Healthy Gall Bladder Diet

Does he actually have stones?  If so does he have the option of just getting the whole thing removed?  I had mine taken out.  They used Laproscoptic (sp?) surgery.  It was pretty easy and IMO very much worth it.  Gall Stones have a habit of getting very bad very quickly and they really really hurt.  Honestly I would rather give birth than have another attack like those. 

It took along time to get in to see my doctor and I made quite a few trips up to the emerg.  I got prescriptions for rinitadine (sp?) for ulcers, scripts for tums and something stronger for heartburn.  They would not even consider that I had gall stones even though I TOLD them thats what it was.  My sister had them right after she had her first kid so after I had Kale and came down with the exact same symptoms it was kind of a no brainer.  I had to wait to see my own doctor who knows my family history.  Just to keep mine under control while I was waiting for some stupid doctors to actually believe that I MAY have gall stones I had to cut out almost all of the things I really loved.  Nothing rich or fatty.  No bacon, no cheesecake, no lunch meat.  I had to steam all my veggies or eat them raw.  No cheese sauce on my broccoli.  It was awful. 

I don't have any recipe suggestions but since most of those things are healthy ways of eating, you may be able to find some great recipes on [linkhttp://www.sparkpeople.com]Spark People[/link].  Just make an account and use the meal planner as though you were on a diet to lose weight.  When it asks if you have any special requirements of your diet check off those things.

Fish -- lots and lots of fish.  And depending on what he's used to -- veggies can be this enormously different experience.  I was reared to think it was corn on Sunday, peas on Monday, maybe chef salad (with lettuce and tomato) on Tuesday, corn on Wednesday and Thurday was leftover whichever ... and I grew up hating veggies. 
 
My Dad had gall bladder surgery (laproscopic) a few years ago and had no trouble thereafter but man, it is mega painful.  Good thots and prayers!

Thanks for all the info and sharing your account, huskymom.

He hasn't yet been to the doctor but his symptoms all say gall bladder problems.

He, too, is going to have to give up all the things that he loves: milk, cheese, red meat, bacon, cheesecake, etc.

We're trying to make healthy changes now to better deal with it.

Thanks for the Spark People recommendation.

I had mine taken out a few years ago.  I was sick to my stomach every day and I would randomly get sharp pains.  I went to the emergency room a few times and to my doctor on campus many times with no solutions.  My best friend had the same problems a year or so before and she kept saying to have them check my gall bladder, but no one would listen.  Finally, I talked to a family friend who is a nurse at the doctor's office in my dads town and she said, as soon as I pointed to where the pain was, "that's your gall bladder!"  So, I went to the doctor, he did all that pressing on my stomach and said "that's your gall bag all right!"  Went for some test at the hospital the next day and I had a very inflamed gall bladder.  For the few months before I got it out, I couldn't eat any thing fried or fatty, which was hard on a college campus.  There was a month where all I could keep down was reduced fat club crackers and water.  I literally only ate about 20 crackers per day.  It was horrible.  Other than that time, I ate some lean cuisine meals and lots of veggies.  Steamed rice didn't bother me either.  Plain chicken with some veggies and you can make a good stir fry.  Mostly, just stay away from high fat and very rich foods.

Thanks for all the info and sharing your account, huskymom.

He hasn't yet been to the doctor but his symptoms all say gall bladder problems.

He, too, is going to have to give up all the things that he loves: milk, cheese, red meat, bacon, cheesecake, etc.

We're trying to make healthy changes now to better deal with it.

Thanks for the Spark People recommendation.

Symptomatic cholelithiasis (stones in the gallbladder causing pain) is something that can't unfortunately just be treated with diet.  Once the gallbladder starts up, it only gets worse.  Some of the complications are very severe and life threatening like pancreatitis, ascending cholangitis (infection of the biliary tree), gangrenous cholecystitis (bad infection of the gallbladder where the wall dies).  In general, once you develop right upper abdominal pain after eating fatty foods, it's time to come visit me and talk about having your gallbladder out.  We do it these days lapAroscopically which means we make four tiny incisions (one 1cm and three 0.5cm) and blow the belly up with carbon dioxide (to make room to work), we take the gallbladder out with a camera that can go into the abdomen and long instruments.  The surgery takes about an hour and a half and has very, very low complication rates.  There is not any long term sequelae following gallbladder removal.  Some have soft stools for the first month, but it always resolves.  My recomendation would be to stay on a low fat, low refined carbohydrate, and not spicy diet for now and make an appointment to see your primary physician as soon as possible to get an ultrasound that will confirm stones.  Once this is done you will get referred to me (my people) and be evaluated for a cholecystectomy.  I know it may seem crazy since he is feeling ok, but it is well documented in the literature that gallbladders need to come out once symptoms develop to prevent complications.  Plus you don't want him to miss eating the food he loves for much longer right [8|]

ETA: many people have gallstones and have no symptoms their entire lives.  With these patients nothing needs to be done. It's just the ones that start having pain after eating (or worse) that need it out.  Recovery is quick, most people are home within one day of the operation and back to work within one week.  There are no activity restrictions after this surgery as well.

Thank you for the response, Ottoluv.

As soon as we get him insured (we're working on it) we will get him to a doctor.