Many are interested in what stones are in the gallbladder. This disease, which was previously characteristic of predominantly elderly people, has significantly rejuvenated in recent years. This is facilitated by a large number of adverse factors. Nearly one in five people with gallstones is under 30.
Calculation formed can vary in location, size, chemical composition, and quantity.
Finding stones in the gallbladder is a rather unpleasant surprise for any person. Due to their presence, a person may develop gallstone disease, which raises the question of the advisability of consulting a doctor.
Causes of stones
After you know what stones in the gallbladder are, you should familiarize yourself with the reasons. According to scientists, the process of formation of foreign inclusions in the gallbladder begins with a combinationconditions:
- burdened heredity;
- quick weight loss;
- the presence of pigment in bile and a large amount of cholesterol;
- predominantly female;
- presence of an inflammatory process;
- rapid weight gain;
- the gallbladder loses its contractility, which is often accompanied by stagnation of bile;
- taking estrogen;
- cold climate;
- high-calorie, low-fiber diet;
- treatment with certain substances - octreotide, cyclosporine, clofibrate;
- previously transferred transactions;
- certain human diseases: diabetes mellitus, Caroli syndrome, hemolytic anemia and Crohn's disease.
Signs of stone development
It is noteworthy that even large calculi in some situations do not appear in any way, turning out to be an unpleasant finding when performing an ultrasound or x-ray examination.
But even the smallest stones can significantly complicate the patient's life, causing the following discomfort:
- attacks of pain in the epigastric zone or hypochondrium on the right, which can sometimes be transmitted to the right collarbone and have a different severity;
- nausea and belching;
- taste of bitterness;
- excessive bloating.
In some cases, cholelithiasis can proceed completely atypically: there are atypical pain behind the sternum and in the abdomen, as well as to the left of the chest. These signs mayconfused with manifestations of cardiac and vascular diseases. Often a person can independently note the connection of the symptoms of this disease with physical overexertion, shaking when driving, eating unhe althy, fried, over-seasoned and fatty foods.
Due to the long stay of calculi in the bile bladder, injury to the mucous membrane of this organ can be noted, which can lead to the occurrence of calculous cholecystitis. This condition is accompanied by the patient's severe fatigue, high temperature and loss of appetite.
It is important to note that this is a non-infectious disease and patients are not dangerous to the people around them.
Psychosomatics of disease
Undoubtedly, every person knows expressions like: “Bile is rushing from this person!”, “Biliary person”, etc. And this is true - these statements fully describe the existing psychotype of a person prone to this disease: he is easily irritated, quite angry and aggressive, prefers to enjoy his offense.
This is a rather proud person, overly suspicious, who often projects different situations onto himself. He does not know how to resolve conflicts productively. To prevent the formation of stones, you need to get rid of your resentment, and also try to control bouts of anger and irritation.
Diagnosis of stone formation
An attack of biliary colic should be a symptom for immediate medicalexamination, and even at the end of the cure, in 70% of cases, stones can return again.
Incorrect treatment of stones can cause very serious and dangerous complications, such as suppuration in the gallbladder, inflammation can spread to surrounding organs, blockage of the gallbladder ducts, scarring in the ducts, and cancer! Undoubtedly, these conditions will require emergency surgery.
Effective diagnostic procedures and tests that are suitable for detecting gallstones include:
- A thorough medical examination in which a specialist probes the gallbladder points and the abdomen in certain areas. During the examination, the patient develops soreness.
- Using an ultrasound of the gallbladder, stones are detected by almost 95%, their size, location, size are estimated.
- Plane x-ray showing calcified stones with a lot of limescale.
- Cholecystography, in which contrast stones are detected, and bladder function and condition are assessed.
- MRI used in difficult situations.
- ERCP to exclude the presence of any formations in the bladder ducts.
- Endoultrasound using an endoscopic device to determine the functioning of the ductal system, the bladder itself, the duodenal papilla, as well as the nearby pancreas.
- Hemogram - in the bladder increases the number of leukocytes and neutrophils - their fractions, and also increasesESR, especially in the presence of inflammation.
Who should I contact? As soon as a person begins to notice pain in the hypochondrium on the right or when calculi are found during medical research, one should contact a gastroenterologist.
Treatment of emerging stones
Not in every case, the detection of stones requires urgent surgery. But it is worth noting that uncontrolled and improper therapy can cause blockage of the ducts, as well as immediate access to the doctor.
It is highly undesirable to drink vegetable oils and various dangerous choleretic herbs recommended by some "healers". Your best bet is to make an appointment with a gastroenterologist.
Drug treatment consists of the following set of activities:
- Drugs to eliminate biliary colic: a variety of antispasmodics, narcotic analgesics, as well as non-narcotic drugs.
- Means that will quickly dissolve stones, but in order for the doctor to prescribe them, there must be hard indications.
- Antibiotics, especially if a patient develops cholecystitis.
- Extracorporeal lithotripsy.
- Taking litholytic drugs.
Surgical treatment is required for manifestations of biliary colic; large stones; a “disabled” bubble that has lost its ability to contract; frequent cholecystitis and other complications.
