Gallbladder

[Petrina_gmfc]

Hi I was wondering if anyone have problems with there gallbladder when you have cirrhosis of the liver.

[Walt1010]

I had pain over the last few years and then had it removed. It wasn't mentioned that it might have been related to my liver issues, but I was in a country where I don't think they may have been away of my cirrhosis.

[Petrina_gmfc in reply to Walt1010]

OK thanks for that they notice it when I went for a scan on my liver

[Ewife]

I'm interested in folks response to this. Before my husbands cirrhosis was picked up it was said he had sludge in his gallbladder/biliary tubes. I'm presuming this could still be the case...he's sure sometimes his gall bladder plays up a bit, like if he's had greasy food or something.

[Petrina_gmfc in reply to Ewife]

I just found out that I have gallstones in my gallbladder when I went for a scan on my liver as I have cirrhosis of the liver through medication.

[AyrshireK]

My hubby was found to have gall stones a couple of years ago when he had an MRI scan after oddities were found on his routine 6 month screening scan - biliary sludge had been picked up before that on earlier ultrasound scans but consultant said "everyone basically has that!". Hubbies gallstones had moved out of his gall bladder and were at risk of blocking his common bile duct so he had to undergo a fairly urgent ERCP procedure to both get rid of the gallstones lodged there and and also widen the mouth of his bile duct to prevent future blockages. Because his gall bladder is fused to his cirrhotic liver there is no chance of them being able to remove it (unless he undergoes transplant at somepoint and the gall bladder will go along with the liver).

[Petrina_gmfc]

Thanks for that I am going for a scan in a couple of weeks time for my liver to see how it is and then they will have a look at my gallbladder when I get it done.

[sophiaS1980]

I see more and more people with stones after having a diagnoses of cirrhosis, I also, wondered if it is related, since the gallbladder sits right under the liver.

[AyrshireK in reply to sophiaS1980]

This is what is on the NHS page about Gallstones :-

Gallstones are thought to be caused by an imbalance in the chemical make-up of bile inside the gallbladder. Bile is a liquid produced by the liver to help digestion.

It's unclear what causes the chemical imbalance, but gallstones can form if there are unusually high levels of:

cholesterol inside the gallbladder (about 4 out of 5 gallstones are made of cholesterol)

a waste product called bilirubin inside the gallbladder (about 1 in 5 gallstones is made of bilirubin)

These chemical imbalances cause tiny crystals to develop in the bile.

These can gradually grow (often over many years) into solid stones that can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a pebble.

Sometimes only 1 stone will form, but there are often several at the same time.

Who's at risk

Gallstones are more common if you:

are female, particularly if you have had children, are taking the combined pill, or are having high-dose oestrogen therapy

are overweight or obese

are aged 40 years or older (the older you are, the more likely you are to develop gallstones)

have a condition that affects the flow of bile (such as cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, or obstetric cholestasis)

have Crohn's disease or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

have a close family member who's also had gallstones

have recently lost weight (from either dieting or weight loss surgery)

are taking an antibiotic called ceftriaxone

Full NHS page at:- nhs.uk/conditions/gallstone...