Drinking alcohol after gallbladder removal

Patients who have had surgery to remove their gallbladder (cholecystectomy) are usually prescribed a strict diet by doctors. An organism that has lost one of its important organs adapts to live in new conditions, so it needs a sparing regimen. One of the strictest prohibitions is imposed on the consumption of alcohol.

All food contains bacteria, and often pathogens. To protect the body from them, a special secret is produced in the liver – bile, which accumulates in the gallbladder. When food enters the stomach, bile from the gallbladder enters the duodenum and disinfects its contents. In a healthy person, the amount of bile secreted is directly proportional to the amount of food eaten.

If the gallbladder is removed, then the body simply has nowhere to accumulate bile “for the future.” Some functions of the missing organ are taken over by the bile ducts, but their volume is too small. Therefore, patients who have undergone cholecystectomy, doctors strongly recommend fractional nutrition: eat often, but little by little. Once in the body, alcohol provokes spasms of the bile ducts. The access of bile (which is already critically small) into the duodenum is much more difficult.

Alcohol causes appetite, and strong drinks are usually eaten with spicy, salty or fatty foods that are contraindicated in patients after cholecystectomy. As a result, a lot of food enters the stomach, and there is not enough bile to process it. The regular repetition of such situations leads to the fact that gradually the beneficial intestinal microflora is replaced by pathogenic bacteria. The patient has severe pain and indigestion.

After cholecystectomy, the body is weakened and needs to adapt. A person who has undergone such an operation and abuses alcohol is at a serious risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver. In addition, alcohol also causes spasms of the pancreatic ducts, gastric juice stagnates in them, which inevitably leads to pancreatitis.

The gallbladder and its function

Before answering the question of when you can drink alcohol after removal of the gallbladder, and whether it is possible at all, it is necessary to analyze in detail the work of the gallbladder. This organ is a satellite of the liver , actively involved in the process of digestion , performing the following functions :

• Decomposition of fats and activation of enzymes of the intestine, pancreas,
• Participation in the digestion of food , stopping the action of gastric juice if necessary,
• Bactericidal action , impact on the absorption of nutrients.

Bile accumulates in the body and, if necessary, is released by it. In its absence, there are difficulties with digestion, problems in the fight against intoxication, including alcohol. If the work of the organ is disrupted and becomes unstable, which happens at high loads on the body , similar problems also arise.

Removal of the bladder, or cholecystectomy , is performed for chronic problems, diseases that cannot be managed otherwise. Cholesterosis, polyps, colic, chronic cholecystitis, cholangitis and other serious diseases lead to the need to remove the organ. This is a very complex operation, after which long-term treatment and recovery of the body is necessary. During the recovery period, the doctor prescribes the patient to adhere to a strict diet, which may extend for more than one month . And the use of alcohol is prohibited throughout this period. Immediately after the operation, you can not even drink water for 3 hours. Then the doctor prescribes a diet, adhering to which for a given period , it is possible to transfer the body to a new mode of operation. Initially, an organism without a bladder is very vulnerable, but then the liver ducts change their functions, begin to protect the digestive system from bacteria, and so on. The hepatic secret begins to be dosed independently in its emissions.

Drinking alcohol after removal of the gallbladder means damaging the liver , which already begins to work for two organs. Most doctors point out that after removing the bladder, it is advisable to give up alcohol for life , and stick to the diet for life as well.

Drinking alcohol in patients with gallbladder removal

It is advisable not to drink alcohol after removal of the gallbladder at all. The first two to three years after the operation, while all body systems are adapting, it is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol.

Many patients voluntarily give up alcohol forever, because people with a removed gallbladder after taking strong drinks often begin vomiting, bouts of pain, and indigestion.

But even if there are no such symptoms, this does not mean that the patient is allowed to drink alcohol. Alcohol can cause serious damage to the body, and this must be remembered.

However, alcohol occupies a fairly large place in our culture, and some people find it difficult to maintain absolute sobriety. Weddings, anniversaries, meetings with friends – all these events are not complete without noble intoxicating drinks.

