Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

Lost another pound. Doing much better after chiropractor visit. I talk about loosening up my calorie count (and more) on this weeks roundup video.

After I got back from my trip to Spokane I noticed some stabbing pain on the right side of my chest when I lay face-down. For a short while I thought I'd broken some ribs, but after a visit to the doctor, plus an ultrasound, turns out my gallbladder has malfunctioned. The PA described it something like "Your gallbladder is acting like it would have before you lost the recent 100 lbs. This has caused it to generate a few stones, and some other abnormalities (pockets I think she called them)." She also said the gallbladder would catch up to me in time.

My GP and PA both know about me being on the McDougall diet, and they know about my YouTube channel, and occasionally drop in and watch.

I asked if there is anything more, diet-related, I could do to help with the gallbladder issue. She said no: my new (today's) blood work shows so much improvement that the McDougall diet is doing more than most diets. She says in their experience people with my weight loss over this period of time are either doing it with prescription medications or opting for gastric surgery. Apparently the whole-foods prescription of the McDougall diet is everything I need, so I just need to stick to what I'm doing. No dietary changes indicated.

They are referring me to a specialist to talk about options for dealing with the pain/stones, including some kind of medication or even surgery if the organ continues to cause pain, long-term. I don't like meds, and part of why I'm on the diet is to reduce medications. I'll see what the specialist has to say.

Worth noting: my fasting blood work was within 4 points of the bottom of the diabetic range. That's down just since December's blood work. Also, in July I had a BP around 175/85. Today it was 114/70.

I hope this means my doctor will start reducing my diabetic and BP meds. That would be grand.

Hi wycoff,

Great work; keep it up. Be sure to review The McDougall Program every now and then as a refresher.
I say this because people are often lead off track by YouTubers, Main Stream Media and other plant-based doctors, yet often don't line up with The McDougall Program and this can cause harm and/or slow or reverse progress.

As for your gallbladder, here are some reads from Dr. McDougall in case you have not read over yet:

https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2002nl ... ladder.htm
https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... r-disease/
https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2002nl ... stones.htm

Lastly, here is my own personal take on meds being lowered and removed: I would run away from any doctor who would not lower meds after showing major improvement and being within normal range from following The McDougall Program. Here is an article from Dr. McDougall on High Blood Pressure:

https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2009nl/nov/bp.htm

Cheers to your improved health. Stay with it forever,
Scott

Hi there. I’ve been following your progress, and you’ve come so far very quickly! If I’m not mistaken, gallstones can form with very quick weight loss like you’ve been having. There have been some posts on the boards here recently about gallbladder surgery, it might be worth a quick search to read through those as well in addition to the links Scott posted above.

I had my gallbladder removed this past October.

I started having severe pain that wouldn't go away the previous June, but because it always seemed to happen after something else, I passed it off on severely pulled muscles until the third time in August. The attacks were spaced about a month apart and took about a week to recover from.

Finally, I had an ultrasound done that showed I had large gallstones but no inflammation or infection. I opted for the surgery, but took my time scheduling it because the tests didn't make it seem like an emergency and I had a few family things to get in order.

In the month between the testing and the surgery, my gallbladder ruptured. It happened the Friday before the Wednesday I was scheduled to go into the hospital so I just hung on so I'd get the surgeon I wanted. I thought it was just another attack and not anything serious. This time, not only did I have the pain, but I was so sick I was afraid to eat anything.

My 1 hour outpatient surgery turned into a 3-hour surgery, 4 days in the hospital and a longer recovery than I expected. I had one large stone, a completely perforated/ruptured gallbladder, and the duct work was no longer exactly where it should be.

If you have small stones, I understand trying to do something alternative. If you have large stones and have had attacks, think hard about getting it taken out. There's a big chance it'll only get worse.

The day before mine ruptured, I was feeling so good that I started to think about putting it off, or maybe not having the surgery at all. You just never know.

The Valentine's Day weekend was a long one for me, and after losing 100 lbs I was able to get out each day and hike. This is a very big step for me: I wasn't in pain. It is hard to believe a year ago I was walking with a cane and taking Tylenol every four hours, months on end.

Anyway, I posted Valentine's Day Weekend Excursion for 2020 that follows my wife and I hiking along the California coast, and in the nearby Redwoods. I take a spill at 10:16 after ignoring her offer for help. After a laugh I was able to dust myself off and keep going.

I'm looking to purchase a bike, now. Next weekend I'll be out at a local bike shop renting a bike to see if I like it. This will repeat until I find the bike I want. Meanwhile I plan on taking a GoPro with me to see how I do, maybe capture some fun footage.

It is really hard to believe six months ago I was using a cane and was 100 lbs heavier. Life sure has changed, though I still have a lot of weight to lose. I can hardly imagine what it will be like when I hit goal.

Congratulations on your weight loss success! I love your energy! I wanted to chime in on my love of the redwoods, too. I envy those of you living so close to the northern redwoods and the sequoias in Sothern California that you can just take day hikes there.

The big win is that my hip and knee pain are gone, and I'm up to 2.5 mile walks each day. Tomorrow (Sunday) I will go for my first bike ride in more than twenty years. To say the least, the diet had worked wonders for me.

