I have gallstones: what are my options?

November 18, 2010 9:21 AM

I have been diagnosed with gallstones which are currently symptom free, what can I do to get rid of them?

I live in the UK and had a scan the other day looking for something else and was told my gallbladder was "full of gallstones". I am symptom-free though I have had reasonably severe discomfort on about 4 occasions over the last 10-15 years which may have been gallstone attacks.

What realistically can I do to get rid of them? Surgery is not yet warranted and I am told that breaking them up by ultrasound is only done for very small (numbers of) gallstones. Chemical dissolution can take 2 years and only seems to be regarded as an alternative to surgery. I have seen one suggestion that large doses of vitamin C will help dissolve them though this is surely nonsense given the acidic environment within the stomach.

Is it just a fat free diet and hope for the best from now on?

posted by epo to Health & Fitness (14 answers total)

Response by poster: Sigh, I have just noticed this question from 2006, has anything changed in the interim?
posted by epo at 9:34 AM on November 18, 2010

Nothing gets rid of gallstones. Most of the "advise" about eating strange mixtures to purge your system is BS. To prevent attacks a low fat diet is required. Otherwise have your gall bladder removed. If you have a lot of stones they don't usually suggest the ultrasound or chemical techniques. IANAD but my sister had her's removed and we spoke to a lot of doctors about the options.
posted by saradarlin at 9:38 AM on November 18, 2010

Best answer: Try this Mayo article, I usually feel like they have conservative but open-minded overviews of conditions.

The bottom line seems to be Gallstones that don't cause any signs and symptoms typically don't need treatment. In your position I think I'd get well acquainted with the symptoms of potential complications and try to work on the basic lifestyle issues (see alternative medicine and prevention links on the left sidebar). Oh look it's all the stuff you're supposed to do anyway, high fiber, good fats, exercise. On vitamins they say there's evidence people with low E and C are more likely to have them, but there's no evidence supplementing these will get rid of them (still there's probably not harm in supplementing or seeking dietary increases in these at safe levels). They say there's no proven alternative method to get rid of them and I'd believe it: usually if there is anything even remotely promising they will at least mention it.

Don't mess around if real symptoms come on though, the complications can be dangerous.
posted by nanojath at 9:46 AM on November 18, 2010

You'll know if and when you get a complication from gallstones. Since you've already been diagnosed with them, when and if the time comes, you'll need surgery, but it's really easy and recovery time isn't that bad.
posted by xingcat at 9:49 AM on November 18, 2010

Best answer: Is it just a fat free diet and hope for the best from now on?

Four "maybe" attacks in 10 years? I'd do nothing but file this info away in case you have GI issues later on.
posted by anti social order at 10:04 AM on November 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you all. I don't have an especially high fat diet as it is, if I make no changes might I expect a gradual increase in symptoms or could it just result in a severe attack "out of the blue" after a once-in-a-blue-moon takeaway curry or fish and chips.

Oh and I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow, I shall post updates if there are any as she will hopefully have seen the test analysis.
posted by epo at 10:19 AM on November 18, 2010

If you're currently asymptomatic, I'd monitor the situation but leave it be for now. You will definitely know if you have complications - gallstone attacks (which result from a stone becoming stuck in the bile duct) are incredibly painful. There are certain foods you can avoid (most high-fat foods) and methods you can adopt to prevent stones or attacks, but honestly, mine were genetic and would come on from eating nothing but a salad. For me, they were unpredictable and really debilitating; I would usually be too tired and sore to do anything the next day. YMMV of course - lots of people have gallstones and never have any sort of problems.

I finally did opt for the surgery, and I only had 2 or 3 attacks a year. Yeah, they're that painful. The surgery itself, at least here in the States, is very minor - I was back at work within a few days.
posted by timetoevolve at 10:20 AM on November 18, 2010

I have them too, and I manage it with a mostly low fat diet. You also might want to ask your doctor for a prescription for a muscle relaxant or a pain killer (my GP gave me darvocet). I rarely need it, but for those "once in a blue moon" situations it's a godsend.
posted by lucysparrow at 11:46 AM on November 18, 2010 [2 favorites]

I was under the impression that a lack of fat in the diet can cause gallstones, because a lack of bile flow caused by little fat consumption allows for calcification much easier than a regular flow. So, while if you were to eat a lot of fat all of a sudden it could painfully flush your existing stones out, avoiding it altogether might help form new ones. A high-fat diet in general seems to be preventative of gallstones.
posted by Earl the Polliwog at 12:26 PM on November 18, 2010

uh, no. high fat girl here--i was raised on butter and bacon! i am also now happily free of gall bladder because it tried to kill me.
posted by miss patrish at 9:29 PM on November 18, 2010

let me be more clear: when i began to have symptoms, anything high in fat would bring on a horrendous attack, so once one has gall stones, the fats are problematic. but i'm going to vote 'no' on the idea that if only i'd eaten more fatty foods, i would never have had them to begin with.
posted by miss patrish at 9:31 PM on November 18, 2010

op, i would like to join the "if a-symptomatic, ignore" crowd. ESPECIALLY avoid any herbal remedy that bills itself as a liver tonic: burdock root, milk thistle, dandelion. these things can cause your gall bladder to try to clean house, thereby ejecting stones into the common duct and precipitating an attack. and jaundice! such a pretty color of yellow! i mean, it sounds good, doesn't it? just take a couple of these capsules, all natural, and everything will be better. no.
posted by miss patrish at 9:34 PM on November 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

If you're not rolling around on the floor, just ignore it for now. When it's time to come out, you'll be looking for a spoon to dig it out yourself. I've had kidney stones and gallstones. I'd take the kidney stones any day of the week. I only made it through two attacks before having mine out. During the second attack, my dr made noises about it being elective surgery, and I nearly punched him.
posted by JaneL at 8:32 AM on November 20, 2010

I had an ultrasound scan a few months ago after I had bad pains in my lower right abdomen.
It seemed to be textbook appendicitis but the surgeon decided it wasn't bad enough to operate (much to my and my doctor's surprise). The scans were done after this and they found a fairly large patch in my gall bladder - the person scanning thought this looked like a large gallstone but to me it looked more like several small gallstones sitting in the bottom of the gallbladder - like I know better, right?

My doctor just gave me the option of having my gall bladder removed or... no other options. I just said no because I want to avoid losing my gall bladder if possible, and that was that.

I haven't had any significant pain in the gall bladder area but I wonder if even with a lack of pain gallstones can give symptoms? I have experienced general gastic distress and fatigue and IBS type symptoms but nothing that would make me scream "Take this out now!".

I've found some medical papers that link gallstones with appendicitis, has anyone had these combined?
posted by fernbritton at 5:57 PM on June 22, 2011