Hello all, I made a separate post for this in the hopes of hearing from those of you who have had this problem or know something about it.

For the past couple months, I've had some pretty severe pain from below my ribs to below my belly button. It went on for hours and I could not find a consistent trigger for it in my foods (I am in maintenance almost 6 months). Finally went to see my doctor and got a sonogram for possible gallbladder problems.

Well, I do have gallstones, which is not surprising for someone who was obese for so many years. Apparently they can form and take years to be released, so even though I'm on a low-fat diet now, they are still there. What was surprising to both of us was that my liver enzymes are way elevated. I have taken many meds over the years for my rheumatoid arthritis, and never had trouble with the liver enzymes, so this was a surprise, and when they were tested in June, they were just fine.

I have to see a gastroenterologist for an opinion on what is causing the liver problem, with the possibility that it is the gallbladder doing it, and that may have to come out. I really don't want to do that, both for the expense and the invasion of my body.

==> Has anyone had problems with the gallbladder or liver? I'm thinking that it may be more common than not, given our mutual weight problems. I think somebody mentioned here that they had gallbladder problems, but for the life of me, I can't remember who or when.

==> I also want to find a good book to help me understand basic human biology, so if anyone has suggestions, I'd appreciate it. If I have to agree with some procedure, I'd like to at least understand what I'm agreeing to and why it is needed.

This all reinforces, for me anyway, the importance of working with your doctor, your MD, while on the diet and afterwards. So many things can be wrong because of the darn fat, and it is so important to get the bloodwork done and tell your doc what you're doing. We may be motivated to look great and fit into those size 10's, but our health is PARAMOUNT.

Margaret

I had/have gallbladder problems. Almost exactly 2 years ago I found out what I thought was indigestion was actually gallstones and gall-sludge-- basically small stones. After a while, I was in severe pain and the recommendation was surgery to remove my gallbladder. In preparation for my surgery, I had a blood test and found out I was pregnant. My surgery was immediately postponed. Fast forward to today, and I still have not had my gallbladder taken out. It bothers me occasionally, but I found that healthier eating has helped a lot. Doesn't mean that I won't have to get it removed one day. It is interesting that it started bothering you AFTER you lost so much weight. I know that some foods are more likely to create the stones and irritate the gallbladder. I hope that it isn't from IP food. I have been feeling much better while on this diet. I don't know anything about the liver, sorry. I hope that the doctors can help you figure it out and that you don't have to have your gallbladder removed, although, if you do, the surgery is MUCH simpler than it used to be. Good luck to you!

Liver enzymes can be elevated if you have gallstones, particularly if they have traveled to the common bile duct and are periodically blocking it. Gall bladder surgery is pretty benign, and can be done in most cases laparoscopally with little effect to you in the long term. People may have trouble digesting very fatty meals without the gallbladder, but it gets better over time.

I personally like the 'You' books by Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roisen. They have a general health book called 'You: the owner's manual' and "you: on a diet' which I find to be interesting and easy to understand. They explain how and why what we eat causes us to become fat and how the body works to process food, fat, carbs, etc., and general well being information. They have one called 'You: The Patient' which gives readers good explanations of various health problems and how to talk to your MD's.

I have gallstones, it only hurts when I eat really fatty foods. And when it hurts, it hurts I compared it to contractions. As long as I am eating healthy, it doesn't really bother me.

Thanks all. I do remember that, in my prior life, when I'd eat a high fat meal, I would get terrible, terrible intestinal cramps and I did have pain in my upper right side and would end up with horrible nausea and diarrhea. (sometimes I still can't believe what we talk about here ) , so I suspect that was gallbladder and I just didn't know it.

The thing is, now I'm really low fat. I guess the gallstones can still work their way out over time. I just hate the idea of them cutting into me and taking out an organ that must be useful or it wouldn't be there. It's not like an appendix.

One step at a time... I just ordered a couple of books from the library to understand the body and terms, so I can ask more intelligent questions of my doctors. Funny, I cared about my body before, but now that I've worked so hard to get here, I really want to understand it more. It helps to motivate me to do better.

In March, I had surgery on my liver. I had been taking birth control pills and developed tumors of vessels all over my liver from the hormones. I went to the hospital in a lot of pain, they thought it was my gall bladder, but on of the adenomas hemmoraged. So, if you have been taking birth control pills for any length of time, it's something to consider. Just thought I'd throw it out there.

I had gastric bypass surgery several years ago and gallstones were very common in post-op patients. We were told it was related to losing a significant amount of weight in a relatively short period of time.

slimming - i took birth control, but it was many years ago in my 20's, and i'm 59 now. thanks, though.

angie - that makes sense. it's as though the body is trying to achieve equilibrium again. even though you are not eating much fat, there is all this stored bile in the form of gallstones, so it needs to get rid of them to balance things out. i may be wrong, but that's what i'm thinking...

one day at a time, i guess. i couldn't sleep last night for worrying about it. but, i didn't indulge in anything terrible, so that's a win. i was thinking that the amount of spinach i eat everyday is causing a problem, but even 2 cups of frozen spinach in my smoothie has 8% of the total iron need, so that would not cause a problem in the liver. am glad, because it's the first time in my life that i've been 'regular.'

Don't stress if you do have to have your gallbladder out. I had mine removed a few years ago. The Dr said it was packed solid with stones. It was treated as day surgery. 3 tiny incisions that required 1 stitch each. I have had many surgeries and that was definitely the easiest of the bunch with the added bonus of no more gallbladder pain.

I read somewhere that high protein/low carb diets will cause liver enzymes to be high. Basically, your liver is where protein is metabolized. Increased protein equals more work for the liver. Also, glucose has to be pulled from fat and protein since you're not really taking any in and that also means more work for the liver. Please don't quote me on this, it's been a while since I read this and I may have remembered something wrong. Maybe try googling high protein diet elevated liver enzymes and see if you can get info from a reputable source.

Also, thyroid issues cause elevated liver enzymes.... Not sure of your medical history...

I had my gallbladder removed 10 years ago. I have not had any problems.

I would stay away from high fat foods as that aggravated the gallbladder. I have not had any liver problems.

Hope your doctors can help you.

thanks all. I haven't been keeping up my food log, as I eat the same stuff everyday in maintenance, but I'm going to do that now, and calculate how much protein I'm getting. I eat meat only at dinner, but use the soy or whey protein powder at other meals. Maybe I'm getting too much...

If you do have your gallbladder removed, does that mean you can never have fat again? What happens if you do have a fatty meal?

Having my gall bladder did not make me change my eating habits at all (unfortunately). I can eat whatever I want (well I could before IP that is). The only difference is no GB pain. Not sure if that is true for everyone though.