NALFD/Gall stones: Has anyone come... - Weight Loss Support

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NALFD/Gall stones

mudgiebananas profile image
18 Replies

Has anyone come across this ,after having stomach pains,blood test and an ultrasound, I have been advised I have raised liver enzymes,NAFLD, and some gall stones,have seen the consultant and because my attacks are about every 2 months, gall bladder removal not being considered at present,however the Consultant suggests a low fat diet,but I was doing well on LCHF 6 months previously,is there a way of combining low carb and low fat ? appears the high fat in carbs,cakes,sweets,pasta rice do not give me attacks but meat fat is a regular attack starter,I was thinking of adjusting the SW diet,to continue with weight loss but cut out the carbs, or does anyone know where I can find an eating plan to suit me,or if anyone has experienced this,not requesting medical advice just asking if anyone has had personal experience of this.

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mudgiebananas
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springersrule profile image
springersruleModerator76kg

Hi Mudgiebananas, I don't have any experience of this but in Topics we do have a post that may help you. Here's a link so you don't have to go looking for it. Hope its useful :-) xx

healthunlocked.com/weight-l...

mudgiebananas profile image
mudgiebananas3lbs in reply tospringersrule

Many thanks Springersrule,lots of information there will be reading every bit,whilst Id like to think Drs know best,the low fat diet was probably the cause of some of my problems ! so I'll look for a combination with all the new information, many thanks again.👍😁

springersrule profile image
springersruleModerator76kg in reply tomudgiebananas

You're very welcome, i hope it helps you to find a way forward. Some doctors still don't understand that low fat products really aren't that good for us xx

HappykindaGal profile image
HappykindaGalVisitor

I had gall stones. It’s essential to keep your fat intake as low as possible as fat will trigger a flare. Less than 5% is ideal.

Please don’t treat it lightly as a stone can get stuck in the biliary tube and not only is that excruciating, it’s dangerous as it infects the whole body. Been there and worn the t shirt and was on a high dependency ward for a week.

Gall stones are created by cholesterol hence fat aggravating them.

I did have mine removed and what a relief that was!

focused1 profile image
focused1Maintainer13kg in reply toHappykindaGal

Agreed about the pain when stones are stuck . I thought I was having a heart attack . I am relieved to be on the waiting list for gall bladder removal . How did you feel afterwards ? Was yours day surgery and where you given advise on what to eat after it ?

HappykindaGal profile image
HappykindaGalVisitor in reply tofocused1

It's horrible isnt it. I was in overnight as they ended up putting in a drain.

Recovery was fast (if I didn't move suddenly 😁😁😀). Pain went completely. Diet wise, my digestion can be tricky if I eat too much fatty stuff, apart from that it's all good 😀

focused1 profile image
focused1Maintainer13kg in reply toHappykindaGal

What is the drain for ?

HappykindaGal profile image
HappykindaGalVisitor in reply tofocused1

If the op has any complications. Mine was touch and go that they may have had to open me up rather than key-hole as the scarring from the stones in the biliary tube and the subsequent infection had left some damage. Purely because the removal was so delayed in the first place. Anyway, they stuck a drain in for some reason, but I was out the next day

focused1 profile image
focused1Maintainer13kg in reply toHappykindaGal

Thanks so much for the detailed info . I was told it was likely I had tube scarring - this I didn't know but it is likely if you have had ERCP. It is good to know as much as I can and I usually get more info from patients than the actual Doctors

focused1 profile image
focused1Maintainer13kg

I ended up in hospital 12 months ago with trapped gall stones and jaundice . I had an ERCP to remove the stones but I am still on a waiting list for gall bladder removal as I was told that although my tightening pains are sporadic the stones wouldn’t go away of their own accord . Depends what you call fats . I still have rapseed oil but don’t have butter or margarine . I have 2 tbsp of full fat Greek yoghurt on porridge but make porridge with water and only have coffee made with the dried skimmed milk in a dolce gusto machine so I don’t have milk in any other form as I drink fruit tea . I only eat full fat cottage cheese -no hard cheese and limit meat to turkey or chicken. I eat fish . If I exercise I need fat in my diet . I need the calcium from dairy . It isn’t just cutting out all the things with fat in them as these foods also contain nutrients that at my age - 62 I need . Your diet can be mindful of fat but for me I feel I don’t want to cut out completely. If I can’t eat a healthy balanced diet then I realise there is something wrong with me . A chat with my consultant/ surgeon actually convinced him that I needed fat in my diet and that gall bladder removal was best . I now have pre op in a few weeks as I feel cutting out vital nutrients would be detrimental long term .

Twiggynot profile image
Twiggynot

I can’t advise you on yor diet as I am no expert but I can only tell you about my own experiences and the decision I made just over a year ago,

I had my gall bladder removed years ago. What this has meant is that I have since then had to be careful not to eat too much fat - so I have semi skimmed milk, low fat cheese etc. so, I was quite surprised to be warned that I had the beginnings of fatty deposits on my liver just over a year ago . I very very rarely drink alcohol so was surprised to hear that NAFLD can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and a diet high in carbs could cause this. I was advised to diet and exercise and lose weight. So, we changed to eating lots more fruit and veg, cut out cakes, biscuits, sweets etc ( all the things I love - I have a sweet tooth). A liver fibroscan a few months later showed the fatty deposits had gone. I have lost two stone in weight. Our increased exercise means I don’t puff so much when walking up hills. Altogether I feel much better and also feel much more mentally alert. I took it as a wake up call. It was so hard in the first weeks as I experienced real sugar cravings ( still do from time to time and they are worse if I relax my rules and have a huge dollop of something sugary). But, I figured I wanted to watch my grandchildren grow up and not succumb to some of the illnesses associated with the lifestyle I was leading.

