Sad and depressed

[joevie]

Hello everyone ...I have multiple gallbladder stones the biggest is 1cm and I'm on Ursofalk 250mg. 3x a day..I just want to ask if can ursofalk really dissolve the gallstones? My doctor wanted me to have an operation to remove it but I have hypothyroidism too.so it's not possible for now..

[Twinkle26]

Hi jovevie,

Try not to let it get you down, when I was prescribed ursofalk for my PBC I read the leaflet in the box and did lots of web surfing to find out everything I could about the medication.

The main point is that ursofalk is for shrinking gallstones! Most of us with PBC are just glad that it seems to slow down our incurable illness.

Good luck and try to be patient with it.

Carol.

[grace111]

does your doctor know you have hypothyroidism? why would he want you to have an operation to remove them then if he knew this? i dont know if this ursoflalk works as i had a 3cm gallstone stuck in my bile duct which is very dangerous. maybe this stuff keeps them down to a small size. iv seen posts where people are on something like this so hopefull people will be able to come and put your mind at ease. i hope so. i hope that your not having very painful symptoms with the gallstones as it can be pure agony. i was glad to get mine out but saying that it has not been a cure all. im still suffering to some degree. i wish you all the best dear. its not good to hear that your sad and depressed. its not nice to feel that way so hopefull you will start to feel better soon. all the very best to you love grace.xoxo 🤗

[butterflyEi]

Hi joevie

I have copied the following from patient.info/medicine/ursod...

"Surgery is the usual treatment for gallstones that are causing symptoms, but treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid may dissolve smaller stones which are made mainly of cholesterol. It works by reducing the amount of cholesterol released by your liver into bile and by slowly dispersing the cholesterol. This breaks up the stones. "

I take URSOFALK and the leaflet does say that it is used "to dissolve gallstones caused by excess cholesterol in the gall bladder....../"

I am also copying a link which you may find informative.

patient.info/health/gallsto...

I do hope the Urso helps you and that you are more comfortable soon. I know it is all too easy to say try not to get low but when you feel like most of us can from time to time it is hard to put a good face on. Try to do something each day that makes you feel good and a little walk each day will get your endorphins working for you.

best wishes

[Suziebeau]

I think that the use of Urso to treat Gallstones is only recommended if they are small and / or surgery is not an option for other health reasons. It sounds like if you have big gallstones that are causing you health problems it might not be the best approach as it is slow and often ineffective on large stones

My mother had an operation to remove some gallstones last year, and it was done via keyhole surgery, she didn't have to spend even one night in hospital and made a very quick recovery. And felt so much better.

I know the prospect of surgery is always scary, and I do hope your issue is resolved well and soon xx

[spoul]

My understanding is that urso takes many years to dissolve gallstones. Mine are asymptomatic and my consultant doesn't currently feel the need to remove them but I'm also hypothyroid and wonder what the correlation is with this and surgery?

Kind regards Sue

[Hidden]

Hello joevie.

With the urso depends on what the gallstones are formed out of. If they are cholesterol formed then urso is used. Urso was originally designed for the dissolution of gallstones of a cholesterol nature before being used for PBC.

I understand there are also calcium formed gallstones so not sure what happens there. I don't really know much about gallstones only that patients tend to get a pain across their middle a short time after eating anything that contains fat.

[cclcnal7]

I don't fully understand why being hypothyroid means you can't have you gall bladder removed. I was diagnosed over 10 years ago as hypothyroid and had my gallbladder removed 2 years ago due to stones. They knew my medical history and nothing was mentioned. It was removed using key hole surgery so was in and out within hours. Was diagnosed with PBC this year and started Urso. What is the reason they gave you for not having the surgery? If you don't mind me asking.