Had Gall Bladder Taken Out. Started Runny Bowel Movements And Lower Back Pain. What Should I Do?

Posted on Wed, 10 Oct 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 Answered on

Thu, 1 Nov 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : I had my gall bladder taken out 1 week ago. Since then I have had very runny bowel movements.. which I expected. The rather alarming problem I am having now is that as they are starting to return to normal I have a very intense, shooting lower back pain that happens. What should I do?

Answered by Dr. Charles S Narasi (1 hour later)

Hello, XXXXXXX,
I am assuming the gallbladder surgery you underwent a week
ago was done through laparoscopic approach and you were
in and out of the hospital same day.
You are absolutely right that some people develop watery
stool after the surgery. Eventhough your gallbladder is out
your liver stilll produces bile and instead of being stored in
the gallbladder , now it comes to the intestine directly.
Because bile salt acts like an irritant, this causes diarrhea.
In most, this is temporary and gets better with time. Very
rarely, we need to treat this with medications.
Lower back pain may not be related to your surgery.
It is possible that you may have a pinched nerve or sprained
muscle due to some activity.
If the pain persists or gets worse with pain travelling down
the thigh or legs , you need further work up.
Wish you well.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar