re: When people say they need to run to the bathroom after eating certain foods?

quote:

---

The past two weeks or so, my stomach has been jacked up.. no matter what I eat, 20-25 min after, i have discomfort in my stomach that makes me have to go to the bathroom.. my stool has been soft as hell but not runny and tbh it smells way worse than it used to.. I'm almost 30 now, is this something that older guys deal with on a daily basis or is it something else?

---

I'm 27 and was diagnosed last year with a low functioning gallbladder. It was functioning in the teens, so I went ahead and had it removed at the earliest opportunity. I'm not overweight, but until then, I never really watched what I ate. Probably got so bad due to years of abusing fast food and junk food.

Most people will say that you don't need a gallbladder and there is no long term diet you will have to follow post-surgery or any noticeable changes to your digestion afterwards. In my case this wasn't exactly true. I found myself running to the bathroom about 30 minutes to an hour after eating the first meal of the day every day. I could eat a large pizza by myself for dinner and not have any problems. I just had to be near a bathroom after I ate lunch. They say this is due to the bile that now continuously leaks into your intestines acting as a laxative in some people. I take a pill to mop up excess bile and for the most part, that problem is resolved although I still get my fair share of gas, bloating, and belching after eating certain foods. I don't believe for a second that not having a gallbladder hasn't impeded my digestion in some fashion. If I eat a large fried chicken breast, there is no reservoir of bile that releases a large amount at a time to help digest the fat. Instead, there's a slow trickle which cannot possibly be enough to adequately digest some foods. It is pretty well manageable though. I still pretty much eat what I want though I've cut back on at least the Chinese food (for lunch), fast food, and junk food. I worry about complications later on down the line and nutritional deficiencies that result from poor digestion, but there's not a lot I can do now so I just hope for the best.


In your case, could be that, but it could be a lot of other things too. Doctors want to chalk everything up to IBS at first glance, especially for young people. Anti-anxiety medication can lessen IBS symptoms.