Gallbladder Stone Myths and Facts: Dispelling Common Misconceptions

There are certain conditions that don’t warrant emergency medical care. They can thankfully be treated in a non-emergency setting and can even be treated using medications and natural remedies. Whenever a condition is treatable using natural remedies, a barrage of misinformation is thrown at an average patient with unfounded claims. So, to help you understand gallstone treatment truths, here are the most important facts about gallbladder stones. You will also be learning about common misconceptions about gallstones and debunking gallstone myths to help you get actual help for your condition.

Common Misconceptions About Gallstones You Must Know

• Gallstones can be dissolved with natural remedies
  
  It may come as a shocker but natural remedies have limitations when it comes to dissolving gallstones. Natural remedies are certainly effective in helping patients improve their nutritional deficiencies, but they are not effective treatments for gallstones. 
  
  Apple juice, apple cider vinegar, all these food items are good for your health in general, but their benefits at helping you dissolve gallstones are not scientifically proven. Yes, there have been self-reported cases that these food items and other natural remedies have helped people treat their gallstones. However, those cases couldn’t be replicated or verified in a controlled setting.
   
• Only surgery can treat gallstones
  
  This may seem ironic after what you just read, but it's true. Gallstones can be treated using medication and dietary/lifestyle changes in some cases. Severe cases of gallstones require surgical treatment, however, non-symptomatic cases of gallstones if diagnosed can be managed by medications and lifestyle changes. 
  
  It all depends on the severity of gallstones, the progression of the condition, and your body’s response to the treatments. With that being said, gallstones are most effectively treated by surgical treatments, which are recommended to patients with symptoms that affect quality of life and cause pain.
   
• Losing weight quickly can lead to gallstones
  
  Weight loss is not directly related to gallstones. It certainly can increase your risk of gallstones, however, other factors such as hormonal changes and genetic makeup certainly play an important role. If you are losing weight quickly, it is important to understand the underlying cause for that as losing weight quickly is not a good thing even if you are working out very hard.
   
• A specific diet can prevent gallstones
  
  Diet is important in reducing your risk of gallstones, but no diet can completely prevent or cure your gallstones. A balanced diet is crucial for allowing you to recover from gallstones and even prevent their resurgence to a certain degree. But it is not possible to completely prevent them only with a healthy diet if your genetic makeup and other factors put you at a high risk of gallstones. So, make sure you follow a healthy diet, but not with the expectation that it could solely help you prevent or cure gallstones.
   
• Only older people can get gallstones
  
  This is not true, gallstones can affect everyone from children to young adults, however, the risk of gallstones is higher among older adults, which gives fuel to this myth. An important fact about gallstones that you must know is, that symptomatic gallstones are more common among older people.
   
• Gallstones always cause severe pain
  
  Symptomatic gallstones cause pain and though it is generally observed that gallstone-related pain is severe, it can vary largely from patient to patient. Based on the severity of the gallstones, the pain can vary, which means some patients can even experience mild to just general discomfort with gallstones. This differentiation is crucial as often milder symptoms get ignored by patients, which leads to late diagnosis and a longer recovery period.
   
• Gallstones always show their symptoms
  
  As you now know already, gallstones can be asymptomatic. This means the gallstones will exist, but not cause any discernible symptoms to the patient. In such cases, doctors recommend watchful waiting along with lifestyle changes to mitigate and manage the condition. It is only when symptoms start appearing that the need for thorough medical treatment becomes necessary, at least for gallstones.
   
• Gallstones can be prevented using lemon juice and olive oil
  
  Lemon juice and olive oil have benefits for your health, but they can’t help you prevent gallstones. These food items are great when consumed in moderation and excessive consumption can lead to other health concerns. The fact that these food items can prevent gallstones is scientifically unproven, so you must not consume them with this notion.
   
• Gallstones can be prevented by eliminating fats from your diet
  
  This is a myth and in fact, eliminating all fats from your diet can increase your risk of gallstones in some cases. So, the key is to follow a balanced diet and not eliminate a food group entirely from your meals. It is better to have everything in moderation than practicing abstinence when it comes to your diet with the goal of preventing gallstones.
   
• Getting a gallstone operation equals not having to control diet anymore
  
  Once you have had a gallstone operation, you will not have gallstone-related symptoms anymore. That’s fair. But given a body part just got removed out of your body, it could lead to digestive troubles, and difficulty digesting fatty food. So, maintaining a healthy diet is crucial in helping you stay healthy even after you have had a gallstone operation. The key is moderation both for healthy and unhealthy eating.

Conclusion

These are some of the most common gallstone myths, which have now been busted. With this newfound knowledge, you will be able to monitor your symptoms better and stay wary of claims that you read about on the internet. To learn more about gallbladder stones and their treatment processes, check out our other blogs on this topic. If you are going through the symptoms of gallstones and looking for effective treatment for it, feel free to visit us at MASSH. We specialize in holistic medical care that will help you treat your symptoms from the root. Visit us today to learn more about our gallstone treatment surgery.