GALLSTONES


Gallstones can occur anywhere within the biliary tree (but more so in the gallbladder). Most commonly encountered are cholesterol stones and others are pigment stones, there may appear mixed and combinedstones with varying proportion of different constituents including calcium carbonate, phospholipids, glycoproteins etc. Although it is common to have many smaller stones, a single larger stone or any combination of sizes is possible. If stones are very small they form a sludge which may hardly cause any symptoms. Gall stones are more common in females than males (2:1), and more in the 4th and 5th decade of life. Obese people are at an increased risk of gallstones. Women on oestrogen therapy or on birth control pills have higher incidence of gallstones.Starvation increases the risk of gall stone formation

SYMPTOMS
A person usually suffers from a severe pain in the right upper abdomen which ususally persists for some time, might remain for 30 minutes to more than an hour also. Symptoms are referred to as gallbladder 'colic' as they tend to occur suddenly and might be intensely painful. There might be pain in the back between the shoulder blades. Pain under the right shoulder might also be experienced. Pain, fever, clay coloured stools, yellowish appearance of the skin all need to be clinically co-related when present. Very frequently the gall stones might remain asymptomatic and they are termed as 'silent stones' which are diagnosed accidentally.

TYPES OF GALL STONES:
1. Cholesterol stones
Causes of cholesterol gallstone formation:
Supersaturation of bile
Age
Sex
Genetics
Obesity
Drugs
Diet
Liver disease

Cholesterol nucleating factors
Mucus
Glycoprotein
Infection

Impaired gallbladder function
Emptying
Absorption
Secretion

2. Pigment stones
Black pigment stones
Brown pigment stones
Are frequently associated with hemolytic anemias.
thery are also more frequent in cirrhosis and hepatocellular disease.

COMPLICATIONS
Cholecystitis- Inflammatory condition of the gall bladder.Impaction of the gall stones in the common bile duct within the pancreas may cause pancreatittis and other disorders.There may be formation of mucocele, but it is not very common.

OUR TREATMENT
Our treatment is homoeopathic and we believe we need to correct the cause and not the symptoms.There are no side effects of our treatments.We do it in the most effective and holistic mode without surgical removal or other procedures as these are only an externalsupplementary to obtain temporary relief. Cases which have been treated with surgical procedures tend to recur.

OTHER TREATMENT OPTIONS
Attempts are made to dissolve the stones with the help of medications but only 5-10% cases respond to them as there are multiple causes for their formation.

Laproscopic removal of the stones is usually carried out.
Nowadays a non-invasive procedure called as Extra Corporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy is being tried and has been of some help, but cannot treat all the types of stone present.

WHAT SHOULD I DO MYSELF?
Avoid starvation- when we starve we do not consume any foodstuffs and this in-turn leads to accumulation of bile within the bladder promoting stone formation.
People tend to avoid fats completely, but it is important to consume the essential fatty acids which are vital to gall bladder function.
Increase your daily water intake and increase on high-fibre diet it helps to reduce your bowel transit time.
Regular physical activity has been reported to reduce the risk of gallstones upto some extent.
Make sure you visit your physician and seek medical help when the pain persists or have any other symptoms or complications.