Gallbladder Removal

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Jan 2, 2014
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I posted this over on peatarian but was looking for as much input as I can get.:

I have gotten a HIDA scan showing a poor functioning gallbladder and of course doc wants to pull it.
Whats a smart move here? I could hold off on it for a while longer but the pains after eating are very bad.
I have read there is a prescription medicine (chenodiol and ursodiol) that can dissolve stones but can take up to 2 years. Any thoughts on this?
A newer method called Contact Dissolution Therapy can dissolve the stones very quick but is still experimental.
Also ESWL or lithotripsy to "vibrate" stones into smaller stones.

I have a hard time seeing how not having a gallbladder is compatible with health. Digesting fat, fat soluble vitamins, and a detox organ seems important. I have also read that eventually after GB removal, the duct forms a quasi-gallbladder that functions like the real thing. So if that is true, maybe removal of a inflamed and infected GB isn't so bad.

I'm a 21 year old male. My mother had her's removed when she was 21. She had awful heath problems like me at my age that all went away after she had her's removed. She seems to be doing pretty good and can eat more irritating foods than I can.

It seems some people have new complaints after the surgery and others have their issues resolved.

Once it comes out it can't go back in, so I want to make the right decision.
 

narouz

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If it were me
I wouldn't be in a hurry to do it.
I'd research it, and I would like to know Peat's thoughts.
I can't say I remember anything specifically about gallbladders.
I suspect he would say to try to rescue it rather than cut it out.
I'm thinking a typical American diet could predictably wreak havoc
on a gallbladder.

The gallbladder...it's attached to something...
...attached to the liver I think.
 

tara

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Is it gall stones? Is pain the only symptom, or is it causing other problems too? Inflamed/infected? I'm not dismissing the pain, but is it a serious/iminent danger to you in other ways? Have your docs explained what and why they think it's happening?

I think breaking up gall stones with ultrasound has been done successfully for a while - I don't think its just a new experimental procedure. It seems less invasive than removing the whole organ.

I think there are herbal preparations that people claim can help soften and sometimes dissolve them. Apple juice?

I imagine the DIY liver/gall bladder flush procedure might be pretty uncomfortable, if you are sore now. I think it takes a day or two. There seem to be conflicting opinions about how safe it is. Some people report great improvement afterwards, and especially after doing it a few times a couple of months apart. If you were to try this, it might be good to have someone around in case you need help. I've never done it. How it would compare with the risks and discomforts of surgery or ultrasound I don't know.

Don't know what Peat would say about any of these, although for some purposes he has referred to ultrasound as being fairly benign (eg compared to xrays).

None of this is advice, and I'm pretty ignorant on the subject, but depending on the urgency, there might be other things to try to resolve the stones first, while also trying to figure out what the systemic issues might be that are allowing them to become such a problem.
 

SaltGirl

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After having these abdominal pains for several years I finally got a sonar and was diagnosed with gallbladder stones. Of course the doctor's advice was to remove it, but after having 4 surgeries last year I was less than enthused about the prospect. So instead of having it removed I started experimenting.

Basically anything that helps you with digestion will help you in this. This means salt, calcium(not at meals though), and apple cider vinegar. For some reason ACV has helped me a lot, and whenever I feel like I am about to have an episode I drink ACV and the pain starts subsiding. At first I had to drink ACV 1-2 times a day, but now I get away with it 1 a week. I haven't had an episode in 9 months now, and it used to be about 1-2 months between episode.
 

Mittir

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RP has mentioned in several interviews that low thyroid people have high
rate of gallbladder disease. He thinks fixing thyroid, lowering estrogen
and avoiding PUFA can solve this problem. Do you get gallbladder pain
when you eat fat free diet? When it comes to serious health issues
you have to rely on doctors. I have read many on line testimonials on
people getting better using ACV and other herbal remedy.
I find ACV quite magical. You have to make sure you use baking soda to neutralize ACV.
 

