Health Q&A's

Gallbladder Removed

Q. Dear Donna: I really enjoyed your talk last year at the "Mind-Body-Spirit" Conference in London, so I bought your book and your video. As I watched the video, I saw you demonstrate how a woman lost energy on her right side because of a gallbladder operation, and this really got my attention. Having recently had my own gallbladder removed, I couldn't help but wonder how energy medicine might help me with the post-surgical swelling and pain that I'm still experiencing. In fact, I've wondered how this meridian was affected now that the actual organ is no longer there. Not only do I have a major scar from an incision that the surgeons made to remove my gallbladder "the old fashioned way," but I also have a small one near my navel where they first tried a laparoscopic procedure. This smaller scar is healing quite well, but it has definitely affected my stomach and intestinal system.

Last but not least, I had a severe reaction to the anesthesia and antibiotic medication that was used during the operation, so the ordeal of major surgery was made even more stressful than usual. Remind me to not do this again any time soon. Meanwhile, any advice you can offer would be gratefully received.

A. The gallbladder meridian is still there, even though your gallbladder has been removed, but its energy flow has likely become scrambled because of the operation. You can rebuild this pathway, by first sedating and then strengthening the gallbladder meridian. I would recommend that once or twice each day you hold the gall bladder acupuncture points (see page 122 of Energy Medicine).

A major operation like you've had not only affects the meridian that is most obviously involved, it also tends to scramble your energies in many other ways. For example, a number of your other meridians may be running backwards, and your energy may have become homolateral rather than crossing your body as is needed. To correct these possible imbalances, I’d suggest the "Daily Energy Routine" (Energy Medicine - Chapter 3). Then trace all of your meridians as an additional step. They are illustrated in Chapter 4, but are easier to learn from the Energy Healing videotape set. You'll be surprised by how quickly you can learn them. This will help your recovery process, and might also help you calm the stress from your body's reactions to the anesthesia.

Because of the symptoms resulting from the scar near your navel, I'd suggest that you sedate your small intestine, stomach, and large intestine meridians by holding the respective acupuncture sedating points, and follow this by holding the strengthening points for each. These pathways, too, will be rejuvenated by the jump-start of fresh energy.

If you do these procedures one or more times daily, I suspect you will see some improvement, but because I am laying out a fairly complex routine, you might also want to seek out an energy healer who can work with these systems and supervise your back-home practice.