Getting Rid of Gallstones Without Surgery?

[ejchase]

I had an MRI of my abdomen in August (for a separate health issue), and it showed I have two large gallstones.

Do any of you have any experience with getting rid of gallstones without surgery?

If you had surgery, any advice to someone who might be facing it?

[Float On]

We didn't know what my husband had till it was too late. Emergency gallbladder surgery where they had to chip it out piece by piece.
Don't drink wine. That had been the Dr's advice, "oh your just stressed, drink a glass of wine at night." Wrong thing to do.
Acid things like strawberries and spaghetti sauce really set him off.
Wish I knew of something to break them up or pass them out of the system before it gets so bad you need surgery. There are some cleanse recipes on pinterest but I have no experience with with those.

[oldhat]

I'm not sure I can offer much up to date advice since it's been 25 years since I had my gall bladder out. Like Float On's husband, I had to have emergency surgery after being misdiagnosed for more than a year. They weren't looking for gallstones in someone so young (mid 30s). I ended up being diagnosed in the ER after my roommate hauled me there in the middle of the night suffering from crippling abdominal pain. By that time my pancreas was inflamed and infected and I had to spend ten days in the hospital before they could perform the surgery. Laparoscopic surgery was in its infancy then, but they would have had to cut me open anyway because there were so many stones and they had to make sure they got them all out. I've been fine since.

I understand that laparoscopic surgery has made huge strides since then, so perhaps having your gallbladder out might not be so major an operation as it was for me. At the time of my diagnosis, I believe they seldom used ultrasound to try to break up gallstones the way they do with kidney stones. I'm not sure what the state of the art is now.

Bottom line, as is usually the case with these things--find a doctor you trust, and follow his or her advice. Good luck.