Hurrah and Yay ... in November 2011 I was supposed to be admitted for a cholecystectomy, however this coincide with the date of my mother's inquest and the due date of first grandchild so I refused. NHS said I have a 1 : 5 chance of being an emergency patient within the next five years, I reasoned I had a 4:5 chance of not being an emergency and trusted my then painful gall bladder would give me some indications of getting worse.............. Instead today's scan results say gallbladder all clear ..........hurrah .................. I am still working on best diet for me with lots to learn but, as long as you're not putting yourself in danger it can be done........
I am currently gluten, citrus and nightshade free, with low dairy ..... we're all individuals and need to find our own culprits ..... I took out gluten to manage my son's Coeliac Disease in my kitchen, 2014 ... not as a fad but accidentally found real benefits for me too.
Written by
sarahstevenson
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I'm not sure gluten, citrus and nightshades cause gallstones. As I understand it, if you're hypo, they're far more likely to be due to low T3 causing the body be unable to use cholesterol correctly. It therefore mounts up and forms the stones.
Do you have high cholesterol? Have you had your FT3 measured? There is a definite connection between hypo and gallstones.
hi I am on T3 only NHS, and cholesterol was ok on last testing.......... I have Apple cider vinegar every morning before breakfast...... may have helped?
How? Apple cider vinegar will increase your stomach acid, and improve digestion. But, I don't see what effect it could possibly have on gallstones. Not that I'm saying you shouldn't take it! Heaven forbid! We need all the help we can get. But, I think it's more likely to be raising your T3 levels that have helped with the gallstones, rather than anything else.
Cholesterol levels rise when hypothyroidism is not adequately treated and TSH rises. Used to be that a sudden onset of high cholesterol and high BP were indications of hypothyroidism! Unfortunately, now most we use TSH exclusively for indication and treatment, which we all know is grossly ineffective and dangerous to the health of millions.
A lack of stomach acid is commonly caused by hypothyroidism. All systems are slowed down and stomach acid is negatively affected. Also, stomach acid reduces in production as we age. Most people over 50 have a lack of stomach acid which prohibits absorption of nutrients needed for all body systems to function properly: especially the endocrine system.
Apple cider vinegar helps many people with better digestion, but to break down dairy and proteins from a hypothyroid perspective, a better remedy could be HCL (with Pepsin). HCL replaces exactly what you are missing as far as the stomach's hydrochloric acid and quells digestive issues.
As overall hypo symptoms improve, you should be able to cut back on the HCL. Your body will indicate accordingly when it is again producing enough acid for proper absorption.
It is true. Your gallstones were caused by higher than normal cholesterol for you. When I was only nineteen years old my gallbladder was full of stones. I had no idea I was hypothyroid and neither did the doctors. My gallbladder was removed at that time, which has caused a myriad of problems for hypothyroidism because a properly working gallbladder is vital to optimal digestion and absorption of vitamins/nutrients and thyroid hormone!
The gallbladder was never the real problem. The problem for me was that hypothyroidism caused all body systems to slow to a crawl and the gallbladder was not able to function or filter properly. Because of that, gallstones formed en masse. Painful attacks continued because conventional doctors had no clue why my gallbladder did what it did.
Now we know why. My gallbladder should have been saved by recognizing hypothyroidism as the cause of its condition.
I am so very happy for you and that you refused the surgery and are on the mend. Kudos to you!
Gallbladder surgery is an insanely profitable market for surgeons. Until we stop going to conventional doctors who look at us as "cash cows," our problems will never get better. Our bodies will continue to break down on their diet of pills and more pills for every other symptom we experience.
Our health issues will quell only with adequate stomach acid, proper nutrition and supplements to ensure our vitamin reserves are topped up at all times. Thyroid hormone supplementation only when absolutely necessary (not everyone who goes on thyroid hormones will need to remain on them for life) and the right type of those hormones for the job.
Keeping patients crawling on not only an inadequate dose of T4, but failing to realize the medical necessity of adding T3 when a patient's suffering warrants an immediate change in hormone imbalance. To not do so is undeniably cruel and, in my opinion, a criminal act.
I was offered statins as cholesterol very high and apparently risk of strokes.
Medicated myself on NDT and supplements and went gluten free and hey presto cholesterol is coming down and I feel much better.
Have to fund myself it's a disgrace!
HI I had my gallbladder removed in 2006 and my thyroid in 2015.
My gallbladder was full of calcium stones. I had never been overweight never smoked and did plenty of exercise but was very low on Vit D.
