Gallstones - just got ultrasound results back - advice?

[Amelie]

Hi,

I just got results of an ultrasound that I had after a 7 hour long gallbladder attack on Tuesday night.

The ultrasound said that I have ONE (they could only find one) gallstone, stuck in the neck of the gallbladder, and that sucker measures 1.8cm. Yikes!

I had all kinds of bloodwork for pancreatitis, ulcer, etc etc and it all came back normal.

So apparently this puppy is the cause of all my pain and turmoil!

Now the question is...what can I do to get rid of him FAST! Should I just take the stone dissolvers you guys have talked about - unfiltered apple juice, ACV, lecithin, GCG?

I would like to try and do a mini-flush to try and get rid of him. So how long should I take these stone dissolvers before I do the mini flush?

At this point I don't have the guts to do a major flush...so I want to try and get rid of it with just a smaller or slower one.

Also I think the problem is that he's stuck in the neck of the gall bladder...probably causing my attacks. Will taking the dissolvers make him smaller so he'll slip through? Or is there something else I can do to get him unstuck?

Do you like how I gave my gallstone a gender? LOL!

One other note - I am having laparoscopic surgery to diagnose/remove endometriosis (I suspect mild to moderate, nothing severe) on Dec 5th and want to be in best health possible for that.

Also husband and I are to start trying for baby in March, and want to also be in best shape possible for pregnancy. My doc said gallstones are NOT fun in pregnancy (trying to scare me into surgery) so I want to focus on abating these symptoms well before I'm pregnant.

Other general symptoms/history I have are:
High sugar diet (better at controlling it lately but I still have a sweet tooth, love cookies and ice cream!)
Took birth control pills for 4 years 2000 to 2004, plus have been on them again last 3 months to try and control endometriosis
Was on antibiotics for acne for probably a year or more, around 2002-2003 timeframe.
Have struggled with mild to moderate acne since teenagerhood, never seems to fully clear up though I've realized it is heavily cyclical related - past several months got cystic acne around each side of chin/corners of mouth the week before my period. Rest of face is pretty clear.
Gallbladder attacks for 2-3 years (though not frequent enough for me to do something about it, until now)
Not overweight but notice i have deposits of fat in belly and upper thighs (I think estrogen fat)...could probably lose 5-8 pounds between the two of them. Am hoping lecithin might help with this based on another post I just read
Have had endometriosis for 5-6 years (that I know of) - first discovered through increasing deep pain during sex. Now often aches just during the day, around my right ovary area especially.

That's it. Any advice on my "little parasite" in my gallbladder would be very welcome! I noticed this week after my attack that after every meal, right under my sternum feels tight, and my bra hurts. I try to pull it off of my sternum or take it off, if I'm at home. Not quite an attack but definitely my body tapping me on the shoulder.

As we speak I am drinking a glass of unfiltered apple juice (found the "Simply Apple" at Albertsons and says it is pasteurized, but unfiltered apple juice...lots of sediment at bottom and feels "thick" to drink), along with 3/4 TBL Bragg's ACV (next time I'll do a full 1 TBL, just didn't know how it would taste).

Thank you forum! This forum has been a lifesaver for me over the past year. I can't believe people out there just go off of what their doctor say and end up cutting out whole organs that do a lot of good for the body. Its so sad that doctors are so ignorant of cheap stuff that really works.


Karyn (aka Amelie)

[Amelie]

The ultrasound said that my gallbladder was "contracted", and I think that is the cause of my feelings of "tightness" in the epigastric area especially after eating...so what can I do to make the gallbladder relax? Take 1TBL of oil?

[shelley]

Ginger/peppermint tea truly aids the gallbladder, as does cleansing the bile with a high-fiber diet that is high in good fats, regular doses of lecithin and carrot juice or cleansing carrot salad. We've had many people restore their gallbladders and avoid surgery that way.

[Amelie]

Hi Shelley,

I've read your FAQ and done a search on this forum on Gallstones, and also have been on Curezone. So I won't make you repeat a bunch of stuff you've already said a million times. I went to the local health market today and got what I could, will order the rest online. So I do have a plan of attack, involves:

- Peppermint tea first thing in morning
- High fiber Bob's Red Mill 7-grain hot cereal, with 1T lecithin, 1T yeast flakes, 1tsp-1T wheat germ, and some brown sugar added (no butter which I used to do)
- Unfiltered apple juice/cidar with ACV added
- Lunch of something "easy to digest" as noted in your FAQ, veggie soup, lentil soup, pasta with low-fat topping, etc, with 1T lecithin
- Dinner of the same
- Had already been taking calcium chews, read about how magnesium does the same as Epsom sales and helps relax bile duct, so bought some and took 1st pill with lunch

My main weapons are going to be lecithin, GCG (though haven't ordered it yet...will this afternoon), and apple juice/ACV. Also will order the liquid Phosfood, and some bile salts if I can find them.

