Do you have a gallbladder or sluggish liver?

[magsyh]

On my on going quest for answers I have discovered the root of my problem is most likely the lack of my gallbladder. No doctor tells you the problems it is likely to cause you, they just tell you you will be fine after all it's just a gallbladder and you don't need it right? WRONG!

I have nearly all the symptoms of hypo, low ft4 and ft3. It has taken me forever to get my vitamin and mineral levels optimal, I have low iodine and selenium, amino acids, low thyroid and weight that just will not shift! I don't have had his antibodies.

So here's what I have discovered I am passing it on in hopes it may help somebody else.

When you have your gallbladder removed, have a sluggish liver or have gallstones you can not break down fats. You are not producing enough bile. Lack of bile causes low stomach acid and you can't get fat soluble vitamins such as A, D,E and K. We all know the trouble that causes. All this time I have had low cholesterol. Doctor says good for you! No doctor you idiot it's too low and I need more cholesterol! Without it I can't produce hormones or vit D! Without bile you can't use it , it just forms more stones from your cholesterol. So I just discovered all this two weeks ago. I started on a strict diet but nothing happening. So frustrating. Well discovered another thing docs don't bother to inform us about. If you don't have enough bile to break down fat when we eat anything with fat content our livers say oh look at this, some fat, can't deal with that right now so I will store it till I can! So you end up with stubborn fat you can't get rid of because to give it up your liver has to be tricked. It has to break it down and let your body use it for energy. To do this you have to eat as little fat as possible. Coconut oil is allowed as it's the only fat that doesn't need bile to break it down. You have to cut back on carbs big time to push your liver into ketogenesis. This is when it will give up your fat that's stored. You can read plenty about ketogenic diets on the internet. Don't try this if you have a healthy gallbladder. If it's healthy you need to feed your body with good saturated fat. That's the way to nourish your gallbladder. Low fat diets and vegetable oils are bad. Especially sunflower oil. We have been lied to all these years low fat is very bad. I have tried ox bile, it's the most disgusting tasting thing ever and gave me heartburn. I'm now taking milk thistle and have cut out all dairy from my diet, refined carbs. Only eating grains like quinoa, no gluten. Low fat only using coconut oil and past two days yes at last weight is shifting!

The other thing I am doing is taking as many vitamins etc sublingually to by pass my liver.

All this too contributes to hypothyroidism with no hashimotos. What I have read is that if this goes on it will eventually cause leaky gut which will create auto immune.

So I hope this will help somebody out there and peeps please check your liver and gallbladder function. So much info to find if you know what to ask Google!

[Vbgr]

Thank you so much, I have had gall bladder removed and your article explains so much. I Will now read more and make myself better. Val

[jimh111]

This is silly!

The gallbladder stores bile, you still produce exactly the same amount. If you eat lots of saturated fat you will have higher cholesterol and the major component of gallstones is cholesterol. This is why hypothyroids are more likely to suffer from gallstones, they have elevated cholesterol from a sluggish metabolism. Without a gallbladder (or with a diseased one) you don't release a dose of bile when fat enters the duodenum but the liver still produces extra bile. You may not digest fat quite so well but we get far too much nowadays anyway.

I don't see how lack of bile can reduce stomach acid since the biliary tract is downstream from the stomach! In any event there is exactly the same amount of bile, it's just not released so efficiently.

I wasn't aware the liver was responsible for deciding whether we should gain or lose weight. I haven't studied this but it does sound weird. The liver gets rid of stuff from the blood, including dead blood cells which form part of bile. The liver doesn't control other organs or tissues. If the liver doesn't break down fat in our gut then it just passes though, so if you have your gallbladder removed you might lose a tiny bit of weight.

I think we have to be very wary of comments posted online by quack doctors, most of the time it's fairly harmless but sometimes can be dangerous.

Vested Interest: I had my gallbladder removed about 15 years ago and noticed absolutley no difference, apart from the loss of excrutiating pain.

[magsyh in reply to jimh111]

Well you were lucky then! I had 17 years of constant runs. Nothing touched the sides. I've never had high cholesterol? Bile is concentrated in the gallbladder and released when fat passes by. When you don't have one it dribbles out but is not concentrated enough to break down fat. Removing your gallbladder does not remove the cause only the symptoms your liver will continue to suffer as will the rest of your body due to lack of fat soluble vitamins and hormones. Your gallbladder is vital and should never be removed unless it's life threatening. My gallbladder problem was genetic all adult members have had it removed. It's the liver that's tells your body to store fat that's why people without gallbladders are at great risk of fatty liver disease. Doctors put us at great risk by just whipping it out when they feel like it the consequences are not silly at all.

