Gallstone Treatments
An ultrasound scanner can detect the presence of gallstones quickly and without pain. To test liver functions, blood samples are taken. Some other tests useful for gallstones are MRI scans and CT scans. CT means computerized tomography and examines the body with several different slices of x-ray views.
MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging, which takes pictures of the internal organs without the use of x-rays, which is useful to check the bile ducts. An oral cholecystogram is a type of x-ray exam that check to see if the gallbladder is contracting properly.
Dissolution therapy uses medicines to dissolve gallstones. If a patient doesn't want surgery, one alternative is to use ursodeoxycholic acid to dissolve them, but if diet isn't also changed, gallstones can come back.
X-rays can only spot certain sizes of gallstones and then it can spot them only if the gallbladder contracts. Lithotripsy is a new technique using sound energy that may be used more to dissolve gallstones in the future. So far, the best method of physical removal is by dissolution therapy or ERCP, but sound energy has promise.
Cholecystectomy is surgery to remove the gallbladder and gallstones. If only gallstones are removed, they often reappear again, unless major diet changes are implemented. Newer surgical techniques allow the devolvement of the gallbladder to be done through keyhole and laparoscopic surgery.
Major complications after gallbladder surgery are rare. Most patients feel better after the operation and the pain is gone. The only problem is that they will not digest fats properly, if their gall bladder was removed, because the bile from the gall bladder helps digest fats.
Lecithin helps homogenize the bad cholesterol, especially in the gall bladder, so lecithin supplements, along with Vitamin E are often advised. Eggs used to be recommended against, because they contain cholesterol, but newer studies are showing that their high levels of lecithin more than offset the cholesterol content.
Your doctor can test you and advise if you have any risk of gallstones, so he is your best place to start. Lecithin helps homogenize the cholesterol in the bile, to prevent gall stone formation, so it, along with vitamin E, and a diet with fewer animal products, like meat and milk, and more raw fruits, salads, and other vegetables can directly reduce the risks of bad cholesterol and gall stones
If you are diagnosed with gallstones, your physician will advise you of the alternative treatments for gallstones. You will have to decide which treatment is best for you. Hopefully, you will have time to consider some of the natural treatments, and won't require surgery because of complications that can't wait.
You may also like to read more about controlling cholesterol, which is part of the gall stone problem, at Cholesterol Healing .com.
This article was written by Jim Krage of Healing Energy News .com.
