Gallstones

[hellomama]

:(
UGH- I am so irritated. I don't want to be dealing with stupid gallbladder issues.
I have been super sore in that area ever since birth (however haven't had an actual attack since a few weeks postpartum 18 mos ago) so I finally talked tot he doctor about it and of course, they found stones. :doh
Now, I can't get into to see my doctor until the 27th for "discussion" about what to do next.
I don't want it removed. :pray4 and I am being a huge baby about this whole thing. I swear, birth has made me a million times more sensitive to pain then before.

Anyways, anyone have any advice for me??

[saturnfire16]

I don't have a lot of time right now, but I didn't want to read and not post.

I used to have gallbladder attacks until I stopped eating dairy. That stopped the attacks, but I still had stones. I did a cleanse from the book The Amazing Liver and Galbladder Cleanse, and I got rid of TONS of stones.

http://www.ecsi.net/bwr/forms/wforbAddr.html?University=ECSI&University_Building=181%20Montour%20Run%20Road&University_Street=Coraopolis%20PA%2015108&C_S_Z=%20%20&sid=ZZ

[ValiantJoy07]

I had my gall bladder out. :doh that said the stones were so abundant my liver was being taxed to the point of death..well failures hall way anyway. My liver enzymes were over 1000 normal is between 7-40.

For me it was gluten, bad fats, crappy diet, birth control pills (yaz in particular has been shown to cause gall bladder trouble...I was on yaz for about 6mls :doh...and pregnancy messes things up too).

I wish I had known.

This might be worth a gander. I am not Paleo. :no but I do lean that way, mostly lots of veggies, good fats, some clean meats and simple starches...I avoid beans and complex starches, nuts, dairy, soy, and gluten obviously. I feel great.

http://paleoparents.com/featured/how-to-enjoy-bacon-without-a-gallbladder/

[Johns_Gal]

I had mine out after dd was born.

Honestly? I was scared. to. death, but I am go dlad it is gone. I went years with no attacks, then anything I aate, anything at all, would set me off into attacks that lasted days. I had a blockage and probably should have had it out right then, but I didn't know, midwives didn't say, and I hurt too bad to think.

Having read about the dangers of leaving it in, I am very glad I had that obnoxious thing removed. No one told me five years ago just how bad a gallbladder could do you. :shiver

[DancingWithElves]

1. do not do a cleanse that involves drinking oil. making stones move is not always a good idea. a right size stone will block a duct, necessitating emergency surgery, or worse.

2. just a personal experience: i went grain free a few years ago and cured both estrogen dominance and gallbladder issues. they are often related. this held even through pregnancy and birth, which in the past was a major contributing factor.

:hugheart and good luck!

[marigold]

Dh has had gall stones since age 3 although they didn't really ever bother him until around 30. Since going grain-free their movement has significantly reduced. He did have a bad spell in Dec. though after getting a really bad case of the stomach flu, emptying everything so violently and completely caused some movement and he ended up spending a week in bed between flu and stones.

[LilacPhoenix]

Going gluten free has helped mine a lot:tu I have a couple blog posts (on my health blog) that I'll find for you later - one about why I chose to not have my gallbladder taken out (with research I compiled) and the flush that I have had great success with the 6+ years I've been using it.

:poke me if I don't post them by tomorrow:)

[hellomama]

Thank you guys! This is great help! That paleo parents article was scary and enlightening.
Since Lent begins today DH (who also read the article) prompted me to give up gluten. Grains? As in rice and oats and quinoa too?
I wonder why grains would have anything to do with gallbladder problems? (Especially since my doctor continually says to me-"lower fats and your pain will subside" hmm :scratch)
I am a hot mess. I totally have estrogen dominance. Don't have evidence of that on paper, but for seven days a month I have a migraine and I need to lose a good 50 lbs! Throughout both pregnancies I had severe, incapacitating migraines. While nursing, I had the same. Oddly enough before all babies I was on YAZ!
I have heard that excess belly weight = storage for estrogen. Which is disgusting and makes me sad.
I really just have a myriad of things going on, especially since I don't feel like I eat that much at all!
Thank you all for your input. I am not brave enough to try a cleanse, but feel happy that others have had success with it. (The gb cleanse)
The report said that I had little stones in ducts and large ones in my gb. :jaw drop

[ValiantJoy07]

I also found this extremely informative http://fourfoldhealing.com/2007/11/08/gall-stones/ as for the reason low grain can help.