But I had my first oops: Instead of the steady losses I've had for seven months, I had my first weight gain of 1.8 lbs this week. You'd think I'd be freaked, but I'm not: I had some changes once I started walking every day. The first change: I broke out in acne like a 16 year old. If that's not funny enough, my appetite increased proportional to the walking increase. I decided to let it ride a little, making sure I got enough protein to leverage (hopefully) a return from my atrophied muscles as I bring them back to condition. Take away from my week's experience: always count calories, always stick to my limits. It is as simple as that. And last week I violated that rule several times.

Anyway, it was a great week, even with a small gain. Riding a bicycle tomorrow should be a wonderful experience.

moonlight wrote:Congratulations on your weight loss success! I love your energy! I wanted to chime in on my love of the redwoods, too. I envy those of you living so close to the northern redwoods and the sequoias in Sothern California that you can just take day hikes there.

Thanks! Glad to hear! I'm not really familiar with Southern California, not to the point of having seen a giant Sequoia. I'd certainly like to, though. I saw a redwood you could drive a small car through, once, up (I think) near Eureka. But I that was probably 1971, long time ago.

Still, a stroll through Cowell Park is a real treat, every time. Beautiful place, especially at 6am when the sun hasn't come up yet.

Lyndzie wrote:Hi there. I’ve been following your progress, and you’ve come so far very quickly! If I’m not mistaken, gallstones can form with very quick weight loss like you’ve been having. There have been some posts on the boards here recently about gallbladder surgery, it might be worth a quick search to read through those as well in addition to the links Scott posted above.

Nice! Thanks for watching. It seems like it was just yesterday that I started, but after the 100 lbs was gone, something clicked and the pains I was having - knee, hip - resolved very soon after a visit to a chiropractor. That got me back out walking again, but pain-free. Last weekend I did my first bike-ride, and bought a bike that I'll be taking out this coming weekend. I still have to be extremely careful, though: my muscles are not quite strong enough for a bike, but I know they will only improve by pushing them to do get me from point A to point B on a bike trail. We'll see what happens. I get the feeling the bike is going to open up the real journey down to my goal. Fingers crossed, of course.

Ltldogg wrote:Hi wycoff,

Great work; keep it up. Be sure to review The McDougall Program every now and then as a refresher.
I say this because people are often lead off track by YouTubers, Main Stream Media and other plant-based doctors, yet often don't line up with The McDougall Program and this can cause harm and/or slow or reverse progress.

As for your gallbladder, here are some reads from Dr. McDougall in case you have not read over yet:

https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2002nl ... ladder.htm
https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... r-disease/
https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2002nl ... stones.htm

Lastly, here is my own personal take on meds being lowered and removed: I would run away from any doctor who would not lower meds after showing major improvement and being within normal range from following The McDougall Program. Here is an article from Dr. McDougall on High Blood Pressure:

https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2009nl/nov/bp.htm

Cheers to your improved health. Stay with it forever,
Scott

Thanks for the info: very useful! I don't want surgery, had a CT scan last weekend, so waiting to hear from gastroenterologist if I'm okay to just put up with it, or do a non-invasive approach -- my preference being to avoid surgery altogether. We'll see. Funny that I learn about this after 100 lbs, though, and not sooner. live and learn. Incidentally, I slowed down the loss a little. Certainly not stopped, though. I figured I'd try giving the organ a break and see if it improves over time.

I gave up bike riding around twenty years ago. But after losing 100 lbs I can finally ride again. I posted a video of the first ride, and it was quite a challenge. I used a bike rental place to find out if I could keep my balance, etc.

It will take some time for my muscles to get accustomed with this, but I plan on riding at least once a week, hopefully more as time permits. But this is certainly a start.

Had a good week, back to following the normal-line going toward weight loss goal in April.

This week's challenges: had to lower calories; doing a lot of exercise has made me hungry.

The really good: I'm going to be riding each weekend if nothing prevents me. I'm up to fast-walking 2.5 miles a day. I plan on making one of my weekend days a 4.5 mile walk in Cowell Park.

Good morning,
I read your story; impressive! Hope the bike riding and new exercise routine is working out. I have been eating plants for years and initially lost 20#s. I recommitted to MWL in July of 2019 because I wanted to lose more weight and needed the guidelines to get real with what I was eating (I tend to get sloppy about guideline #7). The biggest success factors for me were eating a starch with every meal, and guideline #1 - starting each meal with a fruit or salad greens. Now I am down 15-16 lbs and want to lose another 5 I think.

Keep on with what you are doing; it's working.

Marsha

deweyswakms wrote:Good morning,
I read your story; impressive! Hope the bike riding and new exercise routine is working out.
[...]
Marsha

Thanks! And congratulations, too!

I don't have a great meal-to-meal plan, and my breakfast and lunch are almost always the same. Dinner is the one I like to do differently, and I use a lot of tofu and textured vegetable protein as my protein source. Usually lunches have beans in them, or rice, or both. My wife reminds me about starches, usually to tell me I'm combining a starch with rice, etc. I listen, of course, but for some reason it takes her guidance for me to remember to put into play. That makes me lucky, come to think.

Anyway, congratulations, again!

-Donald