# Help with gallbladder/pacreas......



## bajiay (Apr 8, 2008)

I have gallstones, many, many gallstones.....I have been taking something to dissolve them but was told that it could take up to a year to do so. I am having pancreas issues now as well. We do not have insurance. I called the surgical center and we did the whole let's see if you qualify for help type thing. I would still have to pay alot of money upfront, which I don't have. (I have a daughter with Cushing's Disease and her meds are killing us financially.) I even applied for medicaid and we are just over the financial limit. Not sure what to do. I can live with losing my gallbladder but do not want my pancreas to have anymore damage. Not a good thing.
Anyone have any ideas of an alternative med that might work faster? Or some other idea? Thanks for your input!

(sorry, misspelled pancreas up there!)


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Pancreatitis is deadly. If you have that, for sure, you need an ER. I wouldn't even worry about money at that point, just go.

As far as gallstones, have you tried the apple juice followed by olive oil method? It passes stones by causing the gall bladder to contract. Gall stones are actually formed when people have not had enough fats in their diet over time, so that when they do have fats there are stones and the contraction of the gall bladder hurts. Our American diet is causing gall stones in so much of the population because we eat too many processed foods and carbohydrates.


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## steff bugielski (Nov 10, 2003)

Just a thought on the money. If you can get a credit card, put your medical expenses on that and make minimum payments it might hurt less. Yes I know you might make them forever but it will not hurt your credit as long as you make the min. It might make the monthly bills just a little easier to take.


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## MarkP (Jan 5, 2009)

Will the hospital and/or surgical center allow you to make monthly payments. We've always carried large deductibles, so if we've had a large amount to pay (as when I had gall bladder surgery), we've made monthly payments -- no interest, just chipping away at the bill a little at a time 'til it's gone.


Trudy


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## Grits57 (Nov 29, 2008)

Don't try to avoid gallstones!!! My DD kept having pain that would come and go. She made repeated trips to the ER. She was told each time that she had back strain from the "mechanics of labor and delivery". Her baby was 5 months old!!
Pain pills and muscle relaxers were perscribed. Repeatedly. I kept telling her I thought it was gall bladder and encouraging her to suggest an ultrasound of her GB/or a Hidascan. She is married, but husband is self-employed,thus, uninsured. She ended up with acute pancreatitis. Spent a week in ICU. Is now an insulin-dependant diabetic from damage to her pancreas from undiagnosed gallstones. 
It doesn't matter how you get it done....get it done. Diabetes is an expensive and life-changing illness. DON"T MESS AROUND WITH GALLSTONES!!!!


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

I second the apple juice method. 2 cups a day for a week. Then on the 7th day you drink (I know I know) 1/2 cup of olive oil. Wait about an hour and drink another 1/2 cup of olive oil. 

It's possible that you will feel better drinking the apple juice. I personally skipped the olive oil for months, would just drink apple juice and I'd always feel better. If I stopped though, the pain would soon come back.


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## bajiay (Apr 8, 2008)

Is there a link somewhere so I can read about the apple juice method?
I hate apple juice......yuck! But, I would try it.
I did a pancreas/gallbladder cleanse and I feel somewhat better. That was an absolute horrible ordeal. But it worked. Still need to get the stones out, or the gallbladder. I will try the apple juice method and if that doesn't work, I am thinking I might be able to get the loan refinanced on my car (is almost paid off) to pay for the surgery.
So, is the apple juice organic?
Thanks.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

Apple Juice and Olive oil? You are kidding right?!
Trying to pass Gallstones using such methods is dangerous....and a waste of time.
This discussion has come up before, do a search. You will find a couple people that swear that what they passed wasn't little balls of saponified oil but actual stones and you'll find the truth about the dangers of not seeking help. If the pancreas is also involved at this point then get ye to a doctor.
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/flushes.html
http://www.naturalhealthlibrarian.com/ebook.asp?page=Gallbladder Flush


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## bajiay (Apr 8, 2008)

Talked to the naturopath this morning and she advised against it. 
Time to call the bank......


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## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

I personally wouldn't mess around with this . Go to the Doctor and get it taken care of or you could end up getting into a bigger financial mess down the road.


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## Txrider (Jun 25, 2010)

mekasmom said:


> Pancreatitis is deadly. If you have that, for sure, you need an ER. I wouldn't even worry about money at that point, just go.
> 
> As far as gallstones, have you tried the apple juice followed by olive oil method? It passes stones by causing the gall bladder to contract. Gall stones are actually formed when people have not had enough fats in their diet over time, so that when they do have fats there are stones and the contraction of the gall bladder hurts. Our American diet is causing gall stones in so much of the population because we eat too many processed foods and carbohydrates.


Yup gallstones passing can be deadly, my younger sister almost died this spring from it. I came pretty close several years ago. It's not something to play around with. If you have pancreatitis go to the ER, whatever, and get it cut out.

I had mine out without insurance, paid cash after the fact. It cost me about 10k total for everything and I paid it out over time as I could. That was several years ago though.

I went in at 9am, had my gall bladder removed, and was back home by 1pm.. 