[Sparrow]

1. do not do a cleanse that involves drinking oil. making stones move is not always a good idea. a right size stone will block a duct, necessitating emergency surgery, or worse.



I had stones that were left to wait and they moved and blocked my bile duct, infecting my liver and making me very sick. I had mine out at 22.

[hellomama]

And how have you fared since Sparrow? The result showed that my liver was enlarged a bit.

(and it stinks I can't talk to the doc until the 27th)

[milkdud]

No advice but will say a prayer. :hug2

[Sparrow]

And how have you fared since Sparrow? The result showed that my liver was enlarged a bit.

(and it stinks I can't talk to the doc until the 27th)

Fine! There was also a family history of cruddy sick gall bladders. My dad and his sisters all had their's out before 35. The same surgeon remembered my dad and aunt :giggle (my dad is only 20 years older than me so it had only been about 8 years since his surgery).

[saturnfire16]

:think My thoughts on the wheat are that it contributes to inflammation, so it probably affects the liver when one is discussing liver disease. That's not researched, but maybe the article on gluten tells more?

The purpose of the gallbladder is to create bile that breaks down fats. Which is why your doctor is saying "low fat," why I don't have attacks when I'm not eating dairy and why other sources will say "low fat, no greasy, oily foods." The gallbladder not functioning properly or being overworked is what creates stones.

But gluten probably still affects the liver in an overall health/contributing to inflammation way. :think

[emerald]

I'm not sure where you are located, but I saw a dr in Austin (Victor Carsrud, a chiro with a background in genetics) who has experience with using herbs to dissolve stones. I had both gallstones and kidney stones a couple of years ago.

Initally, I went to the ER because of the pain, they recommended I stay overnight and have my gallbladder out in the morning. I said I would contact the surgeon and then I left to look into some other options. A holistic dr in Maine connected me with Carsurd.

He said it was very important to be 100% gluten-free, even down to your shampoo/condtioner. Apparently gluten-intolerance is connected to gallbladder issues.

Here's what I took: chanca piedra, hydrangea (I liked the Stone Breaker supplement from Herb Pharm, but there are others), high potency digestive enzymes and probiotics, vitamin d, vitamin C, beet root extract.

Besides gluten-free, dairy free for 2-3 weeks (longer depending on blood type and other factors), also have easy to digest foods like soup.

ETA: Carsud looked at the ER report and said even by allopathic standards, my gallbladder should not come out. It wasn't as bad as they were leading me to believe. My pain in part was coming from other issues.

[LilacPhoenix]

Actually, there is research saying that not eating ENOUGH fats contributes to gallstones because the bile just sits and concentrates instead of emptying out in a regular basis. But when you're having gallbladder pain, go easy on the fats:yes

(I'll get the links from my blog when I'm not on my phone:))

[greendelight]

I had mine out almost 7 years ago. Best decision ever. Mine was very, very sick. Full of stones and sludge. Stones stuck. I had been having problems for about 7 years before (off and on) and no one ever knew what it was. I was so sick right before having it out that I was begging for death. I'm not joking or exaggerating. I hope I never feel pain like that again. The surgery was so very easy.


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[Johns_Gal]

You know, when you have low lying, chronic pain? EVERYTHING else hurts more. It may not be birth = low pain tolerance, it may be pain = I can handle no more, thank you.

:hug Educate yourself, either way. I don't want to scare you at all, but for me, I just had to be done being incapacitated, done being afraid to travel, done with pain like that. The risks of leaving it are unpleasant.

I hate that I had to have mine out, on so many levels. But I am so glad I did.

[hellomama]

You know, when you have low lying, chronic pain? EVERYTHING else hurts more. It may not be birth = low pain tolerance, it may be pain = I can handle no more, thank you.

:hug Educate yourself, either way. I don't want to scare you at all, but for me, I just had to be done being incapacitated, done being afraid to travel, done with pain like that. The risks of leaving it are unpleasant.

I hate that I had to have mine out, on so many levels. But I am so glad I did.

That was a very kind and gentle thing to say. Thank you, I had never thought of pain being that way before.

