Gall bladder cleanses - do they work?

[AitchTwoOHoHoHo]

i have an itty-bitty gallstone that is only causing a bit of annoyance (well, apart from the odd occasion where i have thought i was DYING) so would rather go the hippy, olive-oil-drinking option before thinking of surgery.

but do they work? can anyone help?

morebeta many thanks. It's so frustrating isn't it. I just want to know what is up and not to be ignored. I turned up at a&e 4 weeks before my op and that doctor was the only one to run any blood tests. They were all normal. I had 3 more weeks of pain, bloating and neon yellow wee and saw my GP and 2 nurse practitioners and all they said was, you're not jaundiced, wait for your op. My GP even gave me a ticking off for going to a&e! I am finally under a proper consultant - i googled him and he seems to know his stuff - and he is the one that has ordered the CT, which is next week. The last surgeon thought I should have had ercp, which in hindsight is silly as it would only have dealt with one part of the problem. I just hope that once I've had the scan, I'm not left waiting too long for the actual operation. This is affecting every part of my life, from not having enough energy to play with my son, to low levels of concentration at work, and beyond. You're so right about GPs. I hope your mum is out of pain now too.

This problem is so misunderstood and definitely on the rise. I am so sure that it's linked to food allergies too - of which I have many. Always suffered with digestion and like you, have heard so many being fobbed off with ibs when it's really gallstones.

Bambino, just to add - the only time I was hospitalised due to a gb attack they said I also had pancreatitis. I knew it had been a particularly severe attack, and the symptoms had gone on for several days. But this had happened on another occasion when I didn't go and see my GP (was about to, when symptoms started going) and with hindsight I am pretty sure I had pancreatitis on that occasion too, meaning it got better on its own (which incidentally it did the time I was hospitalised as I didn't actually receive any treatment, just booked cholesectomy the following week). I don't understand why they started treating you, then stopped - why didn't they do a scan first? What do you mean, they started the op??

Bambino - well thank goodness you now seem to be under a consultant who knows his/her stuff and is getting a CT done. Have you had ultrasound and all the chemical tests? As I say, there are lots of potential causes not just GB but if does sound like that is the most obvious cause.

Like you, the low energy meant I could not play with my young sons (football with Dad in the garden, that kind of thing). My Mum is well now as she had the op after going to A&E.

Good luck for next week.

camperfan I had an ultrasound in April after my GP initially thought I might have an ulcer - to his credit, he did say that he would test me for gallstones if it wasn't an ulcer, which he did. I then went back and he advised me to follow a low fat diet, which worked for a while but if i ever strayed just a little bit, and i'm just talking something like salmon, then even that bought on attacks. In August, I noticed that the attacks were becoming more frequent so he referred me to a smaller hospital for the op. Said that they were great for "routine" surgery, but i now know that they aren't technically or logistically equipped to deal with complications. They literally went in through keyhole, saw problems, had a look around then closed me back up again. He then referred me to a larger hospital for ercp, but the consultant there said, no, she needs a ct scan - I imagine so he can see for himself exactly what's what then plan a catch all op. I would be surprised if my original surgeon hadn't had a look at my pancreas whilst he was "looking around" but who knows. He did say that there was no sign of infection. I wished I had asked him but I was woozy from the general still I think. I really hope it wasn't pancreatitis. That changes your life forever doesn't it.

morebeta many thanks for your kind words. You mentioned that you have indigestion a lot post gallbladder removal, did you suffer with that before. Have you ever been tested for h. Pylori?

Bambino - I did go and have endocopy of my colon and down my throat right down to my duodenum just in case I had an ulcer. Showed nothing.

In the end I went on a coeliac diet (no gluten or dairy) and started taking anatacids. I eat very little at night and not to much alcohol and not to much red fatty meat during the day. It seems to keep it under control. The consultant said it does happen sometimes once the gall bladder is removed as there is not enough bile released at each meal. Bile is what is used to neutralise acid and also aids digestion especially of fat.

Mild acute pancreatitis is not life changing. Severe acute pancreatitis is that - severe and can lead to other organ failure. Clearly that is not what you have. Chronic pancreatitis means that there is significant damage caused over time, but this is usually due to being alcoholic or diabetic.

So when you had the ultrasound, did they actually say there were gallstones or not?

