[PacNW Mom]

Hi - I'm looking for some quick help - will also be running this by our family naturopath this afternoon as well.

On Tuesday morning I woke up with later determined gallbladder attack. I ended up in the ER, the pain was unbelievable. I've had 5 natural births and this was just beyond the pain of bearable.

The ER did an ultrasound, said I had gallstones, but because the gallbladder itself was not inflamed or blocked they didn't advise surgery, gave me a bunch of medication and sent me home.

The only thing they sent me home with was "don't eat fat".

I'm familiar with LC eating, its been a number of years since I've really been LC. I've had two kids in 14 months and the baby is just turning a year now, and I was recently deciding its time to work on the weight issues again. I had dropped some between pregnancies (yeah nursing!) but it came back on again. I've always been successful with a LC or Paleo type eating. I've not done any specific plans for a number of years, but just sort of what works.

Anyway, after some initial research in my drugged up state, I am of the opinion a low fat diet is the opposite of what I should be doing.

However, after the immense pain I was in, I NEVER EVER want to have that again and I'm afraid to eat much of anything! I've been out of the hospital about 24 hrs and have had a few bites of fruit salad (strawberries, melon, blueberries) and made myself a veggie broth soup with some brown rice and veggies last night. Yes, of course there was no fat in any of that. *sigh*

Some info I've read - mostly from Atkins forums say that those who have had gallbladder issues in the past have had none the entire time doing the LC diet.
Another site I read suggested fats, but in the form of avocado, flax and olive oils and advised against any and all red meat and eggs.

I thought I might cry over the thought of never eating red meat.....

So, has anyone had these issues, how did you go about a diet after the attack? Especially anyone with active gallbladder issues.


I should mention that in the past two years I've NOT been LC, its only in the past month that I was starting to transition myself over to a Paleo diet, but would do good for 3-4 days and then slip. This has been a wake up call!

A couple other things -- I'm still nursing my daughter, so I'm concerned about getting enough calories/carbs for that, my daughter is likely allergic to egg, peanut and soy (actually getting that test result today), so I've not eaten egg, soy and peanut for at least 6 months.

Thanks for any advice you can offer

[nomorejellybeans]

I would see a nutritionist. Sorry, that's all I can offer I hope you get your answers soon. It sounds awful.

[Skellig19]

Follow the doctor's advice! I had terrible horrific gallbladder attacks for several years until I went really low fat. Simplified, your gallbladder produces bile that breaks down fat. Gallstones clog the bile duct so when you eat fat, your gallbladder tries to send bile out to digest it and will send gallstones with it that get stuck. That's where the pain comes from. It's called biliary colic and it's horrible and will most likely continue unless you do low fat. There are certain fats that bypass the body's bile system (coconut oil is one) so do some research and start replacing stuff in your diet.

Anectodally, I have been 'bilary colic' free for 5 years since I turned my diet completely around...I used to eat very high fat.

[fadedbluejeans]

For what it's worth: I had my first gall bladder attack when I was pregnant. (presumed, because they couldn't really test due to the baby being in the way). There wasn't much to be done except diet modification, until the baby was born. I didn't have another until about a year later, and they started occurring more often. At that time I was told that once you develop gall stones, you will always develop them. You may not have another attack - that happens when stones blocks the duct leading to the pancreas - or attacks may be frequent. I was advised to have surgery. I am very afraid of surgeries, but decided to go ahead, rather than risk more attacks and/or the worse alternative - pancreatitis. I had laparoscopic surgery - 4 tiny (less than .5 inch) incisions in an outpatient procedure. I went into the OR at 9:15 am Friday and was home sitting on my couch at 12:25 pm the same day. I had no pain that day, minimal discomfort the day after and went to work Monday. Have felt great ever since, and I currently follow a paleo-ish diet = I have grains every once in a while.