RNY in 2010 - Now having issues with my Gall Bladder

I am not a success story and have been eating crazy for the last 2 years and now have gained back 50 of my original 100 lb loss. But I now have gall stones. Does anyone else that had surgery have gall stones and can you tell me how you handle it. thanks for any info you can give me.

Even people without WLS have gallbladder problems. I assume you've seen a doctor since you know you have gallstones.

What is the doc saying?

Gallbladder issues are more common with weight loss surgery. I had the surgeon take mine out when it became a problem.

If you're having gallbladder attacks then surgery may be your best option. Other than that you need to lay off the fatty foods especially at night.

How you handle it depends on your symptoms. If you are not getting gallbladder attacks I would just lay off the greasy fatty foods. If you are getting attacks get it out. After 3 major attacks and a few minor attacks I had mine removed and do not regret it at all. I would not wish the pain from an attack on anyone. Hope that helps

I ma coming up on my one year surgi-versary and my gall bladder is NOT happy with me. I'm scheduled for surgery on the 14th to have it taken out. It's a very common problem. My NUT told me they used to just take the gall bladder out at the same time as the bypass, but stopped doing that, because some people were having complications and not every one needs their gall bladder removed.

A common misconception is that WLS causes gallbladder problems. It does not. Rapid weight loss does.

Rapid weight loss triggers gallstones for the same reasons as obesity -- it alters the balance of cholesterol, lecithin, and bile acids, and prevents the gallbladder from emptying adequately. This risk is the same no matter how the rapid weight loss occurs - be it from strict dieting, WLS, illness, etc.

By your own admission, you've not been in rapid weight loss mode for a very long time. In fact, you've gained weight in the last two years.

The biggest controllable risk factor for gallbladder problems is being overweight or obese. This is especially true for women who often have higher levels of cholesterol in their bile, which can cause gallstones. Additionally, when we are overweight the gallbladder enlarges and stops working efficiently. It has been proven that a healthy diet, regular physical exercise, to reduction of excess weight and lower BMI is the best prevention of gallbladder disease.

Once you have the onset of gallbladder problems, eating a low-fat diet is likely to reduce symptoms, as the gallbladder will not be stimulated to release bile into the small intestine. When a person eats fatty foods, the gallbladder contracts to squeeze out bile. If stones are present in the gallbladder they can get trapped which causes pain.

I have no idea how bad your gallbladder issue is at this point. A doctor will need to access if it's treatable with diet, gradual weight loss, and perhaps Ursodiol. If it's past this point, usually a relatively simple surgery called a cholecystectomy to remove the gallbladder is called for. It can usually be done laparoscopically, and you can often go home the same day.

Thank you for your reply. I just read this again and appreciate your knowledge.

My Doc typically removed the Gaul Bladder with RNY because Gaul Bladder issues after RNY were common. So, Doc removed them at RNY time just to avoid the likelihood of GB problems down the road that would require another tough (on the patient) surgery.

I asked the Doc not to remove mine because I preferred not removing healthy organs. Doc agreed that if there were no issues I could keep my GB.

Good bye GB, it was nice knowing you. Apparently my GB was in very poor shape and enlarged. When they removed it they couldn't get all of it and left the ducts to self-seal eventually. I had drainage tubes that couldn't come out until the ducts sealed, which took a couple weeks. And removing the drainage tubes was not as pleasant an experience as you might imagine.

Tek