so i have an inflammed gall bladder

[Numbr2intheWorld]

Anyone ever have this before or know a good way to deal with it? I want to try and avoid surgery...

[lolzzz_321]

You go to a doctor? My grandpa died from cancer that started in the gallbladder, just saying.

[bigspenda73]

doctors are cool, sometimes they even know more stuff than poker players on an internet forum!

[BennyLaRue]

It takes a lot of gall to admit you need a doctor. Luckily, yours is as big as it's ever been.

[Numbr2intheWorld]

i went to a doctor but he just suggested i take motrin (anti inflammatory) and wait to see if it goes away. He made no diet suggestions but obviously this is something that has stemmed from bad eating habits. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this and had any suggestions on diet changes or herbal remedies.

[a500lbgorilla]

have you tried rubbing a stack of hundos on the area? rich ppl don't get sick so I can only assume your gall bladder isn't intimately aware of your wealth.

[boost]

rilla brought the awesome imo.


But seriously, go see another doctor if you arent satisfied with the opinion of the first one. There are also some really good non traditional doctors that arent actually quacks, but Im sure with your background you are plenty aware of this.

[kevster]

i went to a doctor but he just suggested i take motrin (anti inflammatory) and wait to see if it goes away. He made no diet suggestions but obviously this is something that has stemmed from bad eating habits. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this and had any suggestions on diet changes or herbal remedies.

Get another doctor.

[Ltrain]

My wife had her gall bladder removed because she was developing stones. It is actually more common than you think and hard to diagnose because of the location. Many people think they have an ulcer or something stomach related, but the sharp pains do not go away. The risk is if you develop stones, you will have bile backup into the liver and develop liver damage.

Go back to your doctor and request a blood test if he didn't do it already. If your liver enzymes are elevated, you need to have a scan of your bile ducts to see if they are blocked. If not, for prevention, eat less fat. The gall bladder stores bile created by the liver and uses the bile to digest fats. Less fat or less fat at one sitting, less issues.

[BennyLaRue]

Yeah, I'm kind of surprised he didn't send you for an ultrasound to check for gallstones.

[jo]

herbal remedies.

Heroin is pretty good at relieving discomfort.

[wufwugy]

i went to a doctor but he just suggested i take motrin (anti inflammatory) and wait to see if it goes away. He made no diet suggestions but obviously this is something that has stemmed from bad eating habits. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this and had any suggestions on diet changes or herbal remedies.

Don't fall prey to the uneducated hippie pseudosciences. Herbal remedies don't do shit, and dietary habits are most often not the problem, according to actual scientists. However, the data is not completely gathered so it is actually correct to say that something like dietary habits may play a role. I think it is likely, but there is a huge difference between diet playing a role and actually knowing what that diet is.

The LAST thing you want to do with ANY medical issue is look towards pseudoscience. This means things like alternative 'medicine', 'health' foods, etc. They're as illegitimate as creationism. However, you don't wanna take primary care physicians word for it without thinking, just like you don't wanna take anybody's word for anything without thinking. Primary care is different than specialists. They are pretty much the hardest working doctors in the developed world, and they spend so much time working that they make mistakes and are often not up to date on the science. One example of this is a 2004 study that found that 10 million women who had hysterectomies were getting pap smears for cervical cancer detection, yet hysterectomies remove the cervix, so the treatment was worthless and misleading. Even then, specialists can miss stuff or have insufficient data/knowledge. It is important to get second opinions

So here's what you do...

Forget about alternative medicine completely. Research this stuff on the web. Make sure that sites like quackwatch.org are in your bookmarks. Make sure that opinions you see on the web are backed up by peer reviewed research, you can do this by using pubmed, among other ways. I recommend finding a forum with people who understand science. They are easy to find. I recommend ones like freeratio.org, hypography.com, and even bodyrecomposition.com

The point to do this is to develop some idea of what's going on with you, and some idea of the best course of action.

Meanwhile, get a second opinion. Either find a specialist who deals with gall bladders or get a different primary care physician, and express to them your concern about this and why. Not only will they give you their medical opinion, but it will be a slightly more thoughtful opinion because they will know of your diligence and concern.

