I had my gall bladder removed in March, 2012 as an emergency surgery. The doctors told me that if I didn’t have it done I would die. I had so many gall stones that the Doctors were astonished that I hadn’t had any symptoms before then. I like many others do not and did not eat a high fat diet. I rarely ate fast food or fried foods, and my husband has eaten those things on a regular basis with no problems; so it isn’t all associated with diet. I’m glad that diet changes have helped some of you but to those of whom it hasn’t–I feel your pain. While I don’t have heartburn issues like many of you; I have continuously had the same pain as when I had the “gall bladder attack” to a lesser degree. It has been so horrible that my doctor has put me on a “base 1 diet” (that’s what he called it). Brief description: no dairy, no oils, little to no saturated or transfats, and no grease (ie nothing fried–ever); I know it doesn’t sound like that much change, but it really is when you think about it. I virtually can’t eat meats, fish and chicken/poultry are my basic options; venison is a good alternative to beef for me since it is very low in fat. I also have to add miralax to a drink everyday (for the rest of my life it seems) and eat foods that are high in fiber. I can’t eat cheese, drink milk, or have anything with those in it. I have this sharp abdominal pain in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen accompanied with nausea (sometimes vomiting), bloating, gas, and a recent development of the past 3-4 weeks has been bouts with dizziness and syncope that have only increased in occurance and intensity. These problems have only began occurring since my surgery. So, I know I had to have this surgery because my gall bladder was inflammed and infected due to blockage from the stones, and I had been symptom free, but it still *****. They tied the development of these stones to my pregnancies, by the way. Worse part about it all, now, is I don’t have insurance anymore and can’t go see a doctor about any longer. My doctor had started to run tests right before I got a letter saying that my insurance was getting cancelled. He ran a basic blood test, which came back normal, and an ultrasound showing fluid retention in the pelvic region and slight swelling of the pancreas. He’s a great doctor, I just can’t afford to pay for it in order to be seen. So here’s to hoping that something works out soon for all of us. And in the mean time if I find anything helpful, I will post about it here.