So what is a gallbladder?
The gallbladder is a small organ that breaks down fat and processes bile so food can be prepared for waste. The gallbladder fills with sludge in the form of toxins, cholesterol, calcium, bilirubin and other compounds that build up in the gallbladder. It is sometimes called biliary sludge when bile stays in the gallbladder for too long. Bile is a greenish-yellow fluid that produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder.
Over the years, I’ve heard stories of hasty gallbladder surgeries and post surgery life. People without a gallbladder have a difficult time processing fat. Pssst! All organs have a problem processing fat.
I’ve heard of people taking Ox bile for the rest of their lives. Try burping that up in a crowded room! NOT a crowd pleaser!
When I adopted a WFPB lifestyle, I had a LOT of health problems! A sonogram showed a lot of “sludge” in my gallbladder. The sonogram also showed some issues with my liver, pancreas, and kidneys. Bloodwork showed a very weakened system. High cholesterol, high triglycerides! Liver enzymes were up. I had hyperthyroidism. My blood pressure was off the charts! Possibly diabetic.
My doctor has been wanting to take out my gallbladder for 5 years! Personally I think a lot of surgery’s to remove “unnecessary organs” like the gallbladder, tonsils, spleen, appendix, uterus and ovaries are a hasty and “easy” way out for the surgeon and do nothing to identify the cause.
Regardless my thoughts, I was a mess.
Changing my diet helped me so much that I assumed I was better off than I was. A WFPB diet saved me, but I still had problems. Read WFPB lifestyle – What to expect if a WFPB diet hasn’t cured you!
I assumed Chanca Piedra (stone breakers), cleanses and detoxes could “cure” my gallbladder. Instead, it remained in bad shape and was only a few fatty meals away from major surgery.
T Colin Campbell once made a comment when defending his reason for NO OIL….not a drop!
“People wonder if they can cheat a little here and there. Well you CAN, but you aren’t healing. You are just slowing things down”.
Ok, he is 86, still working, still alert and healthy! I haven’t hit 70 yet! I think the old bird KNOWS his stuff!
Pardon a short non compliant diversion!
We started a kitchen makeover the last week of September, 2020. It went a lot longer than we planned for or intended. As a result, we were at the mercy of eating food prepared by restaurants for several weeks. Those several weeks of eating the normal SAD diet landed me in the emergency room! In particular, high fat dairy was the catalyst!
October 15, 2020 found me in the doctor’s office trying to schedule my surgery!
Having worked in the medical field for several years I know to have surgery on Tuesday through Thursday and avoid the weekend! I actually tried to schedule my gallbladder surgery for 5 days away. Just hours after I got home, I realized I would not make it! I checked in for emergency gallbladder surgery on October 16.
My gallbladder was infected and had collapsed. Pressure was building in my abdomen and the pain was incredible. Had I not had surgery when I did, the gallbladder could have burst. I could have quickly been in danger of gangrene, septis and other unwelcome conditions. My blood pressure was at dangerous levels from the pain so heart attack or stroke was possible.
The surgery happened without incident. I was left weak, in pain and on pain killers! I lost two weeks of my life while I drifted in and out of reality.
Living Without a Gallbladder!
When I did clear the fog, I started researching what living without a gallbladder meant to me.
Shocked, I found that I could resume my life as normal! There was no drug I needed to take the rest of my life. No one even mentioned Ox Bile (which I intended to refuse). Now granted, I am still on the mend. As of this writing, I am going into the third week of December. I am taking it slow and seem to still have issues.
Post Cholecystitis Syndrome is unfortunately very common – about 40% of the time. Whatever caused the excessive stones in the first place has not been addressed. Stones can still be formed and cause issues with your liver and pancreas. The patient can have post surgical spasms for several years. Regrettably, I believe I fall into that category.
An ill gallbladder can be responsible for muscle and nerve pain. Tightness in the neck and shoulders, frozen shoulder, neuropathy, frequent headaches, nausea, vomiting, constipation and/or diarrhea. It is amazing how many illnesses can have these same symptoms!
Left unchecked, it can cause pancreatitis and lead to pancreatic cancer. With the pancreas compromised, insulin resistance and diabetes is almost certain to manifest. The liver is compromised and can begin scarring.
WFPB Might not heal everything but it’s a start!
In short, while a WFPB diet can help your health, it may not solve all of your problems! You could still be just a few meals away from a major health issue.
To those who think a diet alone could heal them… It might, but it might not. The body responds quickly to diet. But you can’t expect a few months of a better diet can undo years or decades of abuse!
If you still have problems after changing your diet for a few weeks, listen to your doctor! There are several risks that can happen after this type of surgery and some can be quite serious! When the pancreas and liver get involved, there needs to be some major dietary changes and possibly a second surgery!
Read my personal story. I realized I still needed to heal even after I lost weight and felt better. My cholesterol was a lot lower but still higher than I expected.
Even though I stopped taking blood pressure meds, I still had periodic high blood pressure. I searched for various programs and detox programs to gain better health. It is possible that some of the pain I had experienced for 18 months could have been avoided had I not I believed diet alone was the answer.
