The Gall Bladder is a pear-shaped organ located under the liver. It is a membranous sac and can hold about 50 ml of fluid. It stores the bile produced by the liver and releases it into the duodenum, in small quantities, through the bile duct. Bile, which is greenish-brown in color, is a digestive enzyme and helps in digestion.
Sometimes, the gall bladder may become diseased. Since its function is also to absorb the inorganic salts in the bile, this may sometimes lead to formation of gallstones. When these stones get stuck in the tiny ducts of the gall bladder, the bile is unable to flow out in a normal manner. This can cause inflammation either in the ducts, or the gall bladder, and sometimes even in the liver.
Gallstones tend to occur when the bile contains extra large quantities of bilirubin or cholesterol, or if it does not contain sufficient bile salts, and in some cases when the gall bladder is unable to empty out regularly or completely.
The patient experiences excruciating pain in the abdomen. It is also a dangerous condition, since there are chances of infection occurring not just in the bladder, but also in the pancreas or liver. If no steps are taken, fever and jaundice might occur, and in some cases even lead to death. In these circumstances, sometimes the only remedy is to surgically remove the gall bladder altogether.
But this surgery is not a magical cure, and removal of the gall bladder comes with its own set of post-operative problems.
Most patients complain of severe digestive disorders. Feeling bloated and heavy after a meal is a common complaint.
Then there are those who develop acute diarrhea, and need to empty their bowels many times in the day. For some the need arises immediately after eating a meal, while in worse cases, it happens even during the process of eating. Many complain that the moment any food enters their mouth, there is an urge to evacuate from the other end.
In some rare cases, constipation is reported. Most post-operative patients complain of immense weight gain after the removal of this organ. Weight loss is unusual, though that too has been reported occasionally, especially in cases related to excessive diarrhea.
The impaired digestion also causes gas and heartburn. While Gall Bladder Removal was often done to get rid of the pain caused by the stones, many patients still experience pain and nausea, weeks and months after the surgery.
Doctors recommend a healthy diet which is low on processed sugars, salts and fat for those who have had their gall bladder removed. Combined with this, they also prescribe a dosage of bile salts, to aid digestion.