Diet After Gall Bladder Surgery

The gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped organ that lies beneath the liver inside the abdomen. The gallbladder stores bile produced by the liver and releases it as needed for digestion. Sometimes the gallbladder needs to be removed because it produces stones or fails to function correctly. Gallbladder removal is usually performed laparoscopically through tiny incisions in the abdomen, and recovery is quick. However, you'll need to make some temporary diet changes afterward.

Diet Immediately After Surgery

• After gallbladder surgery, you'll be put on a liquid diet for a short time. Any abdominal surgery is likely to cause nausea, gas, bloating and discomfort, and keeping digestion at a minimum level is advisable for the first hours after surgery.

Gradual Return to a Normal Diet

• A few days after surgery, you can return gradually to a normal diet while still avoiding gas-producing vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower, high-fiber grains, or nuts and seeds that could cause digestive difficulties. Your doctor may advise you to increase the fiber in your diet to counteract constipation that occurs after surgery. Your doctor also will advise you how quickly to return to your normal eating patterns.

Back to Normal Eating

• Most patients return to normal eating habits after gallbladder surgery. However, some people find that the foods that gave them trouble before the surgery still give them indigestion after surgery. You may want to limit the amounts of dairy products, high-fiber breads and cereals, fried foods and spicy foods you eat. Your digestion may improve six to eight weeks after surgery.

Diarrhea after Gallbladder Surgery

• About 10 percent of patients report post-surgical symptoms of chronic diarrhea after eating. This often clears up after six to eight weeks, either on its own or with dietary management and avoidance of foods that cause looseness of stool. Sometimes it can become an ongoing problem that you need to discuss with your doctor. Diarrhea soon after eating can be a sign of "dumping," in which large amounts of bile are released to help digestion. Because the gallbladder is no longer there as a holding pen, the bile is released immediately and directly into the intestines, causing loose stools and urgent diarrhea. When this condition does not clear up on its own, doctors may prescribe Questran or Welchol, which counteract the bile salts. Supplements such as Caltrate 600D also may aid this condition.