Afraid to eat anything after getting sick (gallbladder disease and lots of other problems) Please read all.?

I've been scared to eat since I first got sick 7 years ago. I do eat, but I think very carefully about what I eat and how much I eat & it's exhausting. I wish I could eat like I used to without having to worry about if what I'm putting in my mouth could cause more medical problems in the future. See 7 years ago I used to be perfectly healthy, had lots of energy, no digestive problems etc and I would eat what I wanted when I wanted, but then I started to have some really weird symptoms. First symptom I noticed was constipation. I didn't think much of it at first, but it continued for days. Then my skin became severly dry (really dry, it felt like sandpaper) and the skin under my arms (armpits) became really dry and scaly and very dark, almost black. Next symptom I noticed was I would sweat alot, even in cold weather. Finally my last symptoms I got was that I started getting severe pains on the lower right side of my abdomen and I would sometimes vomit. Please read additional details.

Ran outta room. I was explaining my final symptoms that I got. I would start getting severe pain on my lower right abdomen and would almost always get the urge to vomit when I would get the pain. I went to several doctors over the years and was told I had everything from skin allergies to ulcers to IBS. I was given medicines for the ulcers and was later prescribed Zelnorm for the IBS, but the pain and rest of symptoms continued for years. I almost felt like giving up, but my family kept me going. I eventually quit my job and moved back home w/ my parents due to my symptoms. I also got severe anxiety during that time due to the continuting symptoms & that was a big factor in me quitting my job & moving back home. After 6 years of suffering, I was referred to a gastrointerologist who diagnosed me w/ gallbladder disease. My gb was full of gallstones, very inflamed & infected. I was scheduled for gallbladder removal. I got my gb removed & no longer get the pain but still have the rest.

Acute cholecystitis is inflammation of the gallbladder that develops over hours, usually as a result of cystic duct obstruction by a gallstone. Symptoms include right upper quadrant pain and tenderness, sometimes accompanied by fever, chills, nausea, and vomiting. Abdominal ultrasound detects the gallstone and sometimes the associated inflammation. Treatment usually involves antibiotics and cholecystectomy.
Cholelithiasis is the presence of one or more calculi (gallstones) in the gallbladder. In the US, 20% of people > 65 yr have gallstones, and most disorders of the extrahepatic biliary tract arise from gallstones. Gallstones may be asymptomatic or cause biliary colic but do not cause dyspepsia. Other common consequences of gallstones include cholecystitis; biliary tract obstruction (usually as a result of bile duct stones), sometimes with infection (cholangitis); and gallstone pancreatitis. Diagnosis is usually based on ultrasound. If cholelithiasis causes symptoms or complications, cholecystectomy becomes necessary.
A gallbladder operation is absolutely necessary:
(1) When an acute inflammation is present. This can be diagnosed by elevated temperature, pain and tenderness in the vicinity of the gallbladder, an elevated white blood cell count, and x-ray evidence of a diseased organ.
(2) When the patient is having recurrent attacks of severe, colicky pain due to the presence of gallstones.
(3) When, in the presence of positive proof of gallbladder malfunction, the patient is suffering from chronic indigestion, nausea, flatulence, and pain in the right upper part of the abdomen.
(4) When jaundice, caused by an obstructing stone, is present.
Eat a low-cholesterol, low-fat diet. This kind of diet includes cottage cheese, fat-free milk, fish (not canned in oil), vegetables, poultry, egg whites, and polyunsaturated oils and margarines (corn, safflower, canola, and soybean oils). Avoid foods with excess fat in them such as meat (especially liver and fatty meat), egg yolks, whole milk, cream, butter, shortening, lard, pastries, cakes, cookies, gravy, peanut butter, chocolate, olives, potato chips, coconut, cheese (other than cottage cheese), coconut oil, palm oil, and fried foods.
Please see the web pages for more details on Gallbladder disease,Cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder) and Cholelithiasis (gallstones)

Seven years is a long time to suffer. If your doctor has been unable to locate an underlying issue (heavy metal poisoning, a disease), perhaps you are experiencing anxiety from the pain and suffering. Try psychotherapy and/or go to a top-notch massage therapist who specializes in energy work -- to help you learn to trust your body once again.

sterilize and eat things

I can help!!! I too had my gallbladder removed and all my food went right through me. The reason this happens is that your liver produces bile (a green liquid substance that helps your body to digest fats). Once the liver produces the bile, it stores it in the gallbladder. When you eat a meal with fat in it, the gallbladder squirts out as much bile as your body needs to digest the fat from that meal.

Your liver still produces bile regardless that you have had your gallbladder removed, however now it has no where to store the bile that it is producing. So what happens is, once the liver produces the bile it goes straight to your lower intestine and sits there in a pool. Once you eat a meal, it hits the pool of bile (which is more bile than is necessary to digest that meal) and you have diarhea.

Being the research queen that I am, and doctors being as useless as they are (because no doctor was willing to acknowlege this problem or offer me advice, even though EVERYBODY I have ever talked to that has had their gallbladder out has had this problem), I have found the antidote.

You must take Calcium suppliments every day. I find that the calcium carbonate works better than calcium citrate (although I have heard the exact opposite, you have to find what works for you). Calcium once digested becomes like a powdery chalk which absorbs the excess bile sitting in your lower intestine. If you do this, you will never go through this again. I take two 600 mg tablets every morning and this works for me. You have to play with the dosage for yourself to see what works. If you take too much calcium you will become constipated, so once you find your dosage stick with it.

I was very happy to come upon this question and that I was able to help you. I promise you that this works. Good luck!

P.S. They sell a very large bottle of calcium carbonate at Walmart and it lasts me a long time :)