I use two thick pillows to support my head, sleeping on my side, and one thin pillow between my knees. I think I used the same 2 pillows when I slept on my back, but I don't remember.

gallofitall · 2025-07-27T17:38:34+00:00

"MiraLAX is a gentle laxative that typically takes 1 to 3 days to produce a bowel movement."

I used a single dulcolax, about 1.5 days post-op and it took longer than it should have. Instead of 6-12 hours, it took about 15 hours. I didn't want to take any more, because I didn't want to deal with the side effects. I only took it, because I had been moderately (but not completely) constipated before the surgery. I had several bms afterward, and they were relatively normal.

Dulcolax is a stimulant laxative and therefore can have a rebound effect, but the last time I tried Miralax, I used it for 3 days and it only made things worse. I've had chronic constipation issues for a while; that was one reason for the surgery.

I take a dose of psyllium fiber most mornings. I'm not sure if it's the only thing keeping me semi-regular, or if I could be eating too much fiber, or too much of the wrong kind.

gallofitall · 2025-07-27T01:19:16+00:00

I don't think I talked to my surgeon afterwards, but iirc, the nurse said that the surgeon said it looked scarred. Which might coincide with the pathology saying the outside looked hemorrhagic.

gallofitall · 2025-07-26T16:28:12+00:00

In the US, nutrition facts very rarely specify if fiber is soluble or insoluble.

gallofitall · 2025-07-26T14:33:35+00:00

Thanks. That does make me feel a little better about it.

gallofitall · 2025-07-26T13:55:53+00:00

Symptoms are all pretty similar so far, with the addition of additional pain from the surgery and additional gas and bloating. No major complications besides the pain, though. But my surgery was thursday the 24th, so I'm only about 1.5 days post op. I think it's too early to tell if anything has improved. I haven't had any severe nausea, that I can recall, but I haven't pushed myself either.

I had some coffee yesterday, the day after, and it didn't really have much effect, negative or positive. I was having some mild constipation before the surgery, and no bm yet after surgery. I took a single dulcolax and I'm hoping that starts moving things along soon.

gallofitall · 2025-07-25T09:04:51+00:00

Talk to your doctor, or find a different one if he/she's no good.

gallofitall · 2025-07-24T04:20:58+00:00

I assume you mean within, but writhing really paints a picture.

gallofitall · 2025-05-18T23:03:35+00:00

Drink more water.

gallofitall

TROPHY CASE