In order not to look like a black sheep, but also not to cause irreparable harm to health, patients with a removed gallbladder should follow several rules:

• the first three years after the operation do not drink alcohol at all;
• forever abandon cheap low-quality alcoholic beverages;
• three years after the operation, in the absence of pain, vomiting and other unpleasant symptoms, you can drink 50 g of vodka or 100 g of good natural (not fortified) wine once every six months;
• from carbonated drinks: champagne and beer – it is better to refrain. Distillates containing fusel oils are also not welcome: cognac, tequila, whiskey;
• fatty, fried and spicy snacks are not allowed. Dairy dishes, rice and sweets (without butter cream) are almost ideal for snacks. Well neutralize the effect of alcohol yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese (hard and rennet), honey;
• traditional hangover remedies: cucumber or cabbage pickle, carbonated mineral water – you can’t drink. Coffee is also more likely to harm. But non-carbonated water at room temperature, fermented milk products (kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt) will help get rid of nausea and headaches. To make drinking water more pleasant, it is recommended to put a crystal of sea salt or a pinch of regular salt on the tongue.

Removal of the gallbladder is not a sentence, and a person after such an operation can return to a normal lifestyle. But it is necessary to treat your health very carefully and strictly follow all the prescriptions of doctors.

Attention! There are contraindications. Check with your doctor.

Alcohol after gallbladder removal – drinks, timing and dosage

Whiskey, cognac, tequila are drinks that should be avoided. High-quality vodka, red wine is considered acceptable . You can not choose drinks with dyes, you should also refuse any low-quality alcohol with fusel oils, this is extremely dangerous for an already weakened body.

After three years of rehabilitation and complete restoration of the digestive tract for six months, you can take 50 g of vodka or 100 g of unfortified wine, in the future, the dosage can be increased after six months, with the permission of the doctor . To reduce the risks of taking alcohol, use fermented milk products , which perfectly remove toxins. It also helps to introduce a hydro-mode, drinking clean water without gases, which helps to quickly and gently remove products that remain after the breakdown of alcohol. Additional safety measures, such as those listed above, can significantly reduce the risk of drinking in such a state, when the body is especially vulnerable.

Why You Shouldn’t Drink Alcohol After Your Gallbladder Is Removed – Risks

When thinking about why alcohol is not allowed after removal of the gallbladder, a person usually thinks about the risks that may arise when taking alcohol. And in this case, they really are – you should know about them in advance. In the absence of a gallbladder, alcohol will enter the body, bypassing the neutralization mechanism, it will decompose into acetaldehyde, which is extremely dangerous . In this situation, the liver and its ducts will be exposed to additional risks , inflammation may develop. The consequences of drinking alcohol after removal of the gallbladder can be pancreatitis, cholangitis and inflammation of the ducts, and even cirrhosis of the liver. Stones can form because cholesterol can no longer be absorbed with the same efficiency.

What can help the body?

Helping the body to cope with alcohol is possible not only due to fermented milk and other healthy products. There is also the possibility of using specialized medicines that make it possible to compensate for the lack of enzymes that occurs after removal of the gallbladder. Yoghurts with bifidobacteria should be eaten constantly, they are extremely useful in such a situation, and as for drugs that restore the liver microflora and replace enzymes, their courses should be alternated in order to achieve normalization of health and eliminate the harmful effects of alcohol and other undesirable factors. Hepatoprotectors may also be taken, however, the advisability of using drugs in this group must be discussed with the doctor in advance. Can be prescribed drugs in capsules containing fatty acids – this is good for the liver. Taking medication is necessary to prevent complications that may occur after surgery, as well as to restore the liver and maintain its performance throughout the entire period of adaptation to a new position, to work without a gallbladder. You should not refuse to take the drugs prescribed by your doctor if you want to get a positive result from the treatment and achieve a complete recovery of the body.

Alcohol after gallbladder removal – what do experts say?

Experts strongly point out that alcohol after removal of the gallbladder should be abandoned, and the refusal should be for life . If the patient is not ready to give up alcohol completely, it is extremely important to abstain from it at the first stages of treatment , and only then drink in small doses , carefully monitoring the state of the body.

If worsening is observed after alcohol , it is necessary to abandon salty, spicy and fatty, make the diet more strict until the negative effects pass. It is worth eating cereals, drinking low-fat broths, vegetables. You can switch to six meals a day with a decrease in a single serving, this will unload the digestive system.

You also need to be careful about drinking . The diet should contain clean water, from 1 to 1.5 liters per day, it should be taken in equal portions throughout the day. You can also take up to two cups of lemon balm or chamomile tea, or regular tea. This approach will help minimize the consequences.