gallstones

[kaysixteen]

So I had the annual CT scan to check on the status of my kidneystones, which thankfully are unchanged.   But, well, my gallbladder is apparently laden with stones as well (when the urologist reviewed the report from last year's scan, the stones were there as well then).   Obviously I have had no problems with them, and the guy told me what to look out for to suggest that this would be changing, if it does.   Any thoughts?

[Hegemony]

Well, if they're not causing trouble, no worries, I guess. (Though I am not a medical doctor.) I assume that if the professionals were not concerned, no action is necessary. I have had a gallbladder attack and it is not something one confuses with not having an attack. That said, apparently there is some kind of emergency situation, if you have an attack that goes on for a while. But since you haven't had an attack at all, rejoice in your good fortune!

(Incidentally, when I had the attack, one doctor said "You will want to change your diet to keep that under control" and another doctor said, "Go see about having your gallbladder removed." I was about halfway successful in changing the diet, but had further attacks, and then one grand attack which resulted in removal of said gallbladder. This is how I know that attacks are not silent.)

[ergative]

Every member of my nuclear family, plus my grandmother and I think a few aunts or great-aunts, has had gallstones. I'm astonished I escaped. My understanding is that the pain comes from when the stones block the bile duct, so if they're small and spikey that's bad, and as Hegemony says, the attacks are pretty horrible. My grandmother dealt with it by eating basically no fat for years, so as to spare the bile duct from needing to release any bile to digest it. Maybe that's what managing it by diet means? My mother and sister had surgery right away, and I think by the time my sister had it the laproscopic approach made it fairly minimally invasive.

But if the stones are large and smooth it's less problematic. Maybe that's what you've got? My father had the large smooth kinds, but I think he eventually had the surgery too.

So, in sum, my family history with them has been pretty extensive, and in the end everyone always got the gallbladder removed. Except me. But then, I've always been a bit of a changeling in my family in any number of ways.

[Juvenal]

I had a gallstone attack just a year ago.  No fun.  They were blocking the bile duct.  The removal was interesting (I was there, of course, but unconscious).  They remove them through the mouth with a flexible (it sure had to be) device with what I visualize as little grabbers at the end.  Anyway, out they came.  All I know is there were "several."  I then had the advice to remove the gall bladder, but gut problems, bladder problems, back problems, have had my focus lately.  I rationalize that it took about seventy-five years for these gallstones to come to being nasty, so maybe a couple of years more waiting is--perhaps--safe.

[Sun_Worshiper]

Well, if they're not causing trouble, no worries, I guess. (Though I am not a medical doctor.) I assume that if the professionals were not concerned, no action is necessary. I have had a gallbladder attack and it is not something one confuses with not having an attack. That said, apparently there is some kind of emergency situation, if you have an attack that goes on for a while. But since you haven't had an attack at all, rejoice in your good fortune!

(Incidentally, when I had the attack, one doctor said "You will want to change your diet to keep that under control" and another doctor said, "Go see about having your gallbladder removed." I was about halfway successful in changing the diet, but had further attacks, and then one grand attack which resulted in removal of said gallbladder. This is how I know that attacks are not silent.)

What kind of diet keeps these at bay?

[apl68]

Well, if they're not causing trouble, no worries, I guess. (Though I am not a medical doctor.) I assume that if the professionals were not concerned, no action is necessary. I have had a gallbladder attack and it is not something one confuses with not having an attack. That said, apparently there is some kind of emergency situation, if you have an attack that goes on for a while. But since you haven't had an attack at all, rejoice in your good fortune!

(Incidentally, when I had the attack, one doctor said "You will want to change your diet to keep that under control" and another doctor said, "Go see about having your gallbladder removed." I was about halfway successful in changing the diet, but had further attacks, and then one grand attack which resulted in removal of said gallbladder. This is how I know that attacks are not silent.)

What kind of diet keeps these at bay?

According to WebMD, pretty much the same kind of diet that's supposed to be good for everything else--high fiber, low fat (except for fish and olive oil), and low sugar and other refined carbs.  And exercise is supposed to help.

