OT: Gallstones ?

avatar for Papi_Chulo
Papi_Chulo
Miami, FL (or the nearest big-booty club)

Was recently diagnosed w/ a gallstone (just 1).

GP said that means surgery to remove the gallbladder but referred me to a specialist (Gastro) b/c I also had another issue.

Gastro specialist said he does not recommend surgery unless I am having bothersome symptoms which I am not.


Anyone has dealt with this – what was done in your case?

Thanks.

27 comments

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avatar for sailmd
sailmd
10 years ago
I am an internist physician. Asymptomatic gallstones do not require gallbladder removal unless you are a diabetic. You can have then for decades without a problem. Actually, if you have only one it is probably large and large stones never cause a problem.
avatar for Papi_Chulo
Papi_Chulo
10 years ago
“… I am an internist physician …”

Darn – so many interesting folks on this site :)

Not diabetic.

Thanks very much for the info sail !
avatar for steve229
steve229
10 years ago
Let's just hope sailmd is not another Juice alias
avatar for mikeya02
mikeya02
10 years ago
I never thought I would see this topic here
avatar for Papi_Chulo
Papi_Chulo
10 years ago
LOL 229 !!!

Better to ask here than the strippers at the club :)
avatar for dallas702
dallas702
10 years ago
Papi, my GI doc found a whole bunch of gall stones in me. He said that passing one explained my days of extreme back pain, as well as the two days of difficulty peeing and the painful, bloody rush as one of the stones made its way through my kidney, bladder and urethra. (NOT fun.)

My doc said the same thing as sailmd about large stones, but that my collection were smaller and needed watching. Still insisted NO surgery! I was told surgery was not advisable unless the stones endangered some critical function. I told my doc that apparently he doesn't think peeing is a critical function - and he said that any blockage of the urethra by a trapped stone is temporary and will pass within days every time.

In the two years since the diagnosis I have reduced intake of a few foods the doc said were "problematic" and cut back a little on booze. I also take a script of something that is supposed to reduce the number of stones I pass as well as the size of the stones. It has worked. I passed one stone a few months ago and it was not nearly as painful as the first one! That was the only stone to drop out of my gall bladder in two years.

If you have a single large stone residing in your gall bladder I would suggest that you do not think of it as a cannonball waiting to rip your insides apart as it passes, nor should you consider it as some evil Sword of Damocles poised to shred your penis from the inside out.

No really, chill dude. If it is big enough to do damage - it ain't going anywhere. If it is small enough to pass - it will pass - and that will be the end of that problem!
avatar for Michigan
Michigan
10 years ago
dallas702, you have kidney stones, not gall stones. two totally different things. kidney stones suck by the way! been there and done that three times now!
avatar for sailmd
sailmd
10 years ago
229. Lol. No. Not an alias. Just a thirty year sc PL who just discovered this site. Find it very interesting.
avatar for pensionking
pensionking
10 years ago
Respecting the "Sword of Damocles" reference . . .
Niiiice
avatar for gawker
gawker
10 years ago
Papi: you've got a lot of Gall!
avatar for lopaw
lopaw
10 years ago
The only negative thing that I have heard from a couple of folks who had their gall bladders removed was they were no longer unable to enjoy the greasy fatty foods that they liked so much. Something about not being able to break down or digest it properly w/o the gall bladder.

Maybe Dr sailmd can elaborate. Or refute it.
avatar for tumblingdice
tumblingdice
10 years ago
Papi,you gotta stop eating those fatty greasy strippers.
avatar for dallas702
dallas702
10 years ago
Michigan,

What the GI doctor said, and showed me the scans taken in the hospital, was GALL stones, as in calcified lumps of hardened material a little smaller than an English pea all lined up inside my gall bladder. They can block the flow of bile (gall) into the GI tract, but mostly the are benign - unless - the are excreted from the gall bladder and picked up into the liver where they do descend into the kidney and eventually bladder.

