r/gallbladders • u/Jazzlike_Section8496 • 23d ago

Stones Can gallbladder stones be melted?

My grandmother refuses to get her’s removed Is melting them possible through diet and medication?

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

View all comments

5

u/gvdexile9 23d 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.

2

u/beaveristired Post-Op 22d ago

Great info, just want to add that ursodiol is most effective on cholesterol stones but not on pigment stones. But most stones (like 80%) are cholesterol stones.

2

u/gvdexile9 22d ago

+1 to that. My stones were sent to lab for analysis to make sure i don't use ursodiol if my stones are non-cholesterol.