Liver cells, called hepatocytes, produce bile, which accumulates in a special depot, the gallbladder, and from it enters the duodenum. It contributes to the full digestion and absorption of fats in the blood. But sometimes this body ceases to function normally. Therefore, many are faced with the question of "whether to remove the gallbladder." This must be done if there are stones in it that interfere with the normal outflow of bile, or a diagnosis of cholecystitis has been made.
Physiological features
Gallstone disease in our time is quite common. It was found that almost 80% of women and about 30% of men face this problem. Many of them are advised to agree to an operation, and only then think about whether there is life after removal of the gallbladder. After all, stones are the cause of constant painful spasms, they can lead to disruptions in the digestive tract and even cause perforation of the walls of this organ, which can be fatal.
But everyone needs to know that the gallbladder is a storehouse of bile. He delivers it to the duodenum in certain portions in order to improve the digestion of food. In addition, this liquid has a bactericidal effect.
After the operation to remove the gallbladder at the biochemical level, a number of changes take place. Failures in the process of production and flow of bile begin. It becomes more fluid, because after surgery there is no longer an organ in which it accumulated and concentrated to the desired state.
It begins to enter the duodenum not in portions, at a time when food enters it, but continuously. However, it does not reach the desired concentration, which means that its pathogenic effect on microbes is reduced.
Changes in the body
After the operation to remove the gallbladder, changes begin. Liver cells continue to produce bactericidal fluid in the same volume, but there is nowhere to store it. The body is forced to adapt to functioning without this body. At the same time, such changes are observed in it:
1. The usual balance of microflora is lost: all bacteria that died under the action of concentrated bile in the duodenum now survive and even begin to multiply.
2. The pressure on the walls of the corresponding ducts increases markedly. Through them passes the entire volume of produced bile, without accumulating in a specially designated depot.
3. The mechanism of use of this fluid is changing. With a functioning bladder, bile could go up to 6 times a day from the liver in the direction of the intestine and vice versa. After the operation, its absorption is more difficult, so most of it is excreted.
Of course, life without a gall bladder is changing. A whole organ is removed from the digestive system. But you can adapt to changes, although recovery is a complex and quite lengthy process. It is important to listen to all the recommendations of the attending physician, because their non-compliance is fraught with the onset of other diseases. Improper nutrition can be an impetus for the development of colitis, enteritis, esophagitis and other pathologies.
Possible problems
In most cases, the life of patients after surgery is markedly improved. Of course, recovery occurs if all the recommendations are followed. Dealing with how to live without a gallbladder, in practice, is not at all difficult. But before deciding on surgery, it is important to understand that cholecystectomy eliminates only the problem organ. But she does not cure other concomitant diseases. Therefore, a number of symptoms that accompanied the patient before surgery may even intensify.
So, some note that after surgery, severe abdominal pain begins, distention is distressing, a feeling of bitterness in the mouth and nausea appear. But, fortunately, this happens only in a few patients who have had their gall bladder removed. Functions in the body from the moment of the operation are redistributed. If before that there were problems with the liver, duodenum or pancreas, then the increased load on these organs leads to a deterioration in well-being. If you follow a diet, taking prescribed medications, the condition stabilizes over time and gradually improves. But this takes time, so in the first few days it is important to follow a strict diet. You can return to normal nutrition about a year after the operation.
Problems also arise in those cases when mistakes were made during cholecystectomy. The condition will noticeably worsen in the following situations:
- the organ was not completely removed;
- stones remained in the bile ducts or their natural state has changed;
- during the operation, a foreign body will enter the abdominal cavity.
It is important that after the operation the patient remains in the hospital and is under the supervision of medical personnel.
First days after intervention
As soon as the patient enters the ward from the operating table and wakes up after anesthesia, he is faced with the necessary restrictions. On the first day only water is allowed. But its quantity is strictly regulated. Even with severe thirst per day, you can drink no more than 1.5 liters. Later, you can already start drinking mineral water, weak tea (it should not be hot), low-fat kefir, unsweetened compotes, and eat mashed potatoes on the water. It is also important to limit salt intake. This food must be adhered to for a week.
What you can eat after removing the gallbladder, you can find out right in the hospital. In hospitals, information stands are often placed on which a sample menu is painted for the weeks after cholecystectomy.
