Gall stones and Shoe Size Survey...and by the way, DENIED!

          I got an ultra sound yesterday; it's official - I have many gall stones, according to my PCP.  He also yelled at me by the way, for wanting to go to CA when there are plenty of "excellent surgeons" in Pittsburgh.  I pointed out that they don't do the procedure I need.  He actually swore at me.  I see him Monday for my medical clearance, and I'll try explaining it then.  He obviously didn't read the 70 pages of literature on the Duodenal Switch that I dropped off for him early this week, and only listened to the secretary, who was asking me all sorts of questions about the procedure and why I needed to go to CA.   I think she needs weight loss surgery.   I told him I'd been denied by insurance, and he said, "GOOD!"  Maybe he'll swear at me more Monday.

          I am working on finishing up my writing and hopefully getting new insurance by the end of the month. I've also requested the benefits booklet of my current insurance, thanks to DianaC.  I hope to get all my financial difficulties like credit card issues taken care of by then, too.  I think I'll be done writing this weekend.  Frankly, I need to be.

          Back to the gall stones. After speaking to my chiropractor (who also is a cousin of mine, with my same last name), I now think I want to keep my gall bladder and appendix.  He can give natural supplements after he's tested me for what will work.  All of my vitamins, oils and supplements, for the most part, were prescribed by him.  I trust him.

          In the meantime, I was wondering if anybody knew any natural, cheap and homemade ways to dissolve gallstones ASAP?  I mean remedies that actually WORK.  I think what worries me is what if they take out the gall bladder, and I get gall stones trapped in other places, causing blockages?  I know the surgeon will prescribe Actigall, but what happens after the period of extremely rapid weight loss?  I think anything can...   

          Also, let me know how your shoe sizes have changed since being switched.  This FASCINATES me.  

1.  Fire this PCP as soon as you possibly can.  What a D-bag.  Just get what you need from him and say sayonara.  He works for you, not the other way around.

2.  Good luck on this new insurance!!

3.  I really disagree with your cousin.  You are already having gallbladder issues...take the thing out.  I didn't have stones pre-op, didn't have my gallbladder taken out at the time of surgery, and I ended up getting tons of stones post-op.  I can't even tell you the misery that was.  Plus, another surgery, another recovery period...it's just not fun.  Sure, the gallbladder surgery is a cake walk compared to the DS, but it's still another surgery.  And if he's so confident he's going to resolve your gallbladder issues, he should be giving you these magic remedies...KWIM?

4.  Shoe size didn't change much for me, I always had pretty bony feet.  I think I went from an 11W to a regular 11.

What happens?  GALLSTONES and another surgery with another set of risks and another recovery.   Flip through the main board and you should see a gallbladder subject on each and every page.  Why don't you see it so much here?  It's because many of us don't have one is all.  Some do and are taking medication to prevent them, but even some in that boat wind up in the OR eventually.  Are you aware that there is a doc in Scranton that does the DS?  Dr. Peters is very well oved out here, too.

I'm having gallbladder issues too this past week, I think.  ugh.. pain, right upper quadrant toward the mid-line after eating.  Haven't been officially diagnosed, but I dabble in self-diagnosis quite frequently!  As a nurse, I would suggest you have that puppy removed.  Its good for nothing but trouble. 

As far as the shoe size goes, I lost a shoe size back in the day when I had lost a lot of weight on my own.

1. you need a new pcp.

2. maybe you need a new cousin, too. There is no "natural supplement" that dissolves gallstones. None. Period. And if something did work, it would actually INCREASE you risk of having a common duct stone. This is not like kidney stones, that can pass out of your body with the urine. A smaller gallstone is actually more likely to fit into the bile ducts that lead out of the gallbladder and then get stuck there. Not only is this extremely painful, it can cause serious illness and require emergency treatment.

    And just to make matters worse, after you have your DS you would not be able to have the endoscopic procedure usually used to remove a common duct stone because there would no longer be a direct path from your mouth, through your stomach to the duodenum, where the common bile duct empties. Same for gastric bypass, by the way. So, you would then need surgery to remove that stone. Big time surgery.

    Oh, and don't get the idea that gallstones can be treated by breaking them up with ultrasound, either. Works for kidney stones. Doesn't work for gallstones. No longer even being tried on an experimental basis.

    So long story short, your DS is the perfect time to get rid of a diseased gall bladder. Yes, it's diseased. And even if you somehow got rid of the gallstones you already have, you would develop more of them over time because your gall bladder is diseased.

Larra

I don't have much to add regarding the immediate necessity of FIRING your PCP, and of removing your diseased gall bladder while the removing's good. But I did want to let you know that my shoe size has gone from 11W to 9 1/2 N already.

I'm going to be harsh here.  Put your big-girl panties on.

If you are of the mind that you can fix gall bladder problems with homeopathic **** you may not be cut out for the DS.  DS = SCIENCE, not mumbo-jumbo, and it sure as **** means dealing with a problem right away, in the right way, and not playing around with pretend medicine.

You don't need your gall bladder after a DS -- it doesn't DO anything anymore -- release of bile in concert with a meal makes no difference.  You sure as HELL don't need a diseased gall bladder to cause you additional problems, make a differential diagnosis of belly pain more difficult, and create the need for an additional surgery in a few weeks or months.  You don't need or want to keep your appendix for similar reasons.

I'm a bit more lenient about your PCP, if you have a good kind of relationship. My last one, *****tired, I would have put up with that kind of talk from and we both probably would have had a good laugh about it. My current one, i would probably smack. So there may be a personal relationship that doesn't come across in your post.

As for a chiropractor (cousin or not) coming up with some natural supplement to help you keep your gb and appendix--come on. You appendix is removed because
a) it is a completely non-functional part of your body, and
b) at a potentially critical time of (unlikely) complications, you don't want doctors having to rule out your appendix.

The gall bladder? Maybe you can find a supplement to help with it. Maybe not. I am skeptical. But in any case, an intact digestive system does not NEED a gall bladder. It helps when relatively large amounts of fat are consumed. But, guess what, with a DS you aren't going to digest them anyway, and by the time that bile makes it down to the CC, the fat is probably gone. So you are creating a lot of pain for yourself for no reason.

I'm in agreement with all that's been said previously, 
1. unless your PCP is a close friend and you are comfortable with some back and forth arguing banter, GET A NEW PCP
2. nothing disolves gallstones.  The gallbladder is a bag that holds bile until its's needed.  When it gets diseased it's like a diseased appendix and it needs to come OUT
3. all of the above