Good luck, and remember, one of the best things you can do is research this on your own while IGNORING pseudoscience. Pseudoscience sources are sometimes right THAT something should change, but they are almost always wrong with HOW to change it.

[wufwugy]

Also, it is substantially more likely that your problem is far more related to lack of exercise than 'poor' nutrition. In the first place, a lot of 'bad' nutrition isn't actually bad, but the entire scientific community agrees that exercise plays a big role in just about every single aspect of health.

The problem with health and science is that science is a process of controlled studies, yet with health issues it's extremely hard to apply the same amount of controls as we can in other sciences like chemistry. This means that the gathering of knowledge is vastly slower and inferior to other sciences. At this point in the research, though, it is widely believed that the most important factor in possibly all areas of health other than severe malnutrition is exercise. Even things like brain aging. Neurologists and related scientists don't agree on much when it comes to preventing brain aging, yet they all agree that exercise is very important.

[IowaSkinsFan]

Don't fall prey to the uneducated hippie pseudosciences. Herbal remedies don't do shit, and dietary habits are most often not the problem, according to actual scientists.

I'm sorry but I fail to see how bolded can not help heal any problem. Are you suggesting that changes to diet would do no help to this problem? I don't think he was moving towards not listening to a doctor, just supplementing it.

[flomo]

excellent idea rilla!

Don't fall prey to the uneducated hippie pseudosciences. Herbal remedies don't do shit, and dietary habits are most often not the problem, according to actual scientists.

I'm sorry but I fail to see how bolded can not help heal any problem. Are you suggesting that changes to diet would do no help to this problem? I don't think he was moving towards not listening to a doctor, just supplementing it.

you actually read that post?


as an online doc, i suggest getting checked for stones which has been already posted by others

[wufwugy]

Don't fall prey to the uneducated hippie pseudosciences. Herbal remedies don't do shit, and dietary habits are most often not the problem, according to actual scientists.

I'm sorry but I fail to see how bolded can not help heal any problem. Are you suggesting that changes to diet would do no help to this problem? I don't think he was moving towards not listening to a doctor, just supplementing it.

What I am mainly getting at is to not pay attention to pseudoscience. The large majority of the time you hear anything about diet affecting some type of disease it comes not from medical data, but from a bunch of hippies selling organic snake oil. That's not to mention that diet doesn't play a big role, it does, but that role must be understood, and it's not some type of cure all like the hippies want us to think. Most of the data shows dietary measures to be preventative, not curative, and much of the data shows no significance with myriads of conditions; and when diet is a factor in medical conditions it is usually very cut and dry.

We are a very well nourished people, and most of our dietary problems stem partly from over abundance, like heart disease. Even then, it's hugely genetic. The role that diet plays in American health is very minor and enigmatic, but that doesn't mean that there is no role. I guess I'm just trying to point out that Max is likely well fed enough to where he could have no 'rickets cured by vitamin d supplementation' scenario. And any scenario that would be possible would be ones with a far shorter reach. Like the role of vitamin d and melanoma. Lots of recent research is coming out that a relatively high consumption of vitamin d can cause like a 40% reduced likelyhood of developing melanoma, but this type of dietary understanding is hard to discover and is preventative not curative.

Don't get me wrong. Diet plays a role, it's just that it's important to know what that role is. I could write up an entire page on results of research I know about that can improve American diet, but it's all honestly very small stuff, and I know of no research that any type of dietary measures will cause the gallbladder to inflame or reverse that cause.

Also, if diet was a well-known factor with gallbladder issues, it's very likely that the doctor would address that. If you go into see a physician for hemorrhoids he's likely going to ask you if you eat enough fiber, but if you come in with an inflamed internal organ he's not going to ask you if you eat enough b vitamins

[BennyLaRue]

I just realized who wufwugy reminds me of.

[wufwugy]

I just realized who wufwugy reminds me of.

fyp

[Numbr2intheWorld]

Also, if diet was a well-known factor with gallbladder issues, it's very likely that the doctor would address that.

Well i mean i don't think thats necessarily true. Especially with this guy, he basically didn't tell me anything. Just that i probably had an inflamed gallbladder. He didn't tell me that it could need to be taken out or that im probably gonna have an ultrasound if it doesn't heal. I'd assume doctors would explain this stuff but i guess they dont always do.

