Gallbladder Flushes

[mrsgrasty]

I am looking for people to share their experience if they:

1) had gallbladder attacks
2) then did a cleanse
3) and whether or not it worked and you ended up having surgery.

I've seen plenty of people whove done it, but not many have expressed relief from acute pain.

Story: i got super sick right before thanksgiving. Found out it was my gallbladder. Took about a week to get better. No more attacks until 2 weeks ago, and now I can't eat anything without it causing pain. Since I'm nursing and my milk supply, which is already not good, tanks when I don't eat, I've just tried to choose carefully. But I am still in a lot of pain, even with good foods.

I want to do a flush, but you see mixed info about them online. I am not opposed to doing it, I am just so afraid of food at this point that I am worried that it won't work. And how will I know? Since i am avoiding so many normal foods.

[BellinghamCrunchie]

I had to eat extremely low fat (just plain potatoes with nothing but salt on them and carefully trimmed chicken breast) for months until my surgery. Any kind of fat or grain or nut or dairy or anything would make me very nauseous or have bad pain.

I worked with a naturopath and an acupuncturist to try to dissolve the stones before having the surgery. Didn't work.

I believe that the "stones" produced by flushes are just a kind of soap made from the olive oil and citrus juice in the intestine, and have nothing to do with the gallbladder whatsoever. I saw a study that did a lab analysis of the stones that came from flushes and they confirmed this. I can't find the study to give you the link.

I am sure that if I had taken a large amount of olive oil while I had my gallbladder I would have been incredibly, horribly sick and in terrible pain. I have sympathy pains just thinking of you swallowing oil :)

I hate to say it, but if you are having this much difficulty with food, nausea, and pain, you are probably past the point of being able to be helped with natural methods anyway and surgery is probably your best option. I know I spent 7 miserable months and lost 40 pounds trying to heal my gallbladder. Sometimes the gallbladder is just too damaged. Have you had a HIDA scan?

[IntuitiveJamie]

I did a clease, but not when I was in acute pain. That makes me nervous even thinking about it. But when I was not having an acute attack I did a cleanse and drank gallons of organic apple juice and ate tons of apples. I got accupuncture and a lot of Reiki. I did castor oil packs. I was told by a surgeon that I would need to have my gallbladder out and there was no other way to heal the gallbladder. That was prior to the different healing things I did and that was two years ago. Still have the gallbladder and do not have any problems anymore. I can't say it was just one thing, like the cleanse though.

[lilmom]

OP, just wanted to say I am in a similar boat. I recently was considering a cleanse myself, but I decided I was in too much pain (although off and on) to do it. Too risky! I tried cutting out gluten, dairy, and meat (Except fish), and it has not helped. I also took chinese herbs, which helped for a few days but then quit helping. Castor oil packs do help me some.

I went to the chiropractor yesterday, who seems to think the problem is not my gallbladder but my back..I don't know about that but I am willing to give it a shot.

I am also curious what tests you've had. I had a HIDA scan which apparently showed my gallbladder to be fine, although they did offer to take it out for me if I wanted, I just didn't want to!

Jamie - How long did it take you to get your gallbladder feeling better? I would love to go to acupuncture..there just isn't one in my town..but *hopefully* we'll be moving soon and I can go back. I went before and absolutely loved it. Plus it helped me get my beautiful son!

[Sfcmama]

My experience:
Had sporadic attacks after dd was born. A few weeks ago, I started having pain after eating anything. This went on for almost a week. I went to the acupuncturist to try to flush stone. Coincidence or not (I'm in no way blaming acupuncture), the next day I had a prolonged attack (6+ hrs) with pain beyond any other attack (and way worse than labor) and went to ER. Turns out a stone went out of my gallbladder and was stuck in my bile duct. Ultrasound showed the duct to be 3 times the normal size. I just got an MRI today to see if it's fully passed or if I need to get it removed by GI doctor before getting my gallbladder removed (as it's still full of large stones). I'm normally a very naturally minded person but I've reached a point where it's seriously interfering with my family and my relationship to food...
Hope this helps!

[Koalamom]

I had repeated attacks while pregnant and after, and I saw a naturopath who gave me 2 products and from that day on, I havent had an attack.  I didn't want to do sny flushes while nursing a newborn.

[IntuitiveJamie]

I really don't remember how long it took. Not too long.  But I will say that it helped me bring more attention to diet and some areas I needed to improve and so I continue to work with those. I've also done several internal cleanses since then, such a raw food cleanse, and a candida cleanse. I was definitely not in any sort of acute problem with the gallbladder during those.

And for those that want to consider it; I always look at everything as a whole body/mind/spirit connection. I try to see all angels of an illness. So for those of you having gallbladder problems, who's got your gall?

Louise Hay in her book "Heal Your Body" suggests gallstone means: "Bitterness. Hard thoughts. Condemning. Pride."  A positive affirmation to help flip those feelings/thoughts is: "There is joyous release of the past. Life is sweet and so am I." 

Feel free to take it or leave it. I personally like to look at all possible angels when trying to heal.

[Koalamom]

Jamie, that is such a great way to put it.  I am interested and off to check out that book...

[lilmom]

Originally Posted by IntuitiveJamie 

I really don't remember how long it took. Not too long.  But I will say that it helped me bring more attention to diet and some areas I needed to improve and so I continue to work with those. I've also done several internal cleanses since then, such a raw food cleanse, and a candida cleanse. I was definitely not in any sort of acute problem with the gallbladder during those.

And for those that want to consider it; I always look at everything as a whole body/mind/spirit connection. I try to see all angels of an illness. So for those of you having gallbladder problems, who's got your gall?

Louise Hay in her book "Heal Your Body" suggests gallstone means: "Bitterness. Hard thoughts. Condemning. Pride."  A positive affirmation to help flip those feelings/thoughts is: "There is joyous release of the past. Life is sweet and so am I." 

Feel free to take it or leave it. I personally like to look at all possible angels when trying to heal.

Thanks Jamie! I am definitely working on the spiritual aspect of healing my body too..it just seems to be a pretty long process for me, one I've been working on for several years. Love the positive affirmation you gave!!! I will use that.