But it’s important not only to remember the allowed products. It is also necessary to observe the diet, otherwise it can lead to the formation of stones. The fact is that bile is removed from the ducts during meals. Therefore, you need to eat at least 5 times a day. If this is not done at such a frequency, then bile will accumulate. Because of this, stones can form in the ducts or the process of inflammation in the abdominal cavity can begin.
Diet number 5a
If you do not think about fatty and fried foods, you will understand that your life has only improved after removing the gallbladder. Of course, gastronomic addictions will have to change. In the early days, patients should adhere to a special diet No. 5a.
Selected sparing nutrition helps to restore the liver as soon as possible and reduce the inflammatory process that occurs in the pancreas and bile ducts. The diet after removal of the gallbladder is designed for the patient to establish the work of the digestive system in a short time.
For 1-2 months, you can only eat boiled or steamed products. The calorie content of food at this time is quite high - you need to eat about 2300 kcal. Proteins - fats - carbohydrates in this case, in the diet should be distributed as follows: 100 - 50 - 280 g, respectively. The amount of fluid used is limited to 1.5 liters, a rosehip broth is considered useful. Salts per day can be no more than 8 g.
Finding out what you can eat after removing the gallbladder, it is worth paying attention to the fact that soups must be present in the diet. They are cooked in water with the addition of mashed vegetables: carrots, tomatoes, cauliflower. To increase satiety, cereals are added to soups - rice, semolina or oatmeal. Vermicelli is also allowed.
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In preparation for the operation, you need to find out in advance what the menu should be like after removing the gallbladder. Recipes for every day will be useful to every patient.
So, from meat and fish dishes are allowed dumplings, meatballs, steamed, soufflé, meatballs, rolls. For cooking, you need to use only chicken, beef, hake, cod, pike, pike perch. Meat or fish can also be eaten just with a piece, you just need to remove the skin. For a variety of menus, you can cook noodle casserole with low-fat minced meat.
Also, with diet No. 5a, you can eat 1 egg per day or make yourself an omelet of proteins for a couple. Curd is allowed to use in the form of puddings or soufflé. It is desirable that it be fresh, low-fat.
Emphasis can be placed on vegetables. But the diet in the first days after removal of the gallbladder is quite strict. During this period, they can not be eaten raw. Zucchini, pumpkin, carrots, potatoes must be boiled or stewed. You can mix them with cottage cheese.
Do not forget about fruits and berries. But at first, the emphasis should only be on compotes, jellies, mousses. You can give preference to baked apples. Grape lovers should remember that after removing the gallbladder, it is better to eat it without a peel. All juices should be diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 1.
But sugar and products containing it (for example, jam or jams) must be discarded. From sweet you can honey. Yesterday’s wheat bread, crackers and pastry dough cookies are also allowed.
Diet number 5
After two months of severe restrictions, doctors recommend starting to gradually expand your diet. This should be done carefully so as not to overload the liver, pancreas and bile ducts. A gradual change in nutrition stimulates the digestive organs, triggers compensatory mechanisms, and positively affects healthy organs and systems.
Menu diet No. 5 after removal of the gallbladder can significantly increase the calorie intake. It rises by 700-900 kcal. This is due to an increase in the amount of fats (up to 100 g per day) and carbohydrates - up to 400 g. Starting from this time, you can safely start drinking 2 liters of liquid.
Rye bread is included in the diet, however, it should be yesterday or dried. You can also start eating soups prepared on the second broth, but not more often than every other day. The diet includes borsch, pickle, beetroot.
During this period, even lovers of a tasty meal begin to say that life without a gall bladder is quite possible. Reviews indicate that the majority of people are satisfied that they got rid of the problem organ. Of course, the first 2 months are difficult for many to withstand. But with the memory of the pains that I experienced through malfunctioning of the gallbladder, the restrictions cease to seem so severe.
Two months after the operation, you can eat pilaf made from boiled meat, make potato casserole, stuffed cabbage, stuffed peppers, stews, meatballs, beef stroganoff. This is not a complete list of allowed dishes. During this period, it is even allowed to eat meat pies, pasta with cheese in tomato, dumplings and cheesecakes with cottage cheese, cottage cheese.
You can diversify the menu with low-fat and non-sharp varieties of cheese, sour cream and cream (in reasonable quantities), honey, jam, curd soufflé with apples. You can also start eating raspberries, currants, plums, grapes, citrus fruits, strawberries and strawberries. Juices can no longer be diluted with water, tea with lemon is also allowed.
