What are Gallstones?
Gallstones or cholelithiasis are concretions usually made of bile cholesterol and bilirubin in the gallbladder. There can be one large gallstone or hundreds of tiny stones or both small and large stones.
What are the risk factors for Gall Bladder Stones?
Gallstones are associated with:
• Female gender
• Obesity
• Birth control pills/Hormone Replacement Therapy
• Pregnancy
• Increasing age
• Rapid weight loss
• Low HDL cholesterol
What are the Causes of Gall bladder stones?
• In certain conditions, the liver makes bilirubin in large amounts e.g.in blood disease (chronic hemolytic anemia) or liver disease (biliary tract infection) that leads to stone formation.
• The gallbladder is not empty completely due to poor muscle tone
What are the Signs and Symptoms of Gall bladder stone?
Gallstones may remain asymptomatic for years, these are called silent stones. When the size of gallstones increases more than 8 mm. symptoms start appearing.
• Constant severe pain in the upper right side of the abdomen lasting for several hours frequently at night.
• Pain radiates to the right shoulder or back. Pain starts after a fatty or greasy meal.
• Nausea and vomiting
• Fever
• Indigestion, bloating, heartburn
• Jaundice (a yellowish color of your skin or whites of your eye)
How to detect Gall bladder stones?
Your doctor can use your medical history, a physical examination, and certain lab and imaging tests to diagnose gallstones:
• Blood test
• Ultrasound
• CT scan
• Cholescintigraphy
• Endoscopic ultrasound
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
What’s the treatment of gallstones?
If the patient has symptoms of gallstones then surgical removal of the gallbladder is the best option.
What are the problems that can occur after gallbladder removal?
The gall bladder stores bile which helps with the digestion of fat and its transfer from the intestine into the body. So after gallbladder removal avoid fatty, greasy, processed and sugary food as it can lead to gas, bloating and diarrhoea.
What happens if gallstones are left untreated?
Untreated gallstones can be life-threatening, especially if the gallbladder gets infected or pancreas gets inflamed.
What is the dietary management of Gallbladder stone?
• Avoid Non-Vegetarian diet
• Avoid fried food
• Avoid milk and milk products except for cheese.
• Oils should be restricted in the diet.
• Low cholesterol and low saturated fat oils are recommended.
What is the prognosis of Gallbladder stones?
Symptoms of gallstones do not return after surgery.
What is the Differential diagnosis of Gallbladder stone?
• Cholecystitis
• Bile duct tumors.
• Gallbladder cancer.
• Gastroenteritis.
• Pancreatic cancer.
• Acute pancreatitis.
• Gastric and peptic ulcers.
• Bile duct strictures.
• Appendicitis.
What are the commonly indicated Homeopathic remedies for Gall Bladder stones?
– Chelidonium majus
– Dioscorea
– Calcarea carbonica
– Lycopodium
– Cinchona officinalis