SQu

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Doctors are very keen to remove gall bladders. Like the uterus in women. So it's great that you're taking the time to consider this, and I'm sure you'll make the right decision, whatever that is. Sorry no specific advice to offer, I did help my husband hang onto his, but he did not have indications of disease - they were just at a loss and felt they must do something. They caved immediately we asked the simple question "why?"! So perhaps more questions will help you help your doc to recommend the right thing, if he knows it.
 

honeybee

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@mittir-why do you have to neutralize the acv? Doesn't that counter the effects? Thx
 

SaltGirl

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I tend to drink the ACV watered through a straw. Haven't had any harm yet. One of the benefits though is that when I have eaten something containing a lot of fat my stomach gets better faster with ACV.

edit:

I would also add that I have tried this with unfiltered(with "mother") and filtered and so far I haven't found any difference.
 

LucyL

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Micheal Eades wrote an article on gallstones not too long ago "How to get rid of gallstones without surgery". He explains pretty well how the gallbladder works, and (ignoring his low-carb bias) concludes a high fat diet is the best thing for keeping the gallbladder in working order. Basically fat makes it contract and empty thus reducing the opportunity for stones to build up.

My granny had her gallbladder removed, and the main thing I remember about her diet restrictions is she could not eat raw vegetables, like leafy greens. Not really a problem on a Peat diet (excluding carrots of course ) :D
 

Mittir

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honeybee said:
@mittir-why do you have to neutralize the acv? Doesn't that counter the effects? Thx

That is what i thought. But, this website on natural cure, earthclinic.com, recommends
ACV with baking soda to prevent dental problems and claims that the benefits are same for regular ACV vs ACV+Baking soda. I have used this method and i get similar result. Though, it seems like pure ACV is more helpful in digestive matter. They think that Acids ( acetic and malic acid in ACV) get neutralized inside the body by bicarbonate. I know blood keep alkaline pH by using Carbonic acid and bicarbonate. I do not know clearly how ACV is digested inside the intestine and if there is a loss of benefits in adding baking soda.
earthclinic is a very helpful site for natural cure with tons of testimonials.
 

honeybee

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Thanks Mittir. I read that site (earthclinic) sometimes. I agree there is alot of good anecdotal info there.
 

charlie

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Cascara sagrada.
 
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E
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I had the follow up today. They said there are no stones but just a poor functioning gallbladder( 9% function). I don't mind holding off on surgery because I have delt with the pains for 3 years now. I'm used to the pain by now but life would be much better without them.

I'm going to give ACV a try. Any idea on the amount to take? how much bicarbonate to neutralize a specific amount of ACV?
I think SIBO plays a role in my issues so ill be getting a breath test and abxs hopefully.
I wish I had success with thyroid but cynoplus and cynomel give me a bad reaction (most things do anyway). I still do have hypo symptoms. I'm about to try WP thyroid for its better list of excipients.

Charlie. I was just getting ready to try cascara sagrada for the first time this weekend. I have the 4oz pack from mountain rose herbs. Any advise on how to take this or if I even bought a good brand?
 

charlie

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I do not know about that brand so hopefully some others can chime in. However, I would get the one that Peat uses if you are able made by Farmalabor.

When I first started cascara I used the Health Natura brand and I would get this crazy green poo. It was so green it scared me a bit.. It made my liver or whatever push out so much bile, my poo almost glowed green. I know if cascara is not done right, it can be toxic, so I wondered if that was the case. However, I did not feel bad or anything. But anyways, I know for sure that it stimulates bile gets it moving. I was shocked my body could make so much bile. lol When I switched to the Farmalabor, this never happened again.

Carrot salad increases bile too.

I start around 100mgs a day, then go up 100 mgs each day till desired result happens, then back off. You can tell if too much because poo will be watery. A formless poo is the desired effect as any kind of form indicates constipation.
 

