Re: Is it really what it seems?

[Guest guest]

>I have been fighting gallbladder disease for some years now and have

>always been willing to try any suggestions. I think I've tried most

>things discussed in this list. Tho' I am able to manage the

>condition I still occassionally have a bad attack. Sadly I have come

>to the conclusion that none of these remedies work for me and that

>ultimately one day I'll have to face the reality of having surgery.

>I'm trying to defer that day as long as possible.

Terry-

Your post was quite refreshing, thanks for honestly sharing your

experiences and opinions. I suspect there are a lot of people on the

list who will benefit from your report. I've asked a number of times for

someone to share " before and after " sonogram images which show gallstones

before flushing and no stones afterwards; no one has come up with them

yet. As I said, the flush may have some limited benefit, but I don't

believe you can get rid of large stones this way. I also am very

concerned about some of the " advice " given on the list. A lot of it

sounds like hearsay, passed along without any sense of reality; in some

cases it may be dangerous. The notion that magnesium causes the common

bile duct to dilate is highly suspect. I've also doubt the claim that

olive oil " lubricates " the CBD.

I don't recall if you mentioned what type of stones you have: many or

few, large or small, but some gallbladder disease responds well to the

bile salt Ursodiol (Actigall in the US). I have one fairly large stone

(1.7cm) and have been taking Ursodiol for one month now; since starting I

have not had one " attack, " which were coming almost on a weekly basis.

Though I still have some occasional discomfort, it is certainly

manageable. I eat carefully, but am not on an extreme diet.

The doctor who is treating me, Chief of Gastroenterology at a medical

school hospital near New York City, specializes in non-surgical treatment

of gallstones. He explained that gallstones form when cholesterol

precipitates out of over-saturated bile. He believes that much of the

pain we suffer during a gallbladder attack is a result of " sludge " and

crystallized bile in the gallbladder. Ursodiol is quite effective at

" thinning " the bile, getting it back to a more normal consistency and

getting rid of the sludge. One downside: it is quite expensive, I'm

taking the generic and it costs around USD 250/month. Fortunately, the

prescription is covered by my insurance.

Ursodiol can dissolve small stones. It takes quite a long time,

sometimes more than a year, and there is no guarantee that stones will

not reform. A technique to get rid of larger stones is to use

Lithotripsy (shock waves) to break them up so they can pass out of the

gallbladder, the Ursodiol dissolves whatever small bits are left. While

Lithotripsy has been used to break up kidney stones for many years, it's

use for gallstones was considered experimental in the US for a long time.

In fact little attention has been paid to it over the past decade since

Laproscopic surgery has become so accepted and widespread. But in

September 2000, the US Govt. gave approval to lithotripsy (only for one

specific manufacturer's machine), in conjunction with Ursodiol, for

certain types of gallstones.

I am not positive that my doctor will recommend Lithotripsy, but at this

point it looks like I am a good candidate. If I am not, or if the

technique is not successful, I suppose I will have the surgery. I can

deal with that.

Searching the web, I have found that Lithotripsy is done in some other

countries. I gather you are in Australia. Perhaps you can find doctors

who are interested in this technique Down Under.

If you want more info about the lithotripsy procedure, look at these

websites:

http://www.medstone.com/pressGAIN.htm

http://www.healthinform.net/htmls/gain.html

....Bill