Gallbladder & Liver Flush?

[anjh-blue]

Anyone out there ever done one of these

detoxtheglallbladder.com

My daughter is about to try it and she is seeing a second check from another gastro

[humanbean]

Have you googled "gallbladder flush dangers" and "liver flush dangers"? There are plenty of links debunking it and saying it is a scam and very dangerous.

[anjh-blue in reply to humanbean]

I have the flushes seem very mild - just apple juice and Epsom salts... got to try something rather that gallbladder removal. Will let you know how she gets on. It is a six day detox, first 5 days taking 250ml of fresh apple juice 3-4 times a day then on the 6th day at 6pm & 8 pm 250mls of water with 1 teaspoon of Epsom slalts. Then at 10pm half cup of olive oil and lemon. Then basically sleep and wait for the body to start moving bowl contents and check bowl movement contact.... seems pretty straight fwd but will have to wait and see

[Chancery]

Anjh-blue, gallbladder flushes do NOT work, and I say that as someone who fought unbelievably hard, at great physical cost, to keep her gallbladder. I researched the subject very thoroughly and it is easy to find plenty of material showing what bad science and idiocy they are.

If you think about the most simple things first:

1: gallstones are hard, made of hardened cholesterol, bilirubin and calcium. How would apple juice and Epsom salts dissolve that? If they did, every time we drank apple juice it would be dissolving bones, teeth and all the cholesterol in our bodies.

2: How do these flushes get IN to the gallbladder to dissolve the stones? Food doesn't go into your gallbladder in any way, so how do these things reach the gallbladder to flush them out?

3: The most important of all, why would the NHS spend a small fortune paying very expensive surgeons to remove your gallbladder when they could cheaply solve the problem with Epsom salts or a glass of apple juice? Think of all the money they'd save on doctors trips, consultants, ultrasound scans, radiologists, hospital stays. It just doesn't make economic sense if apple juice and salts worked.

If your daughter has symptomatic gallstones, the oil in these flushes is more likely to bring on an attack of biliary colic and land her in hospital. They are a con trick of the very worst kind, since they are preying on desperate sick people. Don't fall for it and put yourself though the disappointment, and your daughter through the possibility of a debilitating attack of biliary colic, or worse, pancreatitis.

[anjh-blue in reply to Chancery]

Thanks for this info she didn't try after all. She is right now at the Wellington Hospital for a second opinion with a gastro who specialises in young people. As I mentioned in other posts my daughter has this constaint pain that she says gives her a hot feeling 24-7.

[Chancery in reply to anjh-blue]

You're welcome, Anjh. Has she actually had an ultrasound and been diagnosed with gallstones? How old is she?

[anjh-blue in reply to Chancery]

She is 18yrs with Hashi's and on 125mcg recently changed from 150mcg.

she was diagnosed with gallstones at the 1st Gastro appt and as I mention in last posts he wanted to take the gallbladder out and work on her pain after - but his attitude was awful so I felt my daughter needed a 2nd option. Any this Gastro was great very understanding and she is organising for my

daughter to chat with a surgeon. In terms of the meds for other prob if it does not work she will go down and check pain.

[Chancery in reply to anjh-blue]

Oh what bad luck. Only 18 and landed with gallstones already, AND Hashimoto's? Poor thing. I assume she's got gallstones from the thyroid problem? Does kind of prove it's a thyroid issue and not middle aged spread, which they're always telling us it is. But by the sounds of it they seem to think it's something more than gallstones causing the pain?

I don't know if it helps put your mind at rest any, but I was very ill with gallstones for a year and a half. They can be tremendously painful. Mines caused acid reflux, malabsorption, severe 24/7 back pain and a burning pain in the breastbone. Plus, of course, they caused biliary colic and nausea which kept landing me in hospital with jaundice and dysfunctional liver tests - so they can be mighty disruptive all by themselves. Mines were so painful I couldn't stand up straight and it hurt to walk - no kidding!