Blossom

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I would try everything within reason to save any and every organ in my body regardless of the current medical understanding of the particular organs necessity. Once an organ is gone it's gone forever and people are often left with long term consequences and little or no help from the medical field to deal with the issues that arise. If you do end up parting with your gallbladder at least you will know you made the best effort possible to save it by researching all of your options. I lost a couple organs and have been able in time to restore a level of good health (thanks to Peat). My biggest regret was that I passively submitted to the surgery and didn't explore my options at the time because I didn't believe there was an option. There is almost always is an option though and I think educating yourself and attempting to heal yourself is empowering. If you end up deciding you need the surgery I think you will feel much better about your decision.
 

burtlancast

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Mittir said:
earthclinic is a very helpful site for natural cure with tons of testimonials.

I've just looked at their suggestions about lowering high cholesterol, and here's what i've found: the top 3 proposed remedies are

Apple Cider Vinegar
Red Yeast Rice
Coconut Oil

Abram Hoffer's formula of niacin + bile sequestrant, which has been known for the last 35 years to never fail to bring blood lipids under normal ranges, gets 1 single mention amongst 50 other treatments:

All my numbers were greatly improved within 6 months after my visit to www.cholesterolscore.com . This website focuses primarily on the therapeutic use of niacin. The therapeutic use of niacin is nothing less than miraculous. Even my HDL, which had been my only acceptable lipid number, shot from 65 to 92.

All my other cholesterol numbers are now at healthy levels. I had been spending nearly $100 a month in insurance co-payments for Lipitor before switching to niacin. The little bit of niacin flush is nothing much at all. Especially when a year's supply of niacin costs me only $70."

Now, something's not quite right with this site...
 

Mittir

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burtlancast said:
Mittir said:
earthclinic is a very helpful site for natural cure with tons of testimonials.

I've just looked at their suggestions about lowering high cholesterol, and here's what i've found: the top 3 proposed remedies are

Apple Cider Vinegar
Red Yeast Rice
Coconut Oil

This site is a collection of grandmother's cure submitted by average people.
I do not expect any kind of science here. I believe our grandmothers did not know
about Hypercholesterolemia. I used this site for my first ever ear infection
and it went away without antibiotics after using oil drops ( crushed garlic soaked oil)
for few days. I have also recommended this to other people with good results.
The most valuable part of these kind of websites is learning about other
peoples experience with various cures. When reading the cure list i usually
pick the one with high number of "Yes". The top 3 you posted for lowering
cholesterol has this statistics

POPULAR REMEDIES:
Apple Cider Vinegar 33 YEAS
Red Yeast Rice 6 YEAS
Coconut Oil 5 YEAS

33 yes vs 5-6 yes, i would pick ACV.
 

Peata

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Jun 12, 2013
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extremecheddar said:
I posted this over on peatarian but was looking for as much input as I can get.:

I have gotten a HIDA scan showing a poor functioning gallbladder and of course doc wants to pull it.
Whats a smart move here? I could hold off on it for a while longer but the pains after eating are very bad.
I have read there is a prescription medicine (chenodiol and ursodiol) that can dissolve stones but can take up to 2 years. Any thoughts on this?
A newer method called Contact Dissolution Therapy can dissolve the stones very quick but is still experimental.
Also ESWL or lithotripsy to "vibrate" stones into smaller stones.

I have a hard time seeing how not having a gallbladder is compatible with health. Digesting fat, fat soluble vitamins, and a detox organ seems important. I have also read that eventually after GB removal, the duct forms a quasi-gallbladder that functions like the real thing. So if that is true, maybe removal of a inflamed and infected GB isn't so bad.

I'm a 21 year old male. My mother had her's removed when she was 21. She had awful heath problems like me at my age that all went away after she had her's removed. She seems to be doing pretty good and can eat more irritating foods than I can.

It seems some people have new complaints after the surgery and others have their issues resolved.

Once it comes out it can't go back in, so I want to make the right decision.

EC, what did you do? have it removed or do you still have your gb? if you do, what has helped it?
 

Klaudia

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Aug 17, 2013
Messages
7
I had mine removed 20 years ago, now I'm 42. I had tried alternative medicine but with no results. The surgery got me back to life. From that day on I have tried a lot of contradictory diets. None of them hurt me, even a high fat one. After the surgery I'm free of pain and able to eat whatever I desire.
 

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