Thanks to the use of modern technology, it is possible to quickly remove the bile withoutconventional laparotomy. This procedure is scientifically called laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Diet
To eliminate stones from the gallbladder, the patient needs to eat right, stick to a diet. Doctors have proven that malnutrition is a fundamental factor that contributes to the appearance of stones.
Diet should normalize the impaired functioning of the gallbladder, as well as the liver. First of all, foods rich in oxalic acid, purines, extractives, and cholesterol should be excluded from the diet. The menu introduces a lot of liquid and coarse fiber. Cooking will also matter. Basically, products are recommended to be baked or steamed, they can be lightly boiled beforehand. You also need to adjust your diet. So, you need to eat in small portions at least 6 times a day. Food should not be too cold or hot.
Vitamin complexes
These substances are designed to improve all biochemical processes. Vitamins C and E are especially valuable in the formation of stones.
So, ascorbic acid is a water-soluble vitamin, which is quickly excreted from the body, so you need to include its sources in the diet daily - sweet peppers, citrus fruits, black currants, rose hips, sauerkraut, etc. Vitamin E will reduce amount of cholesterol in bile. Most of this vitamin is found in nuts, liver and vegetable oil.
Except abovevitamins in the diet for cholelithiasis (calculi of the gallbladder), you need to include other equally useful and significant trace elements and vitamins, especially in fresh, natural form. If it is not possible to consume fresh fruits and berries, patients should take vitamins and microelements in courses. Of course, vitamins will not be able to eliminate calculi in the bladder, but high-quality vitamin therapy will help the drug therapy being performed.
Sports exercises
Regular exercise is the simplest and most effective recommendation of physicians in the treatment of stones in the lumen of the gallbladder. Your best bet is to walk more each day-about 10,000 steps. It may seem like a lot, but it is quite within the power of all people! As an alternative, doctors recommend water aerobics, swimming and jumping.
Cholelithiasis treatment with herbs
Herbs are used to treat early gallstones. The main thing is that the means used have a combined effect on the body: soothing, bile-forming and choleretic. It is recommended to use herbal preparations regularly, for quite a long time (at least 3 months).
Acorus, corn stigmas, sand immortelle, tansy, peppermint and rose hips have choleretic properties.
Sanatorium and spa treatment
The duration of this treatment is usually about a month. The program used must necessarily include daily usemineral waters of low or medium mineralization.
Surgery inevitable?
Most people who encounter stones in the neck of the gallbladder are wondering if it will really be necessary to perform an operation and will it be possible to limit themselves to the correct drug therapy?
It is worth noting that surgical removal of the bladder by surgery is not always required, not for every patient. When can you do with drug treatment, and when there is no more time to wait and you need to have an operation?
What do gallbladder stones mean and when is it recommended not to touch them? For many years, gallstones will not manifest themselves. But after some time, the pain may begin to intensify, especially in the hypochondrium on the right, it becomes bitter in the mouth, and after eating, there may be a feeling of nausea.
Complications of small stones in the gallbladder can occur at a time when the formed stones can clog the ducts of the gallbladder, leaving it. In addition, in this case, a violation of the outflow of bile can develop, as well as biliary colic - a rather painful and unpleasant process.
Severe gallstones usually require surgical removal of the gallbladder. If the patient does not notice any of the above symptoms, it is better not to disturb the calculi further, not forgetting about their high-quality conservative treatment.
It is forbidden to use choleretic drugs for the treatment of calculi in the gallbladder, which promote the advancement of stones. Otherwisecase, the patient may experience quite serious consequences.
Calculations that are small in size are usually tried to dissolve and then quickly removed by certain medical means.
If there are quite a lot of stones formed in the gall bladder, which are quite large in size, or if the patient is worried about quite strong pain, in such a situation it will be necessary to perform surgery - cholecystectomy.
In the majority of cases, patients undergo laparoscopic cholecystectomy using tubes with a special video camera. This operation has such positive qualities: minimal trauma; faster recovery process; little blood loss compared to abdominal incision surgery.
Such serious methods of treating calculi in the bile bladder should be performed under the supervision of doctors in a hospital who could monitor the patient's condition, providing urgent assistance if necessary. Be sure to have a working equipment in the hospital that would allow you to see the position of the stones that come out of the gallbladder.
Prevention of stone formation
Doctors say that it is impossible to remove stones in the gallbladder cavity on your own at home, you can only establish a normal outflow of bile, as well as prevent the formation of stones. Prevention of this condition of the patient should contribute to the elimination of factorspredisposing to the appearance of stones: unbalanced and unhe althy diet, overweight, etc. Removal of gallbladder stones (what it is already known) is an unpleasant procedure. Therefore, prevention is always appropriate.
In order to prevent the development of stones, after the operation, most patients are recommended to use litholytic drugs.
Result
After you have learned what calculi are in the gallbladder (this is the formation of stones in the organ cavity), you should direct all your efforts to eliminate them. All of the above methods of treatment can quickly suppress the disease, but for this it is very important to take all measures at the very beginning of the formation of calculi. Timely therapy can get rid of the rather dangerous complications of the disease.
