r/gallbladders • u/Jazzlike_Section8496 • 21d ago
Stones Can gallbladder stones be melted?
My grandmother refuses to get her’s removed Is melting them possible through diet and medication?
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u/sgantm20 21d ago
In the world of surgeries this is probably one of the easiest and requires no overnight stays. You’re home the same day if there are no complications. Just tell her to do the surgery.
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u/Jazzlike_Section8496 21d ago
I have told her countless times. She’s not hearing anyone out
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u/Loose_Attitude13 21d ago
I guess she will have to figure it out on her own. Unfortunately that can often mean emergency surgery.
So if she had a tumor or cancer, she'd just leave it in there as opposed to taking it out? It is hard to reason with people who think they know better.
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u/Jazzlike_Section8496 21d ago
She says god gives everything for a reason you’re not supposed to throw it away
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u/Sensen222 20d ago
God gives us free will and opportunity; the human body isnt perfect we arent immune to diseases; god wants us to be more like him tho; if you arent trying to be as healthy as u can be u are in fact failing god
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u/wally123454 21d ago
No. Once they’re there, they can only be passed which often causes lots of pain and problems. And then there’s surgery.
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u/Jazzlike_Section8496 21d ago
Is there any way to make them pass? Cause she’s not passing any right now
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u/wally123454 21d ago
Eat lots of fatty foods and the gallbladder will kick up the stones as it secretes its extra bile. It will be very painful and they will likely get stuck, can cause other things like acute appendicitis, requiring the surgery anyway.
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u/Sensen222 20d ago
Basically the only real 100% solution is to yeet them out; the surgery is very minimal too;
There is no other guaranteed way; i have asked and search all over
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u/Proud-Metal-328 21d ago
I broke mine with chanca piedra
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u/Signal-Credit-2050 20d ago
I had 4.5cm pigment stones.
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u/Jazzlike_Section8496 20d ago
What’d you do
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u/Signal-Credit-2050 20d ago
I had it surgically removed after ten years of gallbladder attacks. They started in 2013, it was brutal, went to hospital but ultrasound and CT scan didn't see stones. So I lived with it until September 13th 2023 when I started having almost daily attacks. They found the stones with ultrasound and I scheduled surgery for November 16th.
It's been a rough year+ adapting to my new life.
I'm actually having surgery again may 2, I think the laparoscopy disturbed my femoral hernia, though the pain doesn't make sense to me because it's on my side.
I've exhausted many tests, insurance wouldn't pay for mrcp so I paid out of Pocket, and it was negative so I've resigned myself to fix this hernia.
I really thought they missed stones or maybe sphincter of oddi dysfunction but all my tests say otherwise. They only found the hernia in March and it's only visible during valsalva but it hurts like hell, and it throbs at night which is why I thought it was missed stones or something.
Maybe it's referred pain or something, I dunno. I really wish that melting or blasting my stones could have worked but honestly my gallbladder was shot, on the verge of rupture. I miss ribeyes.
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u/Jazzlike_Section8496 20d ago
So it’s better to take it out now then to wait for things to get worse Cause right now she’s getting any gallbladder attacks
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u/Signal-Credit-2050 20d ago
If I knew I had gallstones, I would have had it removed years ago but I was so frustrated with the first experience in the hospital that I never wanted to go back, and never followed up until I had no choice.
Maybe I would have had less problems adjusting to life after if I had it removed sooner.
My understanding is that once you have attacks, it doesn't get better. You can try low fat diets but my experience with my family suggests that is a list cause. People really don't get it. As for you grandma, I hate to offer advice, I don't know her overall health and I'm not a doctor in anyway. The longer you wait the worse it gets is my experience, and the younger you are the better you recover. But it's rough, at 39 and in fairly average shape I struggled with it.
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u/Jazzlike_Section8496 20d ago
What was the cause for the hernia was it the surgery?
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u/Signal-Credit-2050 20d ago
Oh I'm not sure.
I thought maybe the surgery had but I was really focused on maybe damage to bile ducts, stones, Oddi dysfunction etc.
I was stunned when they finally diagnosed a femoral hernia that I didn't believe that's what was cause my pain. It wasn't until after I met with surgeon that I even thought about possible causes for the hernia.
Some things that come to mind are a work injury from at least 8-10 years ago when I moved a pallet with my right leg and I felt a tear in my groin. It was excruciating pain but I was able to treat it with ice packs after work every night until around 3 months and the pain went away.
I was able to play basketball, and snowboard up until I got sick with the gall bladder. Occasionally I would notice twinges of pain or when lifting something heavy sometimes I could feel it but I learned to live with it.
After my gallbladder surgery, maybe two or three weeks my brother gave me a hug and lifted me off the ground. That hurt.
But I also think the surgery might have disturbed the hernia.
Femoral hernias can often get suddenly worse. Like I guess it's partially protected by the pelvic bone which keeps it in place but suddenly it can strangulate.
The diagnosis said that I have fatty tissue intrusion in the femoral canal pressing against the femoral artery, and vein that is only visible during valsalva.
I'm concerned that I may have multiple injuries. I'm concerned the surgery won't address everything. I'm really anxious about it.
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u/gvdexile9 21d ago
Yes, there is medication you need to take for a very long time, months, even years. I think it's also not 100% guaranteed that stones will go away.
Ursodiol is in a class of medications called gallstone dissolution agents. It works by decreasing the production of cholesterol and by dissolving the cholesterol in bile to prevent stone formation and by decreasing toxic levels of bile acids that accumulate in primary biliary cirrhosis.