[secundem_artem]

I had a gallstone attack just a year ago.  No fun.  They were blocking the bile duct.  The removal was interesting (I was there, of course, but unconscious).  They remove them through the mouth with a flexible (it sure had to be) device with what I visualize as little grabbers at the end.  Anyway, out they came.  All I know is there were "several."  I then had the advice to remove the gall bladder, but gut problems, bladder problems, back problems, have had my focus lately.  I rationalize that it took about seventy-five years for these gallstones to come to being nasty, so maybe a couple of years more waiting is--perhaps--safe.

You probably had an ERCP.  I remember getting into a pissing contest with a GI fellow about the need for antibiotic prophylaxis prior to the procedure.  Can't remember how that ended.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/endoscopic-retrograde-cholangiopancreatography-ercp#:~:text=What%20is%20ERCP%3F,long%2C%20flexible%2C%20lighted%20tube.

[Juvenal]

I had a gallstone attack just a year ago.  No fun.  They were blocking the bile duct.  The removal was interesting (I was there, of course, but unconscious).  They remove them through the mouth with a flexible (it sure had to be) device with what I visualize as little grabbers at the end.  Anyway, out they came.  All I know is there were "several."  I then had the advice to remove the gall bladder, but gut problems, bladder problems, back problems, have had my focus lately.  I rationalize that it took about seventy-five years for these gallstones to come to being nasty, so maybe a couple of years more waiting is--perhaps--safe.

You probably had an ERCP.  I remember getting into a pissing contest with a GI fellow about the need for antibiotic prophylaxis prior to the procedure.  Can't remember how that ended.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/endoscopic-retrograde-cholangiopancreatography-ercp#:~:text=What%20is%20ERCP%3F,long%2C%20flexible%2C%20lighted%20tube.

Yeah, that's what it was.  I don't recall a pissing contest (that was the bladder problem the next month) about what was needed pre/post, although I begin to suspect a bout of antibiotic therapy might have worsened the on-going gut problem.  Sigh.

[secundem_artem]

I had a gallstone attack just a year ago.  No fun.  They were blocking the bile duct.  The removal was interesting (I was there, of course, but unconscious).  They remove them through the mouth with a flexible (it sure had to be) device with what I visualize as little grabbers at the end.  Anyway, out they came.  All I know is there were "several."  I then had the advice to remove the gall bladder, but gut problems, bladder problems, back problems, have had my focus lately.  I rationalize that it took about seventy-five years for these gallstones to come to being nasty, so maybe a couple of years more waiting is--perhaps--safe.

You probably had an ERCP.  I remember getting into a pissing contest with a GI fellow about the need for antibiotic prophylaxis prior to the procedure.  Can't remember how that ended.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/endoscopic-retrograde-cholangiopancreatography-ercp#:~:text=What%20is%20ERCP%3F,long%2C%20flexible%2C%20lighted%20tube.

Yeah, that's what it was.  I don't recall a pissing contest (that was the bladder problem the next month) about what was needed pre/post, although I begin to suspect a bout of antibiotic therapy might have worsened the on-going gut problem.  Sigh.

In the immortal words of the well known philosopher duo Jagger & Richards:  "What a drag it is getting old."

[Hegemony]

A low-fat diet is the first go-to to eliminate gallbladder problems. I experienced a direct correlation between eating high-fat meals and gallbladder attacks. I could eat a small dish of Haagen-Dasz after a healthy salady meal without provoking an attack, but not on its own as a late-evening snack. I understand that some other foods tend to provoke gallbladders as well, but for me it was very much the fat. I held the attacks at bay for several years eating a low-fat diet, but then I slipped a few times, and the last of those times was a doozy.

There is also a medication that dissolves one of the several types of gallstones, but you have to take it for as long as two years for it to work. The doc said that then people stop taking it and then they develop gallstones again right away. So, more investigation would be needed about that option.

[glowdart]

We have a family history, too, but controlled by diet alone for most of us. I have to be careful about egg yolks & meats & the creamer at campus events. Haven't had an attack in years and they've never seen stones. I'm also lucky in that I get a low level twinge when I've eaten a bad combination of foods, so as long as I heed that warning, then all is well.