Although I needed to lose weight, I have been doing so very slowly. I have preferred to see this as a lifestyle change rather than a weight reducing diet. That said, I try to do the weekly weigh in because I still need to lose a couple of pesky pounds to get to my own target of where feels best for me. I still ‘ lapse’ from time to time and I’m currently battling through a very turbulent time with family health and work problems and my old comfort foods have snuck back in on the most stressful days. It’s not easy to change the habits of a lifetime! I do hope you can get the advice you are seeking but I hope you can also make the changes your body is now showing you that it needs to stay healthy.

Cosmo501 profile image
Cosmo501Restart May 2024

Hello @mudgiebananas , yes I also went through something very similar 6 years ago. Trigger foods at that time for me were certain types of animal fats, chicken was the absolute worst, and I quickly found triggers were hidden in all sorts of food. There is hope though!!

I have come out the end pain free, and gall bladder intact. On top of that, I have been able to convert wholeheartedly to LCHF and keto. The very first step though was to stop eating any fat at all so my inflamed gallbladder could calm down and heal..

I'll write my personal experience here, and it might give you a different perspective, and help in some way.

I was at the stage of being taken to A&E every other week in order to manage the pain which was physically debilitating for days on end. I was scheduled to have gallbladder removal due to the inflammation and associated risks. Gallbladder was completely jammed full of sludge and gravel.

Becoming pregnant then increased the frequency of the attacks, and the surgery was to be after the birth.

My GP then gave me simple advice that worked for me:

" The only thing that matters is to reduce the inflammation, and the only way to do that is to stop the gallbladder from being aggravated. The only way to achieve that in the short term is to eat a consistently bland food which will not make the gallbladder "squeeze"... ie NO fat or trigger foods for as long as possible".

He advised only boiled potatoes to start with, then adding in simple steamed veg, like broccoli, then adding steamed white fish. No added ingredients at all.

I was so scared of the ongoing pain that I did manage to follow the advice and kept it up for a few weeks, then months, and then gently added more foods that contained very little or no fat. I remember eating blueberries, grilled tomatoes, grilled fish, boiled potatoes, broccolli for a long time. Once the inflammation subsided I found I could eat lean steak and salmon, spinach, and dry wholemeal bread/toast with no reaction. The list of foods grew quickly.

After about 6 months I came to understand pretty well which ones would trigger a gallbladder attack.

Once I had had my baby, I felt in control enough of knowing how to eat to avoid a gallbladder attack, and really wanted to avoid surgery.

I ended up unfortunately eating a really carb heavy diet for about 3 years because I had no clue at that stage of managing carbs. No gall bladder attacks, but I did put on weight though .

Something had to change! -- I found this wonderful forum here, and various people pointed me in the direction of LCHF. I did a lot of research over about 3 months before I plucked up the courage to try adding fats back into my diet.

I didn't do it half measures. I went completely keto, and held my breath. I had a few gentle 'pangs' from my gallbladder over about a 2 week period, then absolutely nothing. I have not had one issue with gallbladder since then, 3 years ago.

Now I eat low carb generally, sometimes keto for a few weeks or months at a time, and sometimes I go completely off plan and eat far too many carbs. But not one gallbladder attack.

I truly believe it is because I gave the gallbladder a complete break by eating that bland food for such a long time, then slowly introducing non-trigger foods back in.

The overall takeaway point for me was... I needed to stop all fats and trigger foods in order to give the gallbladder time to reduce inflammation and heal.... and only when that had happened I could then introduce a healthier way of eating, in order to achieve weightloss... is LCHF and keto.

I'm wishing you all the best to work through this.

Jack2019 profile image
Jack2019Visitor

my husband had his gallbladder out 20 or so years ago, we eat LCHF with no issues at all, and all his organs are normal. NAFL and gall stones are the result of long term excess carbohydrates. My opinion for your consideration. I would carry on LCHF and be relentless in reducing your sugar consumption trying to avoid having your gall bladder removed down the road and hopefully recovering a healthy liver.

focused1 profile image
focused1Maintainer13kg

Hi . I am reading all these comments and thought the best cure was to have my gall bladder removed . Why are so many against having it removed as I have been told it is key hole day surgery ? I feel I cannot live a normal life in that I would have to have a restricted diet .I don't want a repeat 9 days in hospital with severe jaundice and a very unpleasant ERCP procedure. I am looking for advice here as I pushed for surgery but if people know any implications through experience please could you let me know.

HappykindaGal profile image
HappykindaGalVisitor in reply tofocused1

get rid of it. Best thing i did!

amykp profile image
amykpVisitor

I was diagnosed with the beginning of NAFLD about ten years ago. I went on a low carb diet then, which after a few years became a full on keto diet (yes, high fat, including tons of saturated fat...but extremely low carb.)

I lost a lot of weight, and my liver is completely normal now. I'm still on the diet. Read this: ezra.com/fatty-liver-diseas...

I wonder... I think a lot of doctors don't keep up.

Eryl profile image
ErylVisitor

Have a look on youtube for "Dr Berg" gall bladder" there are videos on relieving pain and for dissolving stones. One important thing is to keep your insulin levels down which was why the LCHF diet gave you relief. The other thing was to take bile salts to increase the ammount of bile so that it dosn't get concentrated and crystals have a chance to form.

Maxy6 profile image
Maxy66kg

There are 2 excellent resources here for NAFL and diet. Since you are in Britain, check out healthunlocked.com/britishl.... I have NAFL and I am a member of both. The second is healthunlocked.com/fatty-li....

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