Healing Gallbladder

Me again, from the other thread. Great news. Hopefully once you are feeling stable for a bit you can back off some of the extras and get down to a maintenance mode where you don't need so much. The supplements can get expensive, but, they are worth it and not that bad compared to some of the meds that just mask the symptoms rather than actually help you get better.

Hi eihcet! Yeah, the supplements are expensive and I don't like swallowing so many pills either. Yuck. But today I almost feel normal!
I did read where 71% of cases of gallbladder sludge will resolve on their own. So that is hopeful news. I'm hoping that after a month I can just take the lecithin for maintenance and possibly the fish oil. It's suppose to help with other things like PMS and arthritis so I would probably keep taking that.
These problems I have had really have been depressing. I started out thinking I had an ulcer, then even thought I had cancer, so I'm pretty happy to be feeling better after feeling crummy for Nov, Dec and Jan.
Have you tried the lecithin yet?

I did buy and try the lecithin. I didn't notice anything different, but I was already feeling pretty good. My only symptom of late has been (sorry to admit) my stool color. I took the Soy Lecithin for a bit, hoping it might make the bile regular and therefore help digestion but it didn't seem to change anything that I could see.

Since last week I've been eating much more yogurt (daily) and bought and started eating some nuts of various types throughout the day to try and gain some of my weight back and both seems to be helping a lot with the remaining issues. Time will tell.

I'll note that I still haven't been brave enough to try Mayonnaise (or dressings with eggs like Ranch, etc) or regular eggs (but have eaten foods cooked with smaller amounts). The salad dressings seem to have been a trigger the last two times (but could also have been coincidence since first time I still didn't know anything and the second time was a couple months better and I was doing better and wasn't really strict with my diet). I know one old study indicated lots of people (93% tested) have problems with them, so, I'm on the lookout, on one hand I want to try again and know, but, not if I have to be sick again. I can live without those things so for now I am.

So, in summary now that I feel well I've backed off and the only thing I'm supplementing on daily is my multi-vitamin. I try and get the good stuff from my GB diet, eating apples, artichokes, beets, using olive oil (or healthy fats) etc as much as I can. I'll still take:

Soy Lecithin if I'm not getting enough lecithin from my diet;
Milk Thistle if/when I've been eating a lot of fat or unhealthy;
Mastic Gum, Ginger, and/or DGL Licorice if my stomach feels unsettled.

I've been meaning to get some milk thistle, but I keep forgetting. Not that I feel I have room in my stomach for another supplement! It should be important though because the bile actually begins in the liver so it makes sense to try and support the liver.
Another approach to look at is the cause of estrogen to affect the gallbladder. I wish I understood this better. I am female of course, and after I read that extra estrogen can contribute I thought I would give some progesterone cream a try. I've also had a few symptoms of excess estrogen. I do feel much better using the progesterone cream. I'd like to find an herb that would encourage my body to normalize the hormones on it's own though.
I am glad to hear that you are feeling better.
Actually I have been making sure to eat fats everyday to keep my gallbladder contracting. So far the pain after a fatty meal has been tolerable, but that may be due to the addition of the lecithin - I don't know.
Another thing, I use to have a hard time getting comfortable because my right side hurt and I felt bloated, almost swollen on the right. That is mostly gone now. I also don't burp like I use to. Gosh, I felt like I was burping a hundred times a day before. I disgusted myself!
Well I better get my exercise done or it won't happen.
If you come across any interesting information or ideas let me know!