He's in my prayers.PJ

The only thing I've found that I can't digest w/o my gallbladder is peanuts.....creamy peanut butter is fine, just no peanuts. It really hurts, like being stabbed. I'm fine with pecans & almonds.
Look at the sodium # on any can goods...it will scare you!
I lightly stir fry lots of veggies. Make a lot of homemade soups with homemade broths from Chix or tomatos.
We like fish and I grill or bake it with dill.
I'll by pork loins when Kroger has them on sale and cut off the fat and cut the meat into fat free chops to grill. I'll also cut it into smaller roasts for the crock pot without the fat. Cook it with water & sage,tyme, onion, garlic, then add carrots & potatos or saurkrout.
My zuccini, onions & garlic are in, so I'll simmer tomatos, zuccini, onions & garlic together.Love it!
When I do use a pinch of salt, I use sea salt...more flavor than reg salt.
Chix fajitas with peppers, onions, lime juice, cilantro or chix stir fry with fresh veggies is quick & easy with lots of onion & garlic for flavor. Go easy on soy sauce, it's real high in sodium, I get the lite soy sauce. If you don't like to mess with fresh garlic, get the jar of already diced garlic in the produce dept. but fresh is best.
For rice use brown rice instead of white rice, much better for you.
When I stir fry I only use virgin olive oil or peanut oil.
Eggs or egg whites with veggies and a little cheese is always good.
I also usually keep cut up veggies in the frig for snacks. If you need to dip your veggies make a dip using yogurt instead of sour cream or cream chz.
NO DELI MEATS, ham, sausage or bacon...very high in sodium. NO potato chips, salted nuts or salted popcorn.
Cook a turkey breast and use for sandwiches, turkey salad, soup base, or hot dish.
Get in the habit of reading labels, often if something is low fat, it's high in sodium for flavor.

Barb,
You and Mark are in our thoughts and prayers. I hope he feels better after the surgery.

Pam

You are always in our prayers

My niece had her gall bladder taken out already. (Under 40.)

She recovered pretty well from it, though, with no apparent complications, so maybe it will go well for Mike.

Seems to be a lot more of that particular surgery these days. Bound to be lifestyle and diet impacts.

Hope it all goes well, and the recuperation is rapid.

Barb,
You and your husband are definetely in my prayers...My mom had hers years ago when they still cut you open, then a few years later my dad had it done with 4 little tiny cuts..lol..poor mom!!
Dena

The things they come up with to do to a person.

230 is awfully late for surgery, I always like mine before breakfast : )

Thinking of you.

Barb, you and your DH are in my thoughts and prayers.

As for healthy eating, which was brought up in Jolana's thread, it's actually easier than you might think, and can defintely be habit forming. Once you get used to eating good, healthy food you'll find junk food to be at the least unappatizing, and at the worst down right disgusting. Okay, I do go for the popcorn occasionally, and a tortilla chip now and then, but most of the time, nuts, fresh veggies and fruit are what I like to snack on. I don't know if he'll be allowed to eat nuts, but you can buy the nuts sold in the baking department, that are raw and unsalted, and roast them yourself using as much or little fat as you wish. Add some herbs, or add some cayenne pepper and chile powder, or whatever seasoning you like. Almonds and walnuts are consdered very, very healthy to eat. They do pack a lot of calories, though.

Frozen veggies and fruit are good to use, also. I've heard that they are frequently "fresher" than fresh food, since they're frozen right after they're picked, while fresh veggies and fruits can be weeks old. DH loves to make smoothies from plain, non-fat yogurt and frozen fruit. He adds whey into the mix, too. They are quite yummy, and very nutritious. Just put some yogurt into a blender, throw the frozen fruit of your choice in with it, and blend. No sugar needs to be added, since the fruit is sweet enough on its own. You can mix types of fruit, also, such as a mix of berries, pinapple, and such. Oh, and he adds fruit juice to the mix too. I almost forgot that. Anyway, the point is, you can certainly enjoy eating healthy. Just remember, when shopping, stick to the perimeter of the grocery store. If you go into the aisles, don't buy anything with more than 5 ingredients. Oh, and remember to exersize. Even going for a walk several times a week will help with that blood pressure.

Sorry, maybe I stole this thread, too, but I'm very enthusiastic about healthy eating and exersize, and can be a bit obnoxious about it. I do hope that everything goes well for you and your DH, Barb.

Sally

I had the surgery over 20 years ago (yea, I was five years old at the time- no really - the fact that my YOUNGEST is 22 is a modern miracle -- really -- right jolana -- arent' I that young) and they used a chainsaw and you had to bite on a bullet or you could opt for them to "put you out" by hitting you over the head with a club. No anesthetic. Okay, it wasn't really that bad. It was still the cut-you-open kind of surgery but I was still out of the hospital the next day. After the episodes of pain from the gall stones, the surgery was a breeze. I haven't had to change my diet from that. Just all the other things wrong with me.

Uh...yeah, it was a very young birth, nature at it's best, uh, worst, she was and is young, yeah, that's it, definately young. Wilo is young

The surgery thing is the truth, I still have a long jagged scare and not too long after, a girl I went to school with had the surgery, they di two teeny cuts, sucked the stones out and then pulled the gall bladder out.
BTW, I didn't have to stop eating anything after, probaly should have somethings, hehehe but that's beside the point

Sally, my kiddos still prefer veggies and dip or fruit to candy or chips.
Well, except for when I make Pralines for DH and they would eat that over fruit, hehehehe

Barb, I'm sure he will do just fine, hope he's not like my DH and I'm sure others...everything is always worse when it happens to them,lol

Barb you and hubby are in my thoughts and prayers. Hope he has a speedy recovery.

I want that embroidered on a t-shirt or a pillow at least: Wilo is young

Thanks, jolana, I knew you'd have my back!

More prayers here for your DH, Barb. You didn't say "gall bladder" in your first post. So I'm trusting from what everyone else has been saying, that's his surgery.

Now, if instead it's that bariatric...what's it called? Gastric bypass. If it's that, I don't know for sure, but I don't think he'll have to worry so much about hunger.

Wilo thanks for the laughs! For some of us, it doesn't matter if we're young or old, anesthetized or not, or if the surgery is by laparascope or chain saw. Try being a bleeder - not fun, but it has its advantages. Like getting the Purple Heart for cutting yourself shaving while in a war zone. (Joking!) I think in a previous life I was a horny toad, squirting blood out of my eyes at everything that moved or bumped into me.

On top of that, as long as I've lived, I've yet to suffer "the curse." As in my family curse. That's the curse of emergency gall bladder surgery. I'm either the sole holdout, or the one sibling just ain't talkin'. But Dad and the others - all got the attack. So my fear is that I'll bleed to death internally before any surgery can save me.

Anyway, I'm rambling, but back to gall bladders and healthy eating. Someone pointed me to this one website about healthy foods. It's a good reference - I would use it today but I've already had one margarita...

Here is a link that might be useful: Healthy Foods

(PJ climbing on soap box with real story) Healthy eating is honestly important. Diet is cumulative. You either accumulate good or bad food in your system. I do eat some junk food but I try for moderation. I'm going to eat candy bars around my period and getting in my way isn't a good idea.(LOL) However, the bulk of my diet is low fat and heavy on the veggies/starches and low on the animal products. My DH lost 50 lbs just being aware of what he was eating and taking walks when he was too tired for a full workout(works and goes to school). Unlike me he doesn't work out hard or have a food allergies(lucky me). He's just had a poor diet that put on too much weight.The walks also help with the stresses of working and going to school. PJ