But that's moot. Anyways i appreciate the help wuf and the suggestions from other people. From what i've read on Web MD its standard procedure to wait the first time it gets inflammed, because sometimes it'll heal and never reoccur again and waiting just isn't dangerous when it's the first occurrence. Hopefully this goes away and i can change my exercise and diet habits so this doesn't happen again

[wesrman]

My hockey coach and friend of the family died while having his gall bladder removed. He was very over weight and it was what caused problems during surgery.

Just saying that you need to take it seriously.

[wesrman]

I just realized who wufwugy reminds me of.

QFMFT.

[wufwugy]

did u know that the sun is 93 million miles away from the earth, and that it takes 8 minutes for its light to reach us

did u know that sharks evolved 100 million years before the dinosaurs

did u know that uvb rays can help prevent some cancer

did u know that the six-eyed sand spider is the most venomous spider on the planet

did u know that crocodiles have a brain the size of a walnut

did u know that there was a species of hominid dubbed 'hobbits' that likely split off at homo erectus and outlived neanderthals

did u know that sophie howard is a 32f

did u know that the notion that golf stands for gentlemen only ladies forbidden is an urban legend

did u know that daniel day lewis was several times offered the role of aragorn in lotr, but he turned it down each time

did u know that polar bears have two coats of fur so that when wet the top coat of fur keeps moisture from penetrating to the bottom coat of fur, and this allows them to swim in the arctics without getting cold, and in fact if they swim too long they overheat

did u know that it is likely that our universe exists in a larger dimension of branes and that our brane colliding with another brane caused the big bang

did u know that pyrros dimas is a greek weightlifter who won 3 gold medals in the same event at 3 consecutive olympics

did u know that hamstrings are used much more in hip extension than in knee flexion

did u know that jon lajoie is an average everyday normal guy

[Jack Sawyer]

I just realized who wufwugy reminds me of.

QFMFT.

LOL who is this?

[Galapogos]

I just realized who wufwugy reminds me of.

QFMFT.

LOL who is this?

wtf? Cliff Clavin ldo. You've never seen an episode of Cheers?

[a500lbgorilla]

why do ppl think I'm joking when I'm trying to save lives stat!?

[Erpel]

Nothing new in this post, just confirmation of what common sense and other posters are saying.

So, last summer I started having stomach pains. I've had stomach pains before and this was different. It was a sharp constant pain that didn't abate for hours. I catalogued some symptoms etc, got better, thought naught of it. Happened again, got better. Happened again - my wife found out about it and insisted I go see an emergency room or doctor or something. I figured that it was about time - one occurence could be random, but recurring episodes each more serious than the former is probably indicative of something that isn't self-correcting.

Went to a hospital as one episode was wearing off. Told: Probably gastritis. Talk to my doctor: Probably gastritis. Put on Omeprazole (protein pump inhibitors - something that reduces stomach acid production and just prevents the symptoms). Got off Omeprazole treatment - another episode - more serious and longer duration than any previous. Hospital. Whine, bitch, whine, bitch. Considered for surgery, talking to 5 different doctors. All saying - probably gastritis. Back to my doctor for more tablets and to be put up for gastroscopy (camera down my throat to look around and do a biopsi to check for kolibacter and gastritis things).

Went to my gastroscopy appointment and talked to the doctor there who's presumably a specialist in problems of the stomach. Explained my story and he said probably gallstones - I expect gastroscopy is a blank. Gallstones eh? Gastroscopy is a blank, ultrasound booked, ultrasound comes back saying yep - gallstones it is.

Point being - if it's just a single occurence be a man and get over it. If it's recurring and you're genuinely worried: Talk to a specialist. You don't want a second opinion here - you want a specialist opinion.

General practitioners know a ton about a huge wide field of medicine. But if stomach problems as in my case are gastritis 80% or more of the time that's the main thing they need to be able to diagnose. I don't think I was misdiagnosed or that they were all incompetent - it just wasn't their specialty.

[Ltrain]

Nothing new in this post, just confirmation of what common sense and other posters are saying.

