The gallbladder is a small pear-shaped sac in the lower part of the liver, on the right side of the abdomen, that contains about half a cup of yellowish-green fluid called bile. The liver produces liquid bile and then moves it into the gallbladder, where it becomes 4 to 12 times more concentrated than in the liver.
About 700,000 people in the United States had their gallbladder removed last year. The number of these surgeries has increased in the decades since laparoscopy was introduced. Due to the popularity of laparoscopic surgeries, many people believe that gallbladder removal surgery is simple and safe. Although the procedure is not particularly risky, complications after surgery occur on a regular basis.
Doctors refer to these complications as post-cholecystectomy syndrome (PCS). Cholecystectomy is the removal of the gallbladder and the syndrome refers to the group of symptoms that can result after a cholecystectomy. PCS can occur even after surgery performed by a brilliant surgeon with perfect surgical technique who has performed surgery without complications.
Uncertain diagnosis and emergency surgery are risk factors for developing future complications. In most cases, the longer symptoms have lasted before surgery, the greater the risk of developing problems. If cholecystectomy is performed to treat gallstones, approximately 20-29% of patients develop PCS. Younger patients have a greater chance of developing PCS.
The deciding factor for gallbladder removal is the presence of gallstones and severe inflammation. Surgery can remove the gallbladder, but surgery alone cannot eliminate all of the real causes of stones and inflammation. Additionally, gallbladder removal causes additional problems for digestion, proper functioning of the pancreas, liver, and colon.
What are the essential functions of the gallbladder and why is it important to have a healthy gallbladder?
• The most important function of bile is that, together with pancreatic enzymes, it helps the body digest fats. When semi-digested food passes from the stomach to the first part of the small intestine (the duodenum), it is the signal for the gallbladder to contract. Large amounts of concentrated bile are released through the bile ducts into the duodenum for the digestion of fatty foods.
• Bile helps remove harmful fat-soluble toxins, heavy metals, pigments, bile acids, and cholesterol from the body.
• The concentrated bile from the gallbladder has antimicrobial properties that help protect the duodenum from harmful invaders such as bad bacteria, parasites, and yeast.
• In a perfect and normal state, alkaline bile neutralizes acidity and creates the most positive condition for pancreatic enzymes to digest food.
• The gallbladder also serves as a buffer reservoir to prevent high pressure in the bile and pancreatic ducts.
• The bile from the gallbladder stimulates the peristaltic movement of the intestines.
• The concentrated bile from the gallbladder assists in the digestion and assimilation of fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K.
Once the gallbladder has been removed, all of these functions are diminished or impaired. Poorly digested food accumulates in the small intestine, where it harbors an overgrowth of bad bacteria and yeast. This causes a constant fermentation of food, which generates gas and irritation of the small intestine. Ingested food spoils within the gastrointestinal tract as the body struggles to rid itself of this toxic material.
Our body has only two openings for this: the mouth or the anus. Therefore, in an attempt to expel poisons through the mouth, one suffers from belching, heartburn, nausea, and vomiting. As undigested food moves through the intestinal tract, diarrhea, constipation, and pain in the lower abdomen occur. Doctors call this condition small intestine bacterial overgrowth.
With no gallbladder to collect acidic bile from the liver, bile is constantly leaking into the intestine, even when no food is present. It irritates the linings of the duodenum by creating spasmodic contractions of the intestinal walls that lead to “oncoming traffic” – reflux. The aggressive and corroded mixture of bile and pancreatic enzymes flows into the stomach and causes heartburn, inflammation and ulcers. When these aggressive bile acids from the liver move into the colon, they cause diarrhea, inflammation of the colon, or even colon cancer.
This resulting indigestion leads to internal toxicity and deficiency of vital nutrients with psychosomatic symptoms such as depression, anxiety, low tolerance for pain or IBS, fibromyalgia, food sensitivity, and food allergies.
This variety of problems and symptoms requires a variety of treatments. Once the gallbladder has been removed, several alternative non-surgical and drug-free approaches can be very beneficial in reducing the consequences of gallbladder removal.
The goal is to reduce the acidity of the body, decrease cramps and aches, improve the quality and quantity of liver bile, decrease internal toxicity, restore proper digestion, replace nutritional deficiencies, etc.
Curative treatments
It is important for a person suffering from gallbladder problems to eat a healthy diet of alkaline organic foods, eat frequently and in small portions. Many people who have had gallbladder surgery have problems digesting fatty foods. Undigested fats cause liquid, oily, and smelly stools. For that reason, trans fats, animal fat, and fried foods should be avoided.
People without a gallbladder often suffer from food sensitivities and food allergies that require a restricted diet, especially during attacks. Stay away from alcohol, white flour, sugars, soda, and spicy foods. Drinking 8 to 12 glasses of water a day dilutes bile, flushes out toxins, and lowers acidity throughout the body. It is recommended to drink clean and purified water, diluted fresh vegetable juices and mixtures, herbal teas and healing mineral water.
Healing mineral water has a long tradition throughout the world, including Europe, Israel, China, and Japan. However, despite its popularity among people in Europe, this type of healing is basically unknown in the United States and Canada. The most popular healing mineral water to drink is from Karlovy Vary, one of the most famous spas in Europe. The Czech city of Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) has been an eminent center of healing throughout the world since the 18th century.
The demand for this water was high, so Czech doctors began to manufacture the salt from evaporated thermal water. Karlovy Vary mineral water has been used by European doctors to heal people after gallbladder surgery for more than 100 years. Since then, hundreds of texts and clinical articles have been published illustrating the healing effects of water prepared from Karlovy Vary spring salt in both animals and humans without gallbladder.
Karlovy Vary Healing Mineral Water reduces digestive disorders, strengthens the digestive system, normalizes the acid-alkaline balance and supports the proper metabolism of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Its most important action is the improvement of liver function by increasing the production and flow of bile, promoting peristalsis of the intestines and preventing food stagnation in the digestive tract.
Another alternative approach to postcholecystectomy syndrome is acupuncture. Two thousand years ago, the doctors of the East knew the importance of the gallbladder. From the point of view of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the functions of the gallbladder are that:
Stores and excretes bile
Govern decision-making
Tendon checks
Dream effects
It works in conjunction with the liver.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, the liver and gallbladder play an essential role in the smooth flow of Qi (energy) throughout the body. To have a healthy life, which is a function of the liver, you need good decision-making skills, which is a function of the gallbladder.
In recent years, numerous scientific articles have been published on the normalizing action of acupuncture after post-cholecystectomy syndrome. Acupuncture can help relieve abdominal pain and various symptoms such as nausea, heartburn, belching, diarrhea, low mood and energy, insomnia, fibromyalgia, etc.
Other alternative medicine approaches to postcholecystectomy syndrome can include herbs, nutritional supplements, probiotics, colon hydrotherapy, medical hypnosis, and more.
Resume
So you’ve had gallbladder surgery; his gallbladder disappeared. Now is the time to educate yourself to improve your health and eat healthier. Following the suggestions above can help you ease the side effects of gallbladder removal.
The information in this article is presented for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for the diagnosis, treatment and advice of a licensed and qualified professional.