I don't know if this might help her while she's waiting to see the surgeon/have surgery, but I ate the St Anthony's diet while I was trying to get rid of my stones. The great thing about it was it kept me out of hospital and allowed me time to work on dissolving the stones (I failed!). Without it I would not have made it as long as I did. It's unbeatable for keeping the pain at bay and allowing you to function. Here's a link:

docsmed.com/diet.htm

The low fat diets they recommend on the NHS are often not low fat enough for people who have symptomatic stones. Your daughter might find following the St Anthony's will make her life a lot more comfortable. I wouldn't recommend it long-term though; she needs to get her gallbladder sorted if it is causing a lot of pain and trouble. On the other hand, she is a lot younger than me and maybe she could get her gallbladder back to being asymptomatic with this diet - might be worth a try. Hope all goes well for her!

[anjh-blue in reply to Chancery]

Thanks so much for this. Hopefully seeing a surgeon soon but will look at this diet in the mean time

[Chancery in reply to anjh-blue]

You're welcome. Good luck!

[anjh-blue in reply to Chancery]

By the way did you have your GB out in the end?

[Chancery in reply to anjh-blue]

Yes, I did. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I couldn't get the stones to dissolve. I was on ursodeoxycholic acid, by prescription, in the hopes that I'd be one of the lucky ones, but it wasn't to be - my stones stayed obstinately put.

I wouldn't recommend the St Anthony's diet long-term, nor would the doc who recommends it, I imagine! I was on it for a year and a half and lost all my weight, unsurprisingly, which made me feel better in many ways, but in many others I deteriorated. I got very weak and lost muscle strength. I also developed malnutrition problems. But it must be remembered that I often 'fasted' two days a week as well - not willingly, but because I was so sick.

Ironically, on my very fist attack, which landed me in hospital, they wanted to take out my gallbladder straight away and I wouldn't let them. The surgeon then told me that the Urso' tablets didn't work and time proved him right. I still don't regret doing it though. I gave it my best shot and would never have forgiven myself if I hadn't tried.

[anjh-blue in reply to Chancery]

Gosh you have certainly given it a go.

My poor daughter will hopefully have hers out in the next couple of weeks. Just waiting to speak to this nice surgeon - she will be going private for this as it took GP / NHS much to long in diagnoses.

Oh... Any side affects worth a concern?

[Chancery in reply to anjh-blue]

Well, at first generally everyone gets the runs. This is normal and is caused by 'bile dumping', i.e. your bile is suddenly being dropped straight into your intestine instead of being trickled in as necessary. It's easily dealt with though, just don't eat much fat at first and work up to it gradually. Sometimes, if you are unlucky, this will always be a problem, but as your girl is so young I'm thinking it's not likely to happen. I stayed on my fat-free diet for a couple of months after so that I wasn't rushing to the toilet after every meal!

The stomach may be out of sorts generally for a while, but other than that, no, it does adapt, although not nearly as quickly as they tell you! Likewise, after the op itself, you are REALLY sore for a while, despite the small scars. They tell you you will be back to work in a few weeks (or a couple? Can't remember now!) but it actually feels bruised and very painful for quite a long time after. I still had a tender stomach a full year after surgery!

But other than that, no, it's as easy as they promise you it will be. I found that I couldn't digest food as well after the op and that's never been restored to me, but I honestly do not know how much of that is 'damage done' or my age. Again, I'd think your daughter will fare much better as she is so young. You can also reassure her that the scars are minimal and after about two years barely noticeable. Although, again, she'll probably heal faster than that due to her youth.

Give her my best wishes - the very best of luck with it!

[Chancery in reply to anjh-blue]

Sorry, I should have checked first - she is having it done with keyhole surgery, I assume?

[anjh-blue in reply to Chancery]

Yep she had open heart surgery at 6 months so as little scaring as possible. She is so brave

[Chancery in reply to anjh-blue]

She is indeed brave. The keyhole surgery is the way to go. I had a friend who had her gallbladder out at 17 and it was done in the old-fashioned way - her scar was awesome! But this is not nearly so terrifying as open-heart surgery and all will go well, I promise! X