My sister had both the same diseases. She was brought up in Wales and myself in the South of England. We were adopted and only found each other in our 40's.
I was lucky I have never had any problems living without my gallbladder. My sister who was a nurse told me that it was much safer to have it removed. It can be dangerous if you require and op to leave it too long. By the way I did try gallbladder cleansing etc etc but nothing worked.
Thought you'd find this excerpt on Porcelain Bladder (and full blog at a site called Gallbladder Attack) interesting:
"Vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 deficiency could possibly contribute to the formation of porcelain gallbladder since vitamins D3 and K2 work together in ensuring proper distribution of calcium to areas of the body that need it like the bones and teeth. They also act as a guard to make sure that certain organs do not get an excessive calcium supply and do not accumulate calcium plaques. When there are not enough of those vitamins in the body, there is more chance for calcium to build up and deposit in the arteries and joints as well as to form stones in the kidneys and gallbladder. Calcium precipitation in the gallbladder lumen (the sac itself) leads to gallstone formation, while calcium precipitation within the gallbladder walls is believed to be a prelude to a porcelain gallbladder."
The surgeries done are criminal in those who are hypothyroid and as a result have gallbladder issues. In my experience, most cases of gallbladder dysfunction are due to hypothyroidism. The bile is flowing far too slow and thus forms stones made of cholesterol; Vitamin deficiencies of D and K2 allow calcium to build up and also form stones.
Without ox bile supplementation there can be serious issue with fat-soluble nutrient absorption. I learned this lesson the hard way. It took decades before it manifested itself overtly. Ox bile is needed to break down fats so they are absorbed. Read up on it. You may not need it now, but eventually it is a pretty good possibility. The reason is because without fat absorption, the fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) will have much difficulty maintaining good levels for health.
Conventional medicine's tests for hypothyroidism and subsequent "treatment" are lame and inept for good health. We cannot have good health without the nutrients which facilitate optimal thyroid function and conversions that put T3 throughout the cells of the body. Someone should take the "reference range" mentality and debunk it once and for all for the "keep people sick" tool that it is. All their tests are lame as can be. It is ridiculous.
Don't they get it that we now know they have no clue as to what they're doing?
Hi Thank you for the information, unfortunately my eldest sister died from bile duct cancer which was rare at the time. She also had her gallbladder removed but left it and struggle on which wasn't good, at least in her case.
I never even knew about the name of my unusual stones I just thought that they were boring being all the same i.e. beige and rugby ball shaped. Nobody informed me that I needed Vitamin D testing.
I started to get a pain in my groin years prior to that when walking long distances and mentioned it to my chiropractor who sent me for an ultrasound, this turned out to be calcification too, but nothing was ever done about it.
Reading about how much K2 to take with D3 has informed me on how to proceed and it can even lead to a reversal but too late fore the old gallbladder.
You would think you would have immediately been put on D3 and K2. But conventional medicine knows little about nutrients... they can't be patented and thus are not lucratively profitable. But our health depends on nutrient balance. Thyroid function suffers without that balance. That's another connection they don't realize.
I am so sorry about your sister. My sister closest to me died two years ago of brain cancer. I sincerely believe that most cancers begin in those with bodies that are starving for T3, yet most are not yet symptomatic. No one checks for nutrient levels as they should either, but there's definitely something to it and sickness in general:
Wonder if they realize that B-12 is depleted nearly 60% in those who undergo nitrous oxide anesthesia. Makes us wonder. Lack of B-12 opens us to a host of other ills. Most who are hypothyroid have had some difficulty with maintaining healthy B-12 levels. Some scientists and researchers know this. The proof is in the numbers:
"General and local anesthetic are essential for many operations and medical interventions. One of the most commonly used tools for this is so-called laughing gas (nitrous oxide, N2O). This anesthetic unfortunately has the side effect of using up to 60 percent of the vitamin B12 stored in the body."
But who checks B-12 levels of patients prior to surgery and anesthesia? Who tells patients after surgery they are in dire need of B-12? It's a huge problem that eventually can costs us our health.
Good health really is all about attaining optimal levels of nutrients -- and learning how those nutrients work with one another to keep thyroid function ideal. Remember that K2 is a fat-soluble vitamin, so take it with a couple teaspoons of coconut oil or the like. Low fat diets have hurt the health of many, as vitamins A, D, E and K are all fat-soluble. They need fat in order to be absorbed.
