Gallstones Treatment: How Can You Get Rid of Gallstones?

Gallstones are small “stones” that form in the gallbladder that can cause pain and inflammation. Usually, gallstones treatment involves either surgery, or medication to break up the stones. But are there any natural forms of treatment that can remove gallstones naturally in 24 hours?

Medical Gallstones Treatments

Gallstones usually don’t show any symptoms, nor cause any problems. However, if the gallstones become too large, too many or they block the ducts of the gallbladder, a person with gallstones can experience severe pain.

Here are some common ways that doctors treat gallstones:

Surgery

Surgery is usually the recommended method for treating gallstones. For gallstone surgery, the gallbladder is taken out in order to completely get rid of the problem.

The reason behind this is that gallstones tend to have a habit of coming back. So even if the gallstones were treated through other means, it’s possible that they would come back after some time.

Additionally, our bodies don’t require the gallbladder in order to digest food. While the gallbladder does indeed help with digestion, people can live healthy lives even without this organ. This is why doctors usually opt for surgery to remove the gallbladder if a person has gallstones.

This procedure is known as cholecystectomy and is a routine surgical procedure done in many hospitals. There are very few side effects. And if a patient chooses to undergo a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, they can usually go home a few hours after undergoing surgery.

After surgery, a person might experience diarrhea, constipation, or gas pains. But these go away over time.

Medication

Certain types of medication can help break up gallstones in the gallbladder. Your doctor might prescribe ursodiol, a drug that helps dissolve gallstones.

Once the stones have been broken up, they can easily pass through the bile duct and can be expelled by the body. However, one of the problems with using medication is that gallstones tend to have a habit of recurring.

Lithotripsy

Lithotripsy is a procedure used to break up stones externally, without invasive surgery. This procedure can help to break up kidney stones, but it can also be used for gallstones.

What happens is that the doctor uses a high-frequency shock wave to break down the stones in the gallbladder. This makes them pass through the bile duct with ease so that the body can expel the stones without any problem.

Doctors may use lithotripsy in conjunction with ursodiol, in order to lower the risk that gallstones would recur. However, this treatment is not a guarantee. There is still a chance for gallstones to recur despite undergoing both lithotripsy and taking ursodiol.

Natural Gallstones Treatment

There are also some reportedly effective natural treatments for gallstones. Some even claim to be able to remove gallstones naturally in 24 hours. But is this even possible?

Gallbladder Cleanse

One of the most common natural methods of treating gallstones is through a gallbladder cleanse. This is essentially a diet wherein the patient takes olive oil, fruit juice, and special herbs.

According to the proponents of this method, this combination should help break down gallstones, so that the body can naturally expel them.

However, researchers need more study to support the effectiveness of this method. Some patients even experience diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain while undergoing the process of a gallbladder cleanse. If you do wish to try it out for yourself, it would be best to talk to your doctor about it.

Other Forms of Gallstones Treatment

Others also recommend drinking apple cider vinegar, or taking herbs such as milk thistle, dandelion, or even drinking castor oil. Some say that these natural remedies can help break up gallstones in the gallbladder.

However, scientific findings have shown that these methods are not really effective when it comes to gallstones. Doctors still recommend either undergoing surgery, taking medication, or lithotripsy to help deal with gallstones.

Learn more about Gallbladder health here.