Re: Fasting extensively without a gallbladder

I am fasting without a gallbladder, and have done long fasts both prior to gallbladder removal and since.

There is a difference for sure.

Chrisb1's quote was excellent.

I have never experience vomiting but I have experienced the urgent almost diarrhea-like bile bowel movements since having my gallbladder removed. In my experience, these happen even when I'm not "fasting" per se and just miss a meal. Perhaps my body produces a lot of bile and is used to excreting a certain amount when I am eating, so that when I simply miss one meal I end up with the bile diarrhea. This may just by my physiology... or perhaps bile salts malabsorption (which I've read about but not been officially diagnosed with).

Back to fasting. When I begin a long fast since having my gallbladder removed, I have daily bile bowel movements that are very bright yellow, mucousy and foul smelling. They usually burn (acidity? Alkalinity?) on the way out, and almost always trigger that "urgent" push reflex like when you have diarrhea. They never feel just like a normal bowel movement in my case. They are always unpleasant and urgent.
In my case, these tend to fall away after about a week. I have only ever water fasted for up to 14 days before switching to juice for the rest of the 40 days. I have completed four 40 day fasts. Two before gallbladder removal and two since. In the two fasts prior to gallbladder removal I did not experienced ANY bile secretions, bile diarrhea, acid reflux, or anything.

Interestingly - and this should be noted by all readers (!) Gallstones are often FORMED in a response to extreme diets, starvation, and fasting. I got gallbladder disease at age 32 (male... which is rare) and I am not obese. Upon reviewing my history of fasting, extreme cleanses, and diet changes from age 16-32, the doctor pointed me to some literature and I have concluded that I caused my own gallbladder disease BY fasting and dieting the way I did. This is very sad to me. Fasting is good - but it can have negative effects on the gallbladder and fasting sites do not tell you this!

Back to fasting. I also experience the acid reflux in the first week of fasting. I don't normally ever have acid reflux when eating, so this is interesting.

In conclusion I would definitely attest to a difference in the body's response to fasting with and without a gallbladder.