So, last summer I started having stomach pains. I've had stomach pains before and this was different. It was a sharp constant pain that didn't abate for hours. I catalogued some symptoms etc, got better, thought naught of it. Happened again, got better. Happened again - my wife found out about it and insisted I go see an emergency room or doctor or something. I figured that it was about time - one occurence could be random, but recurring episodes each more serious than the former is probably indicative of something that isn't self-correcting.

Went to a hospital as one episode was wearing off. Told: Probably gastritis. Talk to my doctor: Probably gastritis. Put on Omeprazole (protein pump inhibitors - something that reduces stomach acid production and just prevents the symptoms). Got off Omeprazole treatment - another episode - more serious and longer duration than any previous. Hospital. Whine, bitch, whine, bitch. Considered for surgery, talking to 5 different doctors. All saying - probably gastritis. Back to my doctor for more tablets and to be put up for gastroscopy (camera down my throat to look around and do a biopsi to check for kolibacter and gastritis things).

Went to my gastroscopy appointment and talked to the doctor there who's presumably a specialist in problems of the stomach. Explained my story and he said probably gallstones - I expect gastroscopy is a blank. Gallstones eh? Gastroscopy is a blank, ultrasound booked, ultrasound comes back saying yep - gallstones it is.

Point being - if it's just a single occurence be a man and get over it. If it's recurring and you're genuinely worried: Talk to a specialist. You don't want a second opinion here - you want a specialist opinion.

General practitioners know a ton about a huge wide field of medicine. But if stomach problems as in my case are gastritis 80% or more of the time that's the main thing they need to be able to diagnose. I don't think I was misdiagnosed or that they were all incompetent - it just wasn't their specialty.

This is similar to what happened to my wife. Gall stones are not easy to pick up the first couple of inspections and the symptoms are similar to many other stomach problems. The first few visits to the ER, they told her it was the flu; drink more fluids and it will go away. After seeing many well respected doctors it was the nurse in the ER, after about the 5th trip to an ER, that recommended a simple blood test and they found the elevated liver enzymes indicating a gall bladder problem. The typical profile of gallstones is the 4 F's (Fat, Female, Fertile, over Forty), but it is becoming more common in the overall population because of high fat diets (my wife didn't fit any of the profiles other than Female).

[flomo]

I hope you feel well again soon.

[wesrman]

I just realized who wufwugy reminds me of.

QFMFT.

LOL who is this?

wtf? Cliff Clavin ldo. You've never seen an episode of Cheers?

OMG this cant be true.

[Numbr2intheWorld]

The typical profile of gallstones is the 4 F's (Fat, Female, Fertile, over Forty).

I'm screwed!!!!!!

[boost]

wuf, I agree that you shouldnt ignore "real doctors" and that you shouldnt buy a bunch of snake oil to remedy your ills. However non-traditional medicine is not all quack job stuff. Actually a large percentage of medicines sold in pharmacies today were derived from ingredients used by non-traditional healers. Again, I dont advocate the exclusive use of a non-traditional doctor, however I think it is just as silly to completely ignore a possible remedy just because it wasnt developed in a western laboratory.

[jyms]

I think a naturopath will do more good than harm in this instance. To think that things like naturopathy, holistic therapy and chiropractic medicines are pseudosciences is fucking ridiculous. But I am not going to get into another discussion about this with Wuf. If this is what you believe then just keep taking pills that are foreign to the system and cause more harm and solve the symptoms than actually cure the problems.

Get more opinions.

[wufwugy]

On a scientific level, the real medicine vs alternative medicine debate is exactly like the evolution vs creation debate. What that means is that one adheres to the scientific method, while the other has a success rate equal to chance. Just like in evolution/creation, just because there are gaps in the scientific understanding doesn't mean that a non-tested and invalid approach has the answer.

However, some of the alternative professions are not complete snake oil. Naturopathy is rare example because it has gotten a couple things right over its time. The funny thing, though, is that what they've gotten right is stuff that the scientific community researched and knew about for some time AND it slipped through the cracks of some primary care physicians. DHA and EPA fish oils are a good example of this.

Also

Pseudoscience means that fact gathering methodology is non-scientific. Naturopathy, chiro, etc fall into this category.

And just because something is derived from something else has no bearing on either something's efficacy.

[a500lbgorilla]

Medicine to herbal remedies is like MDMA to marijuana. Just fckin roll, baby.