Normally,yourliverproducesbilethatisusedbyyoursmallintestinetodigestfattyfoodsandabsorbimportantvitamins.Your
gallbladderstoresthisbile.Sometimes,however,bilecanbecomesupersaturatedwithcholesterol.Whenthishappens,
cholesterolgallstones(cholelithiasis)form.Womenaremorelikelytodevelopgallstonesthanmenbecauseestrogen
increasescholesterollevelsinbile.Obesityisanotherriskfactor.Twentypercentofgallstonesarepigmentstonesmadeof
calciumsaltsandbilirubin,aproductmadefromthebreakdownofredbloodcells.Thistypeofgallstoneisusuallycausedby
liverdisease,anemia,oraninfectionofyourbileducts.Laparoscopicsurgeryhasmadecholecystectomy,orremovalofyour
gallbladder,themostcommontreatmentforgallstones,buttherearesomenonsurgicaloptions.
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MethodOneofThree:
PursuingNonSurgicalTreatmentOptions
1 PursuingNonSurgicalTreatmentOptions
2 ExploringAlternativeRemedies
3 PreventingGallstonesfromForming
Consideroraldissolutiontherapy.Yourdoctormayprescribeacourseofursodioltodissolveyourgallstoneswithout
surgery.Thesetreatmentsareessentiallybileacidsinpillform.Ursodiol,inparticular,isapopulartreatmentbecauseit
isoneofthesafestcommondrugsavailable.
Oraldissolutiontherapyismostlikelytobesuccessfulintreatingsmallstones(lessthan1.5centimetersindiameter)
withhighcholesterolcontent.About30percentofgallbladderpatientsarecandidatesforthistreatment.
Ifyouaresufferingfrompigmentstones,youwilllikelyneedtopursueothertreatment.
Thistreatmenttendstobelesssuccessfulforobesepatients.[1]
Pursueshockwavetherapy.Thistherapyisoftenusedincombinationwithoraldissolutiontherapy,although
laparoscopicsurgeryisnowsoreadilyavailablethatshockwavetherapyisrarelyperformedtoday.Thistherapy,also
calledlithotripsy,usessoundwavestobreakgallstonesintomoreeasilydissolvablepieces.[2]
Thistreatmentworksbestongallstonesunder2centimetersindiameter.[3]
Thistreatmentissomewhatrare,asitisonlyavailableinafewlocations.
Understandthatgallstonesoftenrecurfollowingnonsurgicaltreatments.Gallstonesreturninamajorityof
patientswhopursuedissolutiontreatments.Asaresult,thesetreatmentsarenolongercommon.Typicallytheyare
usedforpatientswhoarephysicallyunabletotoleratesurgery.[4]
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Wasthismethodhelpful?
PursuingNonSurgicalTreatmentOptions
No
Yes
MethodTwoofThree:
ExploringAlternativeRemedies
Treatyourgallstoneswithplantterpenes.Scientifictestingofaproprietaryblendofplantbasedcompoundscalled
Rowacholhasproducedencouragingresults.Asixmonthcourseoftreatmentproducedcompleteorpartialdissolution
ofgallstonesin29percentofa27patientresearchpopulation.
Theseplantterpenesappeartostimulatebileproductionbyyourliverandinhibittheformationofcholesterolcrystals.
Rowacholalsoenhancedtheeffectivenessofothersolventdrugs.[5]
Consideragallbladderflush.Opinionsdifferregardingtheefficacyofgallbladdercleansesandliverflushes.No
scientificevidenceexiststhatthesetreatmentsareeffective[6],buttherearesomeanecdotalreportsofsuccess.Bear
inmindthatmostoftheevidenceproducedinyourstoolfollowingaflushisnotactuallygallstone,butratherabyproduct
ofthetreatmentitself.Thatsaid,youmaytryvariousoptions:
Fast12hours.Then,startingat7p.m.,ingest4tablespoonsofoliveoil,followedbyonetablespoonoflemonjuice.
Repeatevery15minutesforatotalof8treatmentcycles.
Alternatively,consumeonlyappleandvegetablejuiceduringtheday.Then,around5or6p.m.,ingest18millilitersof
oliveoil,followedby9millilitersoffreshlemonjuice.Repeatevery15minutesuntilyouveconsumed8ouncesofolive
oil.
Gallbladderflushesoftenproducepainanddiarrhea.
Bythenextmorning,youlltypicallypasssoftgreenorbrownspheres.Again,thesearenotusuallygallstones,but
ratherthebyproductsofthetreatment.[7]
Tryacupuncture.Thistreatmentmaynoteliminateexistinggallstones,butitcaneasespasms,increaseyourbile
Treatthesymptomsofyourgallbladderdiseasewithherbsorhomeopathicremedies.Itsimportanttonotethat
flow,andrestoreproperliverandgallbladderfunction.[8]
theseremedieswillnoteliminateyourgallstonesrather,undertheguidanceofatrainedprofessionaltheymay
mitigateyoursymptomssoyoucanbettertoleratethestonesalreadyinyoursystem.
