I had my gallbladder removed when I was 21 (I'm now 42). It was the most painful experience of my life. I'd prefer childbirth over a gallbladder attack or surgery any day. It's always puzzled me that I had gall stones & surgery at such a young age. I've always eaten well, exercised daily, drank water etc. I still wonder about the possibility of some sort of connection with my acne. And now that it's many years later, I would like to know how well my liver is functioning. I have had blood work done and it always says I'm in great health and all my organs are working well... But then, why the acne?

I had my gallbladder removed a few years ago (at 23). I assume it was a result of taking Yaz for a few years, though I do have two grandparents who had theirs removed and my dad needed his removed recently. However, I would advise against having it removed if you can at all avoid it. FIrstly, my "attacks" got even worse (though less frequent) after my surgery. If I eat something too greasy/oily I have SERIOUS pain, like Emergency Room-worthy pain, and it'll basically be like that for the rest of my life. Second, though it's not quite a necessary organ, your gallbladder does serve a purpose and it's just better for your overall health and your system if all of the working parts are there. That might be more of a philosophical point, but it's also proven true for me. My advice would just be to take good care of your overall health, eat well, exercise, heal digestive issues if you have them. The rest will, ideally, fall into place.

I had my gallbladder removed a few years ago (at 23). I assume it was a result of taking Yaz for a few years, though I do have two grandparents who had theirs removed and my dad needed his removed recently. However, I would advise against having it removed if you can at all avoid it. FIrstly, my "attacks" got even worse (though less frequent) after my surgery. If I eat something too greasy/oily I have SERIOUS pain, like Emergency Room-worthy pain, and it'll basically be like that for the rest of my life. Second, though it's not quite a necessary organ, your gallbladder does serve a purpose and it's just better for your overall health and your system if all of the working parts are there. That might be more of a philosophical point, but it's also proven true for me. My advice would just be to take good care of your overall health, eat well, exercise, heal digestive issues if you have them. The rest will, ideally, fall into place.

 

Hm, I've been taking diane for 2 years now but I've been on birth control for a few now. gallbladder issues run in the woman in my family and taking a high estrogen pill of course has me worried. did you stop your bcp after your gallbladder issues or did it come after you stopped bcp (if you did?)

sorry did you mean that you had yours removed but would advise against it? if one has gallstones though is there another way round the issues than getting the gallbladder removed? I always thought that was the only option. I don't really understand how gallstones form, I've looked it up many times its frustrating though how there cant be a set of rules meaning how estrogen seems to be a big factor in it rather than just like 'avoid processed foods'. I'm definitely looking after myself though..amongst my battle/debate of what to do about bcp. I know I need it for my acne but I swear I dont think I'm ready to deal with the aftermath of coming off it :/ I dont actually know what my body is like off the pill as I was put on it at like 15-16 :/ safe to say I hate hate hate doctors how they hand bcps out like candy not one warning is given except 'yeah it will stop you from getting pregnant' -_- I wish I could turn back time thats for sure

Hm, I've been taking diane for 2 years now but I've been on birth control for a few now. gallbladder issues run in the woman in my family and taking a high estrogen pill of course has me worried. did you stop your bcp after your gallbladder issues or did it come after you stopped bcp (if you did?)

sorry did you mean that you had yours removed but would advise against it? if one has gallstones though is there another way round the issues than getting the gallbladder removed? I always thought that was the only option. I don't really understand how gallstones form, I've looked it up many times its frustrating though how there cant be a set of rules meaning how estrogen seems to be a big factor in it rather than just like 'avoid processed foods'. I'm definitely looking after myself though..amongst my battle/debate of what to do about bcp. I know I need it for my acne but I swear I dont think I'm ready to deal with the aftermath of coming off it :/ I dont actually know what my body is like off the pill as I was put on it at like 15-16 :/ safe to say I hate hate hate doctors how they hand bcps out like candy not one warning is given except 'yeah it will stop you from getting pregnant' -_- I wish I could turn back time thats for sure

 

So, my gallbladder was so full of stones that it was in danger of rupturing, which could be fatal. (Don't freak out-- if you had this situation, you would KNOW it, as you'd be in excruciating pain with vomitting and diarrhea anytime you ate fried food.) If you find out you do have gallstones but it is not causing you frequent pain or you're not in danger of rupture, I would say don't get it removed, but of course that's your own choice. You can live a perfectly healthy life with a couple of gallstones, if they're not causing you pain often. Doctors are VERY quick to remove it if you have any stones, but I would only opt for surgery if you absolutely need to. Once you remove it, you can't get it back, and as I've said I don't feel like it's good for your system overall to have an organ missing, or to have your body cut open (which as another poster mentioned, was an extremely painful surgery, even laparoscopically). Also, as I mentioned, my attacks are worse now than they were before. No one has been able to tell me why this is but I just do my best to avoid greasy/oily foods and I haven't had an attack in months. Still, this completely contradicts what every doctor, person I know who has had the surgery, and online resource told me, which is that I'd be able to eat anything I want and never have even a stomach ache again! I was on birth control (Nuvaring, not Yaz) for about two years after my gallbladder surgery. I went off it in April of this year because I didn't like other side effects it caused, mainly mood swings. My skin is bad right now but it was clear for four months after I stopped birth control. That and a few other things make me think my acne right now isn't hormonal. If you're worried about hormonal breakouts going off birth control, you could look into Spiro. Though I would say try going off it (if that's what you want, which it seems like it is), give it a few months for your hormones to regulate themselves, and then if you're right you can go on Spiro. I was convinced my skin would break out when I went off the pill, and it didn't for four months. Right now, my skin is broken out but it isn't cysts like my hormonal acne always has been in the past and I'm pretty convinced that it's a completely different cause. So you never know. But basically, I wouldn't worry about my gallbladder until/unless you get an attack, and take it from there. There's lots of info on the web about "natural" things you can do for your gallbladder. I would take them all with a grain of salt, and I've heard that gallbladder flushes don't work so don't bother with those. But you definitely can live with gallstones and my advice is only have the surgery as an absolute last resort.

Today I leaned of some pretty scary information: both my mother and my aunt (mom's side of the family) had their gallbladders removed several years ago.

The connection among a toxic gallbladder, acne, chronic fatigue, and IBS like symptoms first revealed itself to me in this thread:

But at the time I merely took note of the idea and filed it away in the back of my mind. Now, this idea hits much closer to home. I am (finally) seeing a functional medicine practitioner at the end of the month and will certainly bring this up. Doing a cleanse of some sort is something I really want to do this summer but I am waiting to do so until I consult with an integrative health professional and have read and researched which exactly to do first and how.

Generally eating healthy, even permanently eliminating wheat, dairy, and other common food allergens, along with taking a handful of supplements, is not enough - at least not for chronic long-term symptoms indicative of leaky gut. The focus has to be detoxification and gut repair or in particular the 4R program (remove, repair, restore, rebalance).