My specific question is...how does this stuff actually end up IN the gallbladder, to work on the stone that I currently have stuck there?

I know when we swallow stuff it goes into our stomach, and then passed into our small intestine. It seems like it would need to go through our liver and then into the gallbladder. But not everything from the liver goes to the gallbladder, right? Just bile does, I think. So, I'm not sure how GCG, lecithin, etc that we swallow actually ends up in the gallbladder to "eat away" at the stone.

Does someone know the answer to this? It can't just go from the stomach to the small intestine, that's too far down in the digestive system. It would have to go through the liver and then the liver pass it to the gallbladder and I'm not sure how or whether that actually happens.

Thanks!

Karyn

[shelley]

Hi Karyn!

MOST of everything that goes into the liver ends up in the gallbladder because the gallbladder catches what the liver expels. The liver tries to just expel pure bile salts into the gallbladder, but these very quickly get contaminated with other foods and chemicals. Bile salts are excreted into the common bile duct, and then into the duodenum (small intestine) where most of digestion takes place. The chyme (food paste) there is absorbed back into the liver by the hepatic duct for more assimilation, synthesis, conversion, etc. The bile salts are separated out of the nutrients and back into the gallbladder, but again, things come with it.

When we eat a meal, the bile salts expelled from the liver/gallbladder return to it to be re-used about six times minimum. So as you can see, this process can very quickly be overwhelmed by poor eating habits that cause gallstones.

When gallstones muck up the process, things that shouldn't end up in the gallbladder do, creating even more gallstones and contaminated bile. So the gallbladder gets dirty with bacteria which then causes infection and inflammation.

Everything you're doing will take care of the problem within ten days, if not sooner! But it's best to do more than that if this is your first time in doing liver maintenence, especially if you want to be pregnant soon. It will also go a long way towards making sure you don't get more endo tissues.

keep the ginger/peppermint tea around for pregnacy, they work wonders on morning sickness and will ensure your gallbladder stays healthy despite the pressures the baby adds.

The FAQ has advice for pre and post surgery diets and upping your fertility.

Endometriosis can be caused by potassium deficiency in terms of its ratio with zinc, and low iron. They can check for iron levels but the others are always within a certain range blood wise, and orthodox medicine doesn't yet check the actual cellular levels, so you can only analyze your diet and see if you're eating enough high-potassium foods, or have other symptoms of potassium deficiency (edema, irregular heart beat, bladder weakness...). The fact that your right ovary pains you more than the left also says potassium deficiency, so get on that right away and see if it cures night sweats etc.

Some of your weight gain might be edema, make sure your kidney is strong. If it is (normal creatinine and BUN) then it's probably the estrogen, which lecithin, GCG and Julia's Vitex is also very very good for that, and will aid with getting pregnant too. Vitex is the only herb that regulates sex hormones without adding more of them, so it's the only one I recommend.

Don't worry, those pesky gallstones will be gone soonish. Just put in the time and effort and you'll be back to pain-free living in no time.









Getting rid of all of the imediments allows the body to cleanse, remove infection, heal inflammation, and go back to normal.

[Amelie]

Thanks Shelley! I'm excited to have a healthier body. Thanks especially for the tips about the endometriosis and getting ready for pregnancy...

I have to keep reminding myself I need to deal with one thing at a time, which immediately HAS to be the gallbladder/liver because I risk having an attack literally every time I eat (I feel the tightness come on but no attacks since Tues, whew). Anyway I'm taking the lecithin and GCG probably won't be here until later in the week. I've heard its very bitter and not looking forward to taking it...but oh well.

After my liver/gallbladder is clean then I want to focus on my hormone issues, it is obviously they are out of whack with cystic acne specifically around my chin/corners of mouth and under jaw, the endometriosis, and fat buildup in "estrogen" areas. This I am hoping to accomplish by March, which is when we want to start trying.

I didn't see Vitex on Julia's site, though I did see "Fem-Mate".

I am consdering ordering her 4-pack of tinctures (more GCG along with Chinese Bitters, Coptis and Cur...something), so I can do a more thorough liver cleansing after the immediate gallstone problem is solved.

Am going to do a search now for those other tinctures to see other users' experiences with them.

Thanks again... i feel so much better taking control of my own health and not being a helpless lamb at the mercy of a surgeon (though did decide laparoscopy for endo was best decision if nothing else so they can confirm its presence through physically seeing it!) I told them, no organ removal allowed.

Cheers and blessings to you and other members! Happy Thanksgiving (and thanks for the Announcement on that too...LOL!)

Karyn

[shelley]

Yes, Fem-Mate is Vitex. Vitex is the actual herb.