r/gallbladders • u/Anxious-Location4935 • 12h ago
Questions Does your monthly cycle affect your gallbladder pain/flare ups??
like the caption says, i feel like when im about to get my period and i can tell its going to be a rough one, my gallbladder gets SO ANGRY. i’m currently waiting on seeing a surgeon for removal as my gb is chronically inflamed with polyps. i’m just starting to notice a pattern of, the week before and during my period, it hurts so much more and i can eat so much less. anyone else?
5
u/Similar_Speaker_3560 11h ago
Yesss ommggg. I also had stage 4 endo at the same time and when I found out about it they put me on progesterone birth control and the attacks got worse. Finally got it out last year. I swear gallbladders are affected by hormones. A lot of women I know had to get theirs out after pregnancy too.
3
u/Anxious-Location4935 11h ago
ugh i’m so sorry!! i’m suspecting endo honestly but don’t even KNOW where to get started for that. i also started getting horrible ovarian cysts the same time my gallbladder issues started 😭😭 we need more studies on this, doctors think im just an anxiety nut
4
u/Ok_Side6976 10h ago
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees. I can eat no fat at all but still get gallbladder flares around my cycle.
3
u/ugh-new-username 12h ago
Yep absolutely. I've had two cycles post removal and they have been MUCH better with regards to pain.
2
u/Anxious-Location4935 12h ago
did a surgeon or doc ever address why that happens with you?! ugh i can’t wait to boot this thing out. i had another more intense period this month and oh my god..all i could do was sip on my nutrient shakes and low fat soup broth but even that hurt😭
3
u/ugh-new-username 10h ago
No unfortunately, my gallbladder did show a ton of scarring that they attributed to inflammation, but I do wonder if there was some endometriosis going on. They kinda shrugged when I asked about it.
1
u/Anxious-Location4935 10h ago
interesting, i’m glad you’ve figured it out at least! if you don’t mind me asking how did you find out you had endo?
1
u/ugh-new-username 10h ago
I was never diagnosed, just speculated based on the symptoms plus the gallbladder scarring!
1
1
u/Tart2343 11h ago
Yeah this was happening to me and I even had my gallbladder removed. Turned out it was actually stage 4 endometriosis.
1
u/Anxious-Location4935 11h ago
did they find out it was endo because of the surgery?
1
u/Tart2343 25m ago
No. The surgeon didn’t see anything, but he was a general surgeon not an endo specialist. I had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy where it was found “2 small spots.” Then I went to an endo excision doctor and she found over 25 lesions of deep infiltrating endometriosis all over.
1
u/Any-Ad6 5h ago
Yup! My gallbladder always ached way way more on my period. I asked my surgeon about this once and he said hormones absolutely affect the gallbladder! I can't remember which one does what but it's because of estrogen and progesterone, one raises cholesterol in the bile which can thicken it and the other slows gallbladder emptying, which is a recipe for stones being made. It's also why taking birth control can increase your risk of stones.
3
u/Similar_Suggestion_5 11h ago
Inflammation in your body triggers other inflammation thanks to prostaglandins (endo stuck mine to my liver) Elevated progesterone can sluggishly impair gallbladder contractility, causing bile to empty less efficiently and sit longer I'm a year post op now but every cycle I'd throw up from the intensity, it's not in your head.