My gallbladder management diet, made up by me

So one of the new annoying things that has happen in my already extremely annoying body in the past three months is that I have been diagnosed with chronic gallbladder disease. This means that, while the situation is not currently acute (ie I am not in epoch-annihilating amounts of pain and I'm not yellow), I have a gallbladder that is distended, well below functional, and, to quote my ultrasound report verbatim, "full of calculi (stones) and sludge". Yes, sludge. Apparently this is a medical term for the detritus that will eventually form into stones. Charming, isn't it?

I am on a fairly long waiting list to have this rectified surgically (ie by removal), so in the meantime, I am trying to do my best to nurse things along so I don't have an acute event. This has meant pretty sharp alterations to my diet. My main  symptoms were pain and nausea after eating, frequent and painful toilet action, and sudden weird-arse cramps. Since I have modified my diet, all but the nausea have resolved (I do still sometimes feel a bit sicky after eating, especially the first meal of the day).

Now, when considering my notes below, it is important to remember that I also have two other chronic underlying conditions (both autoimmunes) that are diet-affected. One is Coeliac Disease, which means, of course, that I must avoid gluten. The other is Hashimotos Disease (autoimmune hypothyroidism), which, while primarily managed by taking synthetic thyroxin hormone, is also responsive (negatively) to refined sugar and foods with high natural iodine levels.

Through trial and error, I have worked out the following foods that are best / safest for my dreary little collection of issues:

• Gluten free breakfast cereals, especially ones with enhanced fibre (my faves are gf Sultana Bran and gf Special K)
• Gluten free bread, toasted, with gf Vegemite or honey
• Fish, especially salmon and tuna but also any decent white fish
• Tofu
• Almost all fruits (too much apple makes me a bit refluxy though)
• Almost all veg, although I'm careful with the cruciferous ones as too much of that can affect thyroid
• Rice, any variety
• Legumes and beans, any gf variety (ie not semolina!)
• Nuts and seeds
• GF pasta and rice noodles
• Gf / dairy free dips of various kinds
• Falafels
• Antipasto in good quality olive oil (especially olives, semi dried tomatoes, and marinated mushrooms)
• All gf plain sauces and vinegars
• Almost all herbs and spices, including the heat ones (a spicy meal is just fine!)

Then there's the foods that seem to be okay in small quantities, but have to be very careful not to overdo:

• Lean chicken
• Lean beef
• Lean turkey
• Steamed gf dumpling-type foods
• Rich-tasting sauces like oyster and BBQ
• Plain potato crisps
• Cracker snacks

And here are the foods that are absolute hard nos at the moment:

• Obviously, anything with gluten in it, thank you Coeliac Disease
• All lactose-containing products. Lactose free milk is fine though, so it's definitely not the A2 protein that's a concern, just A1. It means I am currently living cheese-free, which sucks immensely :-( Also chocolate-free, but I am finding that much less of a challenge.
• Eggs (products containing egg seem to be ok, but eggs themselves as a separate, boy howdy that's a nothankyou)
• Processed meats, including bacon
• Anything deep-fried, oily or fatty
• Cakes, biscuits and other baked goods
• Lamb and pork (and likely other fatty meats like duck as well, but I haven't tested that)

In addition to the restrictions on what I can eat, I am also finding that I have to really limit how much I eat at a time now, so my portion sizes are smaller. A side effect of this has been a 5kg weight loss over the past month, but let me tell you, *it was not worth it* and I say that as a certified chonker.

So a standard eating day for me now looks like:

7-8am: Small bowl of gf cereal with lactose free milk and usually either a banana or some berries added to it

Middle of the day: Either a bowl of home-made root veg soup with a couple of slices of toast, OR gf crispbread with dips, avocado and tomatoes, OR a couple of tuna sushi rolls, OR some vegetarian steamed dumplings, OR small portion of dinner leftovers if suitable
followed by a piece of fruit and maybe some olives 

Middle of the afternoon: Snack of either crackers and dip, OR fruit and olives, OR handful of potato crisps and nuts, OR pumpkin seeds and fruit.

Around 6:30pm: Dinner composed of some combination of my good foods list (eg. Thursday night I had Japanese vegetable curry on brown rice; Friday night I had a bowl of white rice with chilli-flavoured tuna and half an avocado mixed through it; last night I had teriyaki tofu and vegetable stir fry on white rice).

You may notice the extreme essentiality of rice (and noodles / pasta) to my life at present. I am likely eating more carbs than is "ideal", but you know what, I DO NOT CARE. Rice does not make my tummy hurt or my bowel explode, it fills me up, it feels comforting to eat. 

I have no idea how transferable my gallbladder coddling diet is to others, but if you're in the same boat, this is what is working for me, just putting it out there.