Of course, my doctor may be wrong - he's only been doing GI stuff for 25 years and he doesn't know everything!
avatar for crazyjoe
crazyjoe
10 years ago
Sorry to hear that PC. Hope you feel better soon
avatar for SlickSpic
SlickSpic
10 years ago
@Gawker-You took the phrase right out if my mouth.
avatar for zipman68
zipman68
10 years ago
Sorry to hear the bad news Papi.

To be fair to the Michigan dude, I suspect he was questioning Dallas' understanding of the situation. Not Dallas' physician's understanding of the situation. I'll just add that I question Dallas' understanding of many situations...

For all we know Dallas has actually been seeing a chiropractor that happens to have a stony gaze. I'd take whatever that dude babbles about with a pound or two of salt.
avatar for zipman68
zipman68
10 years ago
@sailmd -- there is always a bit of skepticism regarding new posters. We had a dude named Juice that posted a lot, often under aliases. I found a lot of his stuff pretty funny, but there were a number of Juice detractors on the board.

I was pretty confident you weren't Juice, though I was trying to come up with a question that would elicit a response that includes the word "asshole", which Juice likes to spell "asswhole".

I miss Juice. He was good people. And I don't mean that figuratively. There were multiple personalities manifesting themselves in that dude. You did fuck with Juice because that dude was Legion. Poke at the wrong Juice and he'd fuck you right up the "asswhole".
avatar for sailmd
sailmd
10 years ago
Dallas.
Gallstones never become kidney stones. You've got your anatomy all fucked up. Do not quit your day job.
avatar for minnow
minnow
10 years ago
d702(or doc); What foods did doc say were problematic and should be restricted ?

Papi- Best wishes going forward on this, and good for you on getting it diagnosed at this stage.
avatar for surgin
surgin
10 years ago
gallstones don't go up into the liver and then descend out with the urine, They either live quietly in GB, or the block the GB causing pain and sometimes infection (esp diabetics) or they pass down a bit and block all the bile out of the liver.. causing jaundice.. and possibly cirrhosis.. or they go further and block the pancreas.. Severe pancreatitis, tho not common can be a horrible way to die..

after GB removal, most get back to full diet, some have issues.. but moderation goes a long way everywhere but in strip clubs...
avatar for Clubber
Clubber
10 years ago
Papi,

Sorry to hear about your problem. However, here is a way to turn it into a plus. Convince people that gall stones are like pearls. Only one is created by a shelled mollusk and the other humans. Then you can sell them at a profit! :)
avatar for Papi_Chulo
Papi_Chulo
10 years ago
Thanks to all for the feedback on this off-topic discussion.

Thankfully I’m not feeling any side effects or discomfort at this time – but me and the doc will keep an eye on it.

The doc does want me to lose some weight though (don’t most of us LOL) – at 5”10 192 lbs and I’m def not obese but I have a smallish frame and tend to accumulate some fat around my belly – doc says for my frame type I should be at 175 lbs at the most.

It’s been on my mind for a while now to modify my diet primarily to start eating healthier and in more proper proportions (but not starve by any means - just eat proper portions) – and although I go to the gym ~3x/wk; I don’t do much cardio (mainly do machine weights) – so I will start doing some cardio like walking or riding my bicycle at the part near my house so I can hopefully shed the pounds.

I’ll be turning 45 near the end of this year – and with my recent health stumbles; I figure it’s a good time for a change so I can keep enjoying my monger ways!!!
avatar for sailmd
sailmd
10 years ago
Sounds good Papi. Sounds like you have a good base. Just add some cardio at the gym and cut out all the carbs. Eat laab meat and veggies. BTW-you're just a kid.
avatar for Clubber
Clubber
10 years ago
"laab meat"?
avatar for Papi_Chulo
Papi_Chulo
10 years ago
I assume he meant “lean” meat.
avatar for ime
ime
10 years ago
black labs or white labs stay away from the chocolate labs
avatar for Clubber
Clubber
10 years ago
ime,

We had 15 chocolates at one time some years ago. 13 were a litter and they all survived. Another litter of 10 survived after that. After all was said and done, we ended up keeping 5. Alas, they are all gone now and only have 1 lab, a 130 pounder. He is black.

Are we allowed to say "black" these days?
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