The Medical Merry go round is alive and well.
My Dr. wrote a prescription for antibiotics and anti-inflammatories for me to take prior to my surgery. Well my pharmacist replaced the prescribed drugs with generics. The generics had a much longer list of side effects including permanent neuropathy. I called the Dr. to get new prescriptions specifying NO GENERIC SUBSTITUTES.
I did not get the new prescription. However, the DR. administered those drugs in an IV.
My first post surgery meal confirmed my opinion of the poor diet plans in the medical communities. They brought me eggs, pancakes, maple flavored corn syrup and margarine. All high fat! If one bowl of cream based soup put me in the hospital, I didn’t need to continue eating high fat foods.
I’ve learned since then some of the worst foods to eat post cholecystitis are wheat, eggs, sugar, dairy – including butter and ghee, vegetable oil and pork. The first five were in ONE meal!
They did me a favor though. I lost nearly 15 pounds in 10 days and I am quite sure it was not all a gallbladder.
Recommendations
If you are a bit overweight, reduce your plant fats until you are safely at your weight goal. If you quickly gain several pounds from one meal, you still have some clean up to do.
Cut back your fats and limit them to the evening meal. Do not eat sugar or grains with the fat. If you include plant fats, try to eat smaller portions.
Drink more water. Eat more raw plants!
Drink lemon water – every day – no excuses!
Get bloodwork at least twice a year and an annual check up. Take any vitamins that are prescribed. NAC (N-acetyl Cysteine), fat soluble vitamins such as D and E, Milk Thistle and Cat’s Claw should become a daily supplement.
Find yourself an exercise program. Walking 20 minutes is a day is sufficient!
Drink hibiscus tea. This will help with your blood pressure and might just prevent a heart attack or stroke!
Realize when you get “in the system”, you won’t have much say so about your drugs or diet. When you realize you could be just a few bad meals away from a major illness, it is best to do your best while in control.
If you are not used to taking drugs and suddenly need something for pain, read labels! Don’t assume something you were able to take 10 years again is safe to take now! One Advil shot my blood pressure up from 105/70 to 177/111! It took five hours to come back down.
The Gallbladder and Covid-19
We don’t really understand Covid-19!
Harry and I already had Covid-19 back in March. We may have had mild cases because were are WFPB and especially dairy free. Personally I don’t think I would survive it if I caught it again.
Immunity doesn’t last long and you can get it again! You may also contract a different strain. (I have to wonder how effective the vaccine can be).
No one really knows the long term effects either. Covid-19 may have had something to do with my gallbladder attack. My daughter told me two of her friends had a cholecystectomy within 8 months of having Covid-19. Same for me!
I had two sonograms less than 7 weeks apart. The first was unremarkable. However the second showed life threatening cholecystitis. How could my gallbladder deteriorate in such a short time?
These articles support my theory that Covid-19 may accelerate gastrointestinal issues.
Covid-19 attacks ACE Receptors
Acute cholecystitis is likely to be caused by COVID-19
These is a clinical trial just started in October to study the link between Cholecystitis and Covid-19. I am not the only one wondering about a link.
Article update 12-31-2020
I wrote this article in November when my research connected the Corona virus to gallbladder issues.
As of this update, I found an article on WebMD that connects Covid-19 to dozens of other issues.
The article is missing a few connections I have found elsewhere:
Gallbladder disease (cholecystitis) and Parkinsonism.
Parkinsonism is a condition that temporarily mimics Parkinson’s. However, research is now indicating that Covid-19 may actually cause Parkinson’s and not just temporary symptoms.
My concern is that it took over 100 years to link a virus like Epstein-Barr to 9 different diseases. We should pay attention when the Corona virus is linked to over 20 diseases in less than a year!
Article update 2-2-2021
Dr. Vin Gupta, a renowned lung surgeon, was speaking on MSNBC about the Covid vaccines. He showed CT scans of a patients lung TWO DAYS APART. In those two days, the lung developed holes from Covid-19 and the patient died.
This is an example of how Covid-19 can create inflammation and cause organ damage in a very short amount of time.
As I state in this article, I had two sonograms 7 weeks apart. The first showed a healthy gallbladder with a “little sludge”. Seven weeks later my gallbladder had collapsed and I was at risk of septis and/or gangrene.
Regrettably I cannot find an article or images but only videos with ads. If interested you can click on this link to see what Dr. Gupta has to say about the effects of Covid-19 on the lungs.
Although Dr. Gupta does not mention diet, it has become more obvious to me that a WFPB diet might be your best protection against the ravages of Covid-19. I found an article by Dr. Sara Gottfried about Covid-19 long hauler effects and how diet may help your resilience.
Article Update 3/21/2021
There was suspicion and evidence that Covid-19 symptoms could be more severe in persons with diabetes. There now appears that Covid-19 can damage the pancreas and literally cause type-1 or type-2 diabetes!
I further suspect that people with diabetes have a higher risk of being a “long hauler”.
Click on any of these articles:
Symptoms more severe for diabetics
Covid-19 can cause type-1 and type-2 diabetes