[jimh111 in reply to magsyh]

Many gallbladders are removed unnecessarily, especially in the USA. The decision to remove a gallbladder should be taken after careful consideration, it should not be based solely on vague symptoms (which may be IBS) or the presence of stones (half the population end up with stones). The gallbladder is removed if it is diseased or has stones that are causing symptoms. In such cases the gallbladder is already non-functioning. The body still breaks down fat without a gallbladder, otherwise all patients would suffer from steatorrhea.

Patients with gallbladder disease are more prone to bile acid malabsorption (BAM) which can cause diarrhoea. If you suffer from these symptoms you should get a gastroenterologist referral to check you out. I know of no studies showing lower fat-soluble vitamin levels in patients because of a cholecystectomy. Vitamin D principally comes from sunlight although diet is a useful supplement. The gallbladder is not vital, it is marginally more useful than the appendix. If you have a diseased gallbladder that is causing problems you are at an increased risk of gallbladder cancer (deadly) and pancreatitis which you will certainly be aware of if you have an attack.

The gallbladder should be removed after careful consideration. Low vitamin levels are common in hypothyroids which requires adequate treatment along with vitamin supplementation. The is a lot of rubbish on the internet and we need to take care not to be influenced by quack sites.

[Charlie56 in reply to jimh111]

Hi what's the symptoms of pain from the pancreas thank you

[magsyh in reply to Charlie56]

Not really sure, i have known a few people with pancreaticitis after gallbladder surgery when a stone has been left in the duct and the pain is very simlar to gallbladder pain

[jimh111 in reply to Charlie56]

Agony! I think they can also measure pancreatic enzyme levels in the blood (I'm rusty on this one).

[ajs100uk]

Like everything in life, we all handle things in different ways, including what happens in our bodies and how our bodies react to operations.

I had my gallbladder removed several years ago, as it was septic and completely full of hazelnut sized stones. I often had terrible pain from it. I have never had any problems following the op.

I have, especially over the last couple of years, had increasingly high cholesterol levels. I have also had, at various points in my life, abnormal liver function tests for no apparent reason but at other times my LFTs are completely normal.

I would suggest that maybe, if you really think all your current problems are due to having your gallbladder removed, you are one of the people who has not reacted well to this op. However, only a qualified medical professional would be in the position to confirm this for you.

When one person has a bad reaction to something it does not mean that everyone will react in the same way. I am 100% glad to have got rid of my gallbladder.

As far as I know, you can also have fatty liver disease if you still have a gallbladder.

[greygoose]

I had my gallbladder out in 2003, and the lack of it has never caused me any problems. No fatty liver, no weight gain, nothing. I'd already put on a lot of weight before that, due to low thyroid, and incompetent doctoring. But, got my T3 levels optimised in 2014, and lost over 50 kilos. Neither gaining it, nor losing it was anything to do with my gallbladder.

[Hidden]

Hi all of my family i.e. two sisters and myself have no gallbladder also two of my cousins. All female. I had mine removed in 2006 and my thyroid removed in 2015.

I use organic apple cider vinegar which helps to detox my liver and so does my sister.

It was suggested by my nephew who is a consultant stroke doctor.

The bile has nowhere to go so slowly drips into the intestine instead of storage in the

gallbladder. If I eat too much fat I sometimes have pain where my gallbladder used to be

which is odd, but not very often as I usually eat a healthy diet.

[Hidden]

By the way I forgot to say that my gallstones were not caused by cholesterol but calcium!

I was disappointed when I asked to take them home as they were all stone coloured and roughly the same shape i.e. mini rugby ball.

I have always eaten a healthy diet and have never been overweight.

[magsyh]

Mine were perfectly round size of peas also stone colored about 10 of them. I wonder if mine were calcium? Ive seen pics of green stones but mine were more like yours? Ive always eaten healthy and eat a lot of nuts. Ive cut out nuts now and weight has begun to shift

[jodes86baldwin]

😮 I was diagnosed with gall stones 9 years ago, never bothered to have gall bladder removed. Now have Hashimotos, just started gluten free today