I have also heard that there is a new treatment they can do sometimes to break up the gall stones with ultra sound, they put you in a tank of water and pulverize them with ultrasound and break them up sparing your gall bladder from being removed. You might want to ask about it. It wasn't an option for me, it may be for you if the situation isn't as dire as mine was. Might be cheaper too if you can get it.

As for lack of fat causing them? I dunno about that I got em and my diet was certainly a heart disease type high fat diet. Though I cut way back on the fat after it was removed.


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## pamda (Oct 14, 2004)

For now, try milk thistle...I am having issues also as is my sister and the milk thistle is working. Comes in capsules. Go to the best natural store you can find and ask questions. I will not do the olive oil thing ever..nasty and dangerous as heck. There are also tea but doesn't seem to help as well. I have been to the er twice with mine, I could see the cat scan and saw the cloudiness and had questions but the dr. would not consider htat something was wrong..welcome to Idaho,,not a place for the uninsured. Now my pancreas is having issues. Oh well when it gets bad.


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## davidj (Nov 2, 2005)

My wife gets gallstones about twice each year. She has trouble digesting fats. She goes on a grapefruit, magnesium sulfate (epsom salts), olive oil fast that cleans them out every time. There's a specific method of when and how she takes each substance over a period of about 1.5 days. The first time she started getting pains, we took her to the hospital, and of course they just wanted to cut out her gallbladder. We don't believe in cutting out parts that God put there for a reason.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

marinemomtatt said:


> Apple Juice and Olive oil? You are kidding right?!
> Trying to pass Gallstones using such methods is dangerous....and a waste of time.


Since when is drinking apple juice dangerous?
Since when is using olive oil dangerous?

And why is that a waste of time? It's better than doing nothing. I agree pancreatitis is an emergency situation, and I said that. But chronic gallbladder disease is not. And if someone uses apple juice or olive oil in their diet it is not dangerous. They aren't poisons. People all over the world drink apple juice everyday and live to tell about it. People all over the world eat black olives and use olive oil in their diets and live to tell about it.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

pamda said:


> I will not do the olive oil thing ever..nasty and dangerous as heck.


Nasty, maybe. but not dangerous. People use olive oil everyday all over the world in their cooking. It doesn't kill anyone.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

The Olive oil itself isn't the issue...~lol~...


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Ummm... I have a food sensitivity to olive oil. Dunno if it would kill me, but even when used in cooking it can make me sleep for a couple of days.

Anyway, read the other threads on the OO/AJ. I also vote for getting the gallbladder removed ASAP. You don't want backpressure damaging the pancreas.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

People all over the world DO drink apple juice and yes they eat olives and use olive oil BUT....I bet the majority of them aren't playing russian roulet with their gall bladder and liver, they are using those items responsibly as in a glass of juice with breakfast and some olive oil on a salad at dinner. (not combined in a glass while fasting)


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## davidj (Nov 2, 2005)

I believe this is the procedure that my wife uses:

http://www.ultracleanseguide.com/gallbladder-flush.html

Here's a fairly unbiased site:
http://curezone.com/cleanse/liver/huldas_recipe.asp

I like what this site had to say too. Removing the gallbladder does not always fix the problem:
http://www.gallbladderattack.com/gallbladdersurgery.shtml

It is safe and effective for many people. You can google "olive oil grapefruit epsom salt cleanse" (without the quotes) to see more information.

You'll notice that Hulda Clark is mentioned prominently on these sites. I don't agree with a lot of her opinions, especially that every illness is caused by parasites. However, I do know the cleanse works, and it is safe. 

Ultimately you need to address the root problem. If the gallbladder truly is diseased or ruptured, then it should probably be removed. However if the true problem is not the bladder itself, but the diet or a nutritional deficiency, removing the gallbladder will only cause more issues. We should always address the root issue and not the symptom.


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## kirkmcquest (Oct 21, 2010)

I've read that the apple juice thing is baloney. You end up passing globules of olive oil that is created by the acid in the apple juice...but people do swear by it so it might be worth a try.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

So perhaps those that the cleanse works for never had stones to begin with.


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## davidj (Nov 2, 2005)

marinemomtatt said:


> So perhaps those that the cleanse works for never had stones to begin with.


That may be the case for some, but not in my wife's situation. Her stones were confirmed by ultrasound and/or xray (don't remember which) at the hospital at which time the doctors wanted to remove her gallbladder. We had never heard of the gallbladder cleanse at that time. We refused to allow them to start removing body parts (as doctors are so prone to do instead of dealing with the root cause). We had already been researching and using alternative health methodologies for 10 years at that time (6 years ago now), so we simply researched this new area for us and found the aforementioned cleanse. We confirmed it with others who'd been using it and the rest is history.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

I don't have any idea about gall stones but could you get some help with the cost of medication for your daughter? I know there are lots of drug companies who offer assistance.

Also it is sometimes possible to get medicaid coverage for one month due to the one time expense of surgery. You might not qualify every month but if your expenses are really heavy one month, you might be able to get some help.

Good luck....................
Maybe too, talk to the doctors and hospital and tell them you can't afford the surgery and ask them to give you a discount. Most places are willing to to this. Just make sure to talk to each one, the hospital, the surgeon, the anesthesiologist (oh however you spell it..)


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