Thank you for all of your different inputs. I am definitely trying to do my research. Y'all have been so helpful!

[DancingWithElves]

another thing:

ultra low pufa diet. to this day many oils = big trouble.

it's a bit of a long story how grains cause that, but you can do a search on the interwebz :yes it totally makes sense.

fresh apple juice was a good palliate measure for me.

:think

:idea oh, one time i had a super bad attack and used high dose SAMe. there are european studies showing good results. worked well twice.

:hugheart

[LilacPhoenix]

Here you go:)

The flush I do, including some of my results with it http://cmlhealth.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-to-do-livergallbladder-flush.html

Research I compiled http://cmlhealth.blogspot.com/2010/02/why-dont-you-just-let-them-take-out.html

[saturnfire16]

Another vote for apple juice here. Also lemon juice and ACV. They all support/cleanse the liver and gallbladder.

[ValiantJoy07]

You know, when you have low lying, chronic pain? EVERYTHING else hurts more. It may not be birth = low pain tolerance, it may be pain = I can handle no more, thank you.

:hug Educate yourself, either way. I don't want to scare you at all, but for me, I just had to be done being incapacitated, done being afraid to travel, done with pain like that. The risks of leaving it are unpleasant.

I hate that I had to have mine out, on so many levels. But I am so glad I did.

:hug :heart I think for some people having it out is what has to happen. :yes my liver was dying and I was having such violent attacks I couldn't function. I don't know that I would have been able to turn things around in time to not do permanent damage to my liver. :shiver I do not regret having it out. :no Those attacks. :shiver they do consume your life. :yes :hug

But if some one is just starting to have trouble I would encourage them to research like crazy and to try to find some thing that works for them to heal it naturally... though, I know the pain of the attacks is enough to have me want it out immediately, nothing like that pain has ever made me wish I could die on the spot. :bag And I don't know if I would be brave enough to chance those attacks again... But over the first year of not having a gall bladder my digestion became worse and worse. I hadn't fixed the under lying problem. The issues increased and began to effect other parts of my body. :( And I will forever digest food differently than indie before. I definitely think some times it should just come out. :yes but if at all possible it should be supported in there ways.

[SillyMommy]

Resurrecting this thread because I'm pretty sure I had my first gall bladder attack yesterday/last night and I NEVER want to experience that again.

I'm already gluten-free and have been trying to go completely grain free because my body seems to react to grains in the same way it does gluten. I ate GF waffles yesterday morning and I'm wondering if that's what set it off.

No way can I have surgery, I'm nursing a 7mo.... but are the cleanses and herbs safe for nursing?

[Johns_Gal]

I am firmly on team Get That Sucker Out, so I may not be helpful. DD was ten weeks old when I had mine removed. There are drawbacks involved there, but mine were debilitating so I could not wait any longer.

ACV is harmless and really helps end an attack. Get the good stuff, and I think I was drinking it hot, with honey added. Cold drinks make gallbladder pain worse, at least IME.

Flax tea is helpful and good for you anyway. Honestly, those two things were the most help to me, as well as a heat source.

I wish I had known sooner what a malfunctioning gallbladder could do to you. I encourage you to research on your own and make a careful decision, and set some plans for yourself of "If *this* happens, I will XYZ". If you get a really nasty attack with a stuck stone, all rational thought may desert you.

I'm just so sorry. Gallbladder pain is horrible. :hug :shiver

[LilacPhoenix]

The cleanse that I do might affect supply, but isn't dangerous to a nursing baby...

[SillyMommy]

Here's what I took: chanca piedra, hydrangea (I liked the Stone Breaker supplement from Herb Pharm, but there are others), high potency digestive enzymes and probiotics, vitamin d, vitamin C, beet root extract.

Can you share what enzymes and probiotics you used? There are so many.

I ended up having an endoscopy and US of my abdomen. While I do have gall stones, I do not have cholecystitis (sp) and have chosen not to have my gall bladder out at this time because it's not sick. So, I'm looking for ways to support my organs. I am grain free other than rice and corn occasionally and mostly dairy free - I've not had another attack since the first, praise God.

But I was taking a digestive enzyme, not sure if it was working - I ran out a few days ago and am now noticing that I'm nauseated and really gassy after eating, so evidently it was helping.