It is clear that life will change after removal of the gallbladder, but, as can be seen from the permissible diet, patients will not have to infringe on themselves. Of course, you will have to refuse fatty and fried foods, but everything else remains available. It is allowed to add sunflower, olive and even butter to dishes. But only fresh.
Such nutrition throughout the year allows you to organize the work of all the remaining digestive organs and to accustom the body to function normally without the gall bladder.
Possible complications
In some cases, it happens that the operation does not bring the long-awaited relief. Even with strict diet, in some patients, the condition may worsen. The patient may have a fever, vomiting with bile. The feces also change - it becomes light, greasy, sticks to the walls of the toilet. Vomiting brings the patient long-awaited relief - nausea passes, the feeling of pain in the right hypochondrium decreases noticeably. It is important to know that these symptoms require medical advice. They may indicate a violation of the outflow of bile into the duodenum and stagnation of this fluid there.
You can fix the situation with the help of food. In this case, the doctor can explain to you how to live without a gall bladder and what consequences await if you do not listen to the recommendations. In such a situation, it is important to normalize the process of secretion of this fluid and improve motor function of the intestine. This requires a diet with an increased amount of fat. It is necessary to limit simple carbohydrates and refractory fats. The emphasis should be on vegetables and fruits with a high fiber content. This enhances the choleretic effect of food. The amount of fat rises to 120 g (vegetable and animal fats should be equally divided), while carbohydrates and proteins remain at the same level as with the usual diet No. 5.
From snacks, you can afford small amounts of doctor sausage, homemade meat paste, low-fat ham and soaked herring.
Food changes in this way for 2, sometimes for 3 weeks. When the condition improves, and the signs of bile stagnation are eliminated, you can return to the usual menu, adhering to the principles of diet No. 5.
Important Nuances
If you want your life to improve as quickly as possible after removing the gallbladder, then you must follow all the recommendations given. You can also help the biliary tract. To do this, in the morning on an empty stomach, the so-called tubage is done. This use of warm alkaline water, which helps relieve spasms, stimulates the outflow of bile and has the necessary anti-inflammatory effect. It is done as follows: in the morning lying in bed, you need to drink 1 glass of mineral water heated to 45 0 C and lie down after that for at least another 10 minutes. You can do this once every 5 days, provided that you tolerate the procedure well, and after it passes a feeling of heaviness in the right hypochondrium.
Relief by alternative medicine methods
In order not to wonder about how to live without a gall bladder, and not be afraid of feeling unwell, you need to know in advance what folk choleretic drugs are. For these purposes, special herbs are used. Healers choose those plants that stimulate the bile secretion of the liver. Many recommend drinking tea brewed from a sandy immortelle, common tansy, peppermint, and wild rose.
You can also buy in any pharmacy a collection of special herbs called "Cholagogue tea." It is recommended to drink it twice a day in small quantities: enough for a single dose 1/3 cup. The course is from 7 to 10 days, after its completion a break is required. You can repeat it regularly for preventive purposes or in those cases when you begin to feel a deterioration in well-being.
Required load
Figuring out how to live without a gall bladder, and what consequences await, do not concentrate only on the negative sides. It is necessary to evaluate the operation as an impetus to positive change. Proper
fractional nutrition will not only improve the functioning of the digestive system, but can also significantly improve well-being.
In addition to changing the diet and diet, you must remember about the necessary physical activity. There are special exercises that stimulate the outflow of bile and the general blood supply to liver cells. They can be performed by almost all patients. For example, faster walking will help improve life without a gall bladder. Reviews indicate that even 20-30 minutes a day is enough. Brisk walking stimulates increased breathing. This contributes to the fact that the diaphragm presses on the liver and squeezes out clots of bile and blood that has stagnated. Over time, walking can be replaced by slow running.
If it is difficult for the patient to walk at a fast pace, then you can simply perform breathing exercises. They are made on an empty stomach about 3 times a day in cycles of 3-4 approaches. First, you need to inhale the stomach so that the chest remains stationary, and hold your breath for 3 seconds. After that, it is necessary to release sharply all the air and draw in the stomach, bringing it as close as possible to the spine. This helps the liver to grip between the back and the abdominal muscles. By the way, these exercises can be done not only after surgery, but also in the case when there is simply stagnation in the gallbladder. , .