Greentea,milkthistle,globeartichoke,andturmericcanallsupportliverandgallbladderfunction.Again,consulta
trainedmedicalprofessionalbeforeundertakingaherbalregimen.Usedimproperly,theseherbsmaytriggera
gallbladderattackorproduceotherunwantedsideeffects.[9]
Homeopathicremediesforgallstonesincludecolocynthis,chelidonium,andlycopodiumpreparedinspecific
concentrations.[10]Notethatthereisnoevidencethathomeopathyiseffective.
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Wasthismethodhelpful?
ExploringAlternativeRemedies
No
MethodThreeofThree:
PreventingGallstonesfromForming
Followdietarypracticesthathavebeendemonstratedtopreventgallstones.Anumberofpracticeshavebeen
linkedtolowerincidenceofgallbladderdisease:
Consumepolyunsaturatedandmonounsaturatedfats.
Eatplentyoffiber.
Ingestcaffeineaspartofyourdailydiet.
Yes
Followavegetariandiet.
Avoidexcessiveintakeofrefinedsugarssuchassucroseandfructose.
Somecircumstantialevidenceindicateseatinglargequantitiesoflegumescanincreaseyourincidenceofcontracting
gallbladderdisease.[11]
Consumeaminimalquantitiesofalcohol.
Considereatingseveraloneounceservingsperweekofpeanutsorothernuts.Thishasprovenusefulinstudies
involvingfemalesubjects,inparticular.[12]
Eatregularlyavoidskippingmeals.[13]
Consumepreventivenutritionalsupplements.NutritionalsupplementscontainingvitaminC,soylecithin,andiron
haveprovenusefulinpreventingthedevelopmentofgallstones.[14]
Loseweightslowlyandthenmaintainahealthybodyweight.Rapidweightlosscanincreasetheriskof
developinggallstones.Whileobesityisariskfactorforgallbladderdisease,youllwanttoeliminatethisriskfactor
slowlythroughcarefulweightloss.Slow,steadyweightlossof12poundsperweekisbest.[15]
Pursueallergytestingandtheneliminateallergenicfoodsfromyourdiet.Identifyingandthenavoidingfoodsthat
causeallergicreactionsinyoursystemcanreduceyourriskofdevelopinggallstones.[16]
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Wasthismethodhelpful?
PreventingGallstonesfromForming
No
Yes
CommunityQ&A
AnsweredQuestions
Ihavepainfulgallstones.Isitallrighttoavoidsurgeryandtrytheseoptionsinstead?
Surgeryisthefastestandmosteffectivewaytoremovesymptomaticgallstones.Unlessyouhaveamedicalconditionthatmakes
surgeryriskier,itistherecommendedcourseofaction.Thatsaid,ifyouhaveonlyhadoneepisodeofpain,itmaybeworthtryingto
dissolvethegallstonewhileyouwaitandseeifthepainisarecurringissue.
Helpful?
Canthesenonsurgicaltreatmentsworkonalargegallstone?Ihaveone12mmindiameter.
Youcouldtrythemandvisitthedoctorregularlytoseeifthegallstoneisdecreasedinsize.Largegallstones(especially3cmorlarger)
areassociatedwithhigherriskofgallbladdercancer.Considersurgerysoyourdoctorcanexaminetheorganforothersignsofcancer.
Helpful?
Whathappensaftergallbladdersurgery?
Inmostcasesthepatientcanleavethehospitalwithinadayandrecoverfullywithintwoweeks.Whileyou'rerecovering,youmaywant
toeatlessfat,morefiber,andavoidcaffeineandspicyfoods.Almostallpeoplecanreturntoanormaldietafterrecoverywithnoserious
issues.Ifyou'reinthesmallminorityofpeoplewhocontinuetohavediarrheaorindigestion,reducethefatinyourdietandconsultyour
doctorforadvice.
Helpful?
Ihavebeenusinghomeopathicremediesforfourmonthsandmygallstonehasnotchangedinsize.Howlongwillit
take?
Homeopathicmedicineisnotevidencebased.Fromamedicalperspective,thereisnoreasontobelieveitwillhaveanyeffect.Ifyou
wantthealternativemedicineperspective,askahomeopathforatimeestimate.
Helpful?
Doesapplecidervinegarcuregallstones?
No,thereisnoevidencethatapplecidervinegarhasanyeffectongallstones.
Helpful?
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Tips
Laparoscopiccholecystecomtyisthegoldstandardtreatmentforsymptomaticgallstones.Ifpatientshavegallstonesand
theyareasymptomatic,veryfewdoctorswillprovideanytreatment.
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Helpful?
Nonsurgicaltreatmentsforsymptomaticgallstonesarereservedforpatientswhodeclineorcannottoleratesurgery.
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RelatedwikiHows
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