Gall Bladder Disease

Gallstones will affect about 10% of the population, resulting in biliary colic that appears as pain in upper abdomen, particularly center to right sided, and radiating to the back, especially in the region of the shoulder blade. The pain may come and go, and may be worse after eating fatty foods.

Causes include elevated cholesterol, rapid weight loss, liver dysfunction, and hemolytic diseases.

Standard allopathic treatment for gallstones is removal of the gallbladder.

Naturopathic treatment options include dissolving cholesterol stones and correcting the underlying cause. Non-cholesterol stones require surgical intervention.

Please see conventional, complementary, and alternative medical treatments for important background information regarding the different types of medical treatments discussed on this page. Naturopathic, Complementary, and Alternative treatments that may be considered include:

Biliary stasis or impaired gall bladder motility, possibly secondary to spinal misalignment impairing innervation of gall bladder or to disruption of the vagus nerve [Domino2008, pg 264].

Predisposing factors include:

<&LOCAL_LI hypothyroid.html : Hypothyroidism is associated with a sluggish, congested, and distended gallbladder [Kharrazian2010, pg 11].
• Obesity [Domino2008, pg 264].
• Rapid Weight Loss [Domino2008, pg 264].
• Hyperlipidemia [Domino2008, pg 264].
• Blood dyscrasia and hemolytic disorders [Domino2008, pg 264].
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease [Domino2008, pg 264].
• Cirrhosis (pigment stones) [Domino2008, pg 264].

• Cholesterol stones: visible in ultrasound but not in X-ray.
• Calcium stones: visible in X-ray.
• A small percentage of hypothyroid patients develop pain in the upper right quadrant that mimics gallstones, but no gallstones are evident. This condition resolves upon treatment of hypothyroidism [Barnes], [Starr2005, pg 142].

Cholesterol Stones