Keep digging into what each nutrient does for the body and how much of it is needed for optimal health (by facilitating thyroid function). It will be a huge boon to your overall health. Understanding how the body works and what it needs in order to function optimally is on us as individuals. Once we know... we can ensure we're getting the right treatment to afford good health at all times.
More info for you:
The Underlying Mechanisms: How Hypothyroidism Affects the Formation of Common Bile Duct Stones—A Review
Johanna Laukkarinen, Juhani Sand, and Isto Nordback
Department of Gastroenterology and Alimentary Tract Surgery, Tampere University Hospital, Teiskontie 35, FIN-33521 Tampere, Finland
Wow I shall have to read some more ... thank you ... all interesting stuff ... I am on VIt D NHS and about to have blood tests. Didn't know I may well need K too. thanks for info
Great to know. So happy to be of help. This too will no doubt be of great interest to you:
"The health benefits of vitamin K2 go far beyond blood clotting, which is done by vitamin K1, and vitamin K2 also works synergistically with a number of other nutrients, including calcium and vitamin D. Its biological role is to help move calcium into the proper areas in your body, such as your bones and teeth."
Exactly Bunnyjean, that's why I said you must go ahead with surgery if you are advised it is dangerous to do otherwise. I posted my experience just to let others who are beginning to find gallbladder issues, that through correct hypothyroidism management, supplements and diet they may have an alternative option. We are all unique.
Would love to know exactly what you've done to settle down your gallbladder, as I, too have gallstones. Was there anything else other than what you mentioned in your above message? I am gluten free, low dairy, but I do enjoy nightshade and citrus. What part do they have to play in gallstones? Many thanks for any information you can give. Grammijee
Hi grammijee, sorry for the delay ... life has been INTERESTING HA HA
it has been a slow process of ducks in a row so I can't be sure which factors were most effective. The nightshades / citrus intolerances are most likely particular to me, we are all different. However I did use Nutrigest and more recently Nutri Liver support ... both under the scrutiny of metabolic Dr BDP and the latter through supervision of a nutritionist. My post was to encourage patients to find their way even when the going is tough... fairy steps.
Don't take risks with keeping a threatening gall bladder condition but as my prognosis was 20% chance in 5 years of being an emergency (was still very painful at times and with considerable nausea) .. I decided I had some time to play with and my awareness that this was the cause would be helpful should it have escalated. I did discuss the risks after seeing the consultant, with my GP. The consultant wanted to operate asap ..... saying it would cure everything ... I judged him by his huge distended waits line and thought well sir, you've not cured yourself so would I trust you to cure me!
I also knew my mother and Aunt had both had gall bladder surgery in their late 50's and that my mum, hypothyroid, had gone on afterwards to make stones in bile ducts etc ....... sadly we, as a family, knew very little about Hashi's in her lifetime and she was poorly throughout her life.
Lots of useful comments here ... hope you find a solution..........
Thanks for that Sarahstevenson. My mum was hypo and had her gall bladder out. I have never lived on the same diet as she did, so thought I'd be all right, but obviously not, even though I'm careful about what we eat. I'll have a look at your ideas.
Thought I'd pass this article along to you. It is very educational in why being hypothyroid and having gall bladder problems go hand in hand.
A gall bladder is very necessary in order to help with digestion and absorption of nutrients and supplements that are vital in the conversion of thyroid hormones T4 to T3. With problems or removal, things can worsen if certain protocols are not done.
When my gallbladder was removed forty years ago, I had no clue about such things. At the time, I certainly didn't realize I was hypothyroid either. Doctors took the stance that we can live without a gallbladder very well instead of dealing with a problematic one full of gallstones. If they only read the fine print: gallstones are a direct result of the sluggishness that being hypothyroid does to systems of the body. Amazing that the gallbladder is still removed without any concern of the problems the patient can face without it.
They never get down to just why the stones formed in the first place. And there are a few reasons behind their formation. Things we can possibly correct or lessen... or better yet, prohibit from occurring in the first place -- if we still have that luxury!
The article is very informative about what you should be concerned with if you are hypothyroid and your gall bladder has been removed. It also clearly explains that the real goal is getting to the root of the problem as to why your gallbladder is not functioning properly. A malfunctioning gallbladder will get in the way of proper absorption of nutrients and supplements. Subsequently, rendering your thyroid hormone replacement less effective.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Non celiac gluten sensitivity? 
My appointment has been moved!!!
Has anybody bought themselves an emergency steroid injection?
Second autoimmune diease?
Accidentally glutened in restaurant