CamperFan my ultrasound showed multiple uncomplicated gallstones and normal size biliary tree - but that was back in April. It got really bad leading up to my op. My pain was always soothed by painkillers, so it wasn't as severe as some, but I had other more noticible symptoms like itchy skin, bilirubin in my urine. That all points to inflamed gallbladder which the surgeon noticed. I can't think that he wouldn't have seen my pancreas, it's right in that area. He must have checked it, or at least the duct. I can't wait to my scan. It was my work's Xmas do today which I couldn't go to as I'd have felt like a plum sat there with my jacket potatoe and beans and glass of water I wouldn't mind, but I bloody organised it. Just want to get back to normal.

morebeta I am hearing more and more of ceoliac being linked to gallstones and it is something I am going to further investigate. When I had my last run of attacks before my op, I was eating bread every day as it was the lowest fat carb I could find and that caused awful stomach pain, like trapped wind. I was also constipated for a week, but I think the codiene played a part in that.

There is a mumsnetter on here too called Spandau that has been to hell and back with gallbladder issues. It is so common now, and I'm hearing of it in people that are perfectly slim and healthy.

Aitch I hope this is convincing you to definitely go for the op. How are you?

Bambino, if you can get away without the ERCP more the better. I had a stuck stone in the bile duct and was advised against the ERCP as a method of removal, apparently they have to make cut to get the stone out and this cut isn't repaired so you live with a hole and possible leakage through it for the rest of your life. If your consultant is good, he'll do what mine did, keyhole to remove the gallbladder and the stone. Though there are no guarantees they can do keyhole or get at the stone from this end. My urine was dark yellow from the start of my colic attack until the gallbladder was removed. Hopefully you won't be waiting too long after the CT for a resolution.

My attacks were triggered by pregnancy - I can't remember but I think it is the increased oestrogen that makes the gallbladder sluggish, something like that. Either way they were already there - apparently a huge number of people have them, but they don't cause any problems. Other than the pregnancy thing, I have had a pretty healthy diet, vegetarian, for the last 20 years, size 10, etc etc.

Since I had my gallbladder out I haven't had any dietary problems at all, which has been a huge relief.

Pleiades I googled ercp as soon as I got back from the hospital and thought it was a silly idea, I mean, why take a stone out of a bile duct when the gallbladder is still intact as it could result in another stone moving there. The hospital I am under now routinely does keyhole bile duct exploration and GB removal so I am hoping that this will be his plan of action after the ct scan.

camperfan It took me a long time to lose my baby weight so perhaps it was that which caused the gallstones, but it was only a stone or so. Weirdest thing is, my bloods show that my cholesterol level is perfect.

I had gallstones for years and didn't even know it. But I suddenly became very ill. I was ill at home for weeks completely bed ridden. I was eventually carted off in an ambulance and admitted to hospital. By this time I had septaecemia and my liver had started failing.

It was discovered that I had gallstones that had become infected. I spent 16 days in hospital. I eventually recovered and when I was strong enough I had my gallbladder removed. I had 143 stones and some were really big.

I found the op ok. Bit sore when standing up and sitting down. I was able to walk the dc to school after a week and drive (my dh works away during the week so I had no choice really). It hurt a bit lifting heavy objects up to about 6 weeks after.

My stepdad had 1 small stone. But his moved and blocked the bile duct. He was really ill and went completely yellow. He had his gallbladder removed and as the stone was stuck they had to open him up.

Therefore, I really wouldn't put off surgery, you could suffer complications as listed above and I wouldn't take the risk.

I 'discovered' I had a gall bladder problem when I ate a lasagne at my mother's house and had a half bottle of red wine just before Xmas. Two days later, bent double with pain and going green I went to a GP. He sent me home and told me to take pain killers and diocalm.

Eventually, that acute attack passed, but in reality I had been suffering with incipent symptoms for 18 months and went for another 6 months before the operation. I was so lacking in energy (my pancreas was not working properly so my insulin was all over the place) by the end that I could barely walk up a gentle incline. My friends said I had aged 10 years and looked green. I eventually told my own GP what I thought I had wrong with me after reading about gall bladder symptoms on MN and he rather sceptically agreed to send me to have an ultrasound.

This can be a quite severe life limiting condition that can suddenly become very very acute and life threatening. I have no idea why GPs are so ill informed about it.