Can You Live Without a Gallbladder?

If you have had gallbladder problems and need to have your gallbladder removed, there is a chance you could experience uncomfortable symptoms from living without a gallbladder. “Most people don't notice anything, and there is no real change in digestion" after having their gallbladder removed, says William Brugge, MD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. But, he says, "A percentage of people have complications" after gallbladder removal surgery.

Obviously, when you’re living without a gallbladder, it can no longer store bile, as designed. Bile is a liquid that helps you digest fatty foods. The gallbladder releases it into your small intestine.

But, according to Dr. Brugge, when you are not eating for a long period of time, such as at night when you are sleeping, your gallbladder stores the bile. "The gallbladder holds maybe a cup of fluid," says Brugge. However, when you remove the gallbladder, you remove the reservoir, Brugge says.

So, even though you will have the same amount of bile in your body, you will not have as much bile in your intestine after your gallbladder is gone. "The bile is constantly being delivered into your intestine instead of being stored," Brugge explains. In theory, this means that you will not digest food as well.

"But most animal species in the world don't have gallbladders," Brugge says. And your gallbladder is an organ you can live without. In the first few weeks after your surgery, your doctor probably will recommend that you eat a mostly low-fat diet while your body adjusts to living without a gallbladder.

After that, "ninety percent of people go back to eating the way they did before," says Brugge. Brugge says that digestive symptoms are relatively uncommon after gallbladder removal. But some people will notice a change in their digestion.

"The most common thing is people have more frequent bowel movements," Brugge says.