IrresistibleGrace Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 How did it go? I am diagnosing myself with gallbaldder "trouble". I've had two major attacks of some sort, the first one being Friday night two weeks ago and the last one being Sunday night/Monday morning and I have felt yucky ever since. According to all the research I can do, plus the opinion of a few nurse friends and family that have had gallbladder trouble, it really seems to be my problem. So, since money and time is an issue for doctor appointments and surgery, I was going to try a gallbladder flush/cleanse. Will this help? Is it a waste of my time? If you have tried it, did you eat only apples and apple juice for a couple days before hand or did you eat light and add in lots of apples/juice? I was thinking of doing the olive oil & lemon juice thing Friday night. How long will I be . . . um, "busy" . . . Saturday? Thanks for any help!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalom22 Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 I have gallstones, but have not done a cleanse. From what I understand, it is not a good idea to do a cleanse if you are experiencing pain. It would be better to eat foods that help to dissolve the stones some before trying to flush them out. The pain is coming from a stone being lodged in the duct. Here is a great site to read up on all things gallbladder: www.gallbladderattack.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 This gets mixed reviews. My doctor almost had a heart attack when I told him about it. He said it wouldn't work. Others say they do. You don't know where your stones are and how many, size etc without an ultrasound. I have a friend that swears by lemons and no fatty foods. Bread and water stop the pain. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 A good friend of mine did the Aloe, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar thing. I know it had to be a very specific kind of aloe juice and the Mom's Apple Cider. She said it did seem to help a bit, but was miserable while she did it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 I did the flush under the helpful guidance of a chiropractor who was experienced with it. I was not in pain at that time, but was having frequent bouts of pain. It was a very long time ago, so the details are somewhat hazy. I drank unfilter apple juice for 3-4 days ( a gallon a day maybe?) and then did the olive oil, lemon juice drink on a Friday night. I also had to add a packet to it. The packet was salty and later he told me you could substitue epsom salt for whatever it was in that packet. The "flush" shall we call it, happened over the course of the next day. I repeated the whole thing 2or 3 weeks apart, several more times. You don't get the "mother lode" as he called it the first time. I believe I was eating very low fat diet at the time. However, I do recall raw apples would bring on an attack for me. I remember eating lots of chicken soup and jello. I was very symptom free for several years and then slowly I started having minor attacks again. About 5 years later I had a really bad attack and since the surgery had changed and was no longer the "cut you open from stem to stern" , I had the surgery done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvasMom Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 My nursing opinion is that it's not a good idea at all. The reason being anatomy. When a kidney stone is flushed out, it only has one place to go and that's out. A gallstone is different. It has options. It can drop right into the duodenum and come right out the other side and you have a great result OR it can end up making it's way to your pancreas. Which way it goes is totally random. If it goes with option #2, you are in big trouble. Life threatening trouble. If you choose not to have the gallbladder removed (I chose to keep mine) then it's a much better idea to follow a gallbladder friendly diet (very limited fats...not no-fat because that's as bad as high-fat but just very limited). If the gallbladder is staying put then you want it to stay nice and quiet and happy so that the stones don't get into any mischief. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 IMHO I would have your gallbladder taken out if a surgeon says it is indicated. I waited over 10 years hoping it would get better and it did not so I finally had it taken out. It caused me a lot of pain and worry needlessly. The surgery was the best thing I have done for myself and I never should have waited so long. Plus I did not want to risk having the need for gallbladder surgery under emergency conditions or when I was elderly. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrresistibleGrace Posted November 17, 2011 Author Share Posted November 17, 2011 (edited) Thanks guys, this really helps. I am trying to decide what to do, feeling some (friendly) pressure from my husband to do the cleanse/flush, but I'm just not sure about it. With our schedules, this weekend is the only time I can do it in the near future so this adds extra pressure to hurry and decide. I guess I was thinking, what's the harm if I just give it a try. Yeah, it will be uncomfortable but what will it hurt? Ugh! I am terrible at making decisions - especially decisions under pressure!!!!! ETA: I'm off to read the thread about gallbladder friendly foods. Edited November 17, 2011 by IrresistibleGrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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