Do Natural Remedies Help to Prevent and Remove Gallstones?

1) ALOE-BASED DETOXIFYING FORMULAS: I first heard about these types of products when I adopted my first parrot.  Someone's bird had been given up for dead by the vet who diagnosed liver failure, but regular doses of an aloe detox liquid gel somehow managed to save the parrot.  When I first started having gallbladder issues, I started using it once or twice a week in an attempt to "cleanse" my system.  The flavor was a blend of mint and sourness which was diluted by water... It wasn't totally awful, but drinking it wasn't something that I enjoyed.  I bought this product at the local natural foods store, though I have seen it sold in some mainstream vitamin/supplement stores like GNC.

2) LIVER CLEANSING SUPPLEMENTS: When the liquid detox products didn't really make a difference, I decided to try "cleansing" supplements designed to target the liver and gallbladder.  I took one tablet once a day with a full glass of water and hoped for the best.  The good news was that the supplement didn't cause any kind of digestive upset or nasty heartburn.  I bought several different versions of this product both online and in local natural foods stores and vitamin/mineral shops. 

3) EPSOM SALTS: I used epsom salts many times during the last few years when I was in the midst of an attack.  I was desperate one night and did a search online for ways to stop gallbladder attacks.  I read that drinking epsom salts dissolved in warm water will stop an attack within half an hour.  I tried the remedy and, lo and behold, it actually worked! Problem is that epsom salts are a natural laxative so using them in the middle of the night meant that I had to take the next day off of work in order to be close to the bathroom.  Epsom salts are very inexpensive and sold in basically all drug stores, grocery stores, discount stores, etc. 

4) REFLEXOLOGY: Hey, I was desperate. My sister is working on her master's degree in holistic health and learned how to perform reflexology which is basically targeted foot massage.  Each tiny little area of the foot is supposed to be connected to organs and body systems and manipulating them is supposed to help to relax, cleanse, and invigorate those parts of the body.  My sister often performed reflexology on my right foot which is the one that is, according to the theory, connected to the gallbladder.  I can't say that the treatments ever really helped the status of the gallbladder or gallstones, but I did enjoy the mini foot massage!


I tried almost all of the natural and alternative therapies available to try to eliminate the gallstones that I had and prevent the development of future ones.  Unfortunately, none of them actually worked.  Yes, the epsom salts helped to stop attacks as they occurred, but they didn't do anything to improve the state of the stones or the gallbladder. 

When things got really bad, I endured gallbladder attacks month after month and consistent dull pain on my right side.  I knew that I was in big trouble but I just upped the natural remedy regimen and hoped that it would somehow magically fix the situation.  I should have known better, but my knowledge of biology and antibiotic-resistant bacteria ("superbugs") and a friend's near-death experience with MRSA had me too frightened to consider surgery.

By the end of it all, I wound up in the emergency room after a 4-day long gallbladder attack that just wouldn't quit.  When the surgeon opened me up, he found a very diseased organ that was both bleeding and gangrenous and so full of stones that he couldn't remove it through the laparoscopic holes that he had created.  I wound up with almost a foot-long slice across my chest and found myself in the ICU after surgery because I was in such bad shape.  My recovery was long and slow and not something that I would ever want to go through again. 

I like the idea of a natural remedy for issues as much as the next person, but I don't suggest trying them for gallbladder issues.  I tried several different products and therapies and all it seemed to do was to delay the inevitable and allow my gallbladder to become even more diseased and awful. 

If you have gallstones that are causing issues (dull pain, extreme pain, vomiting, fever), then you need to seek help immediately at the local emergency room.  I kept putting it off and I wound up with a much more difficult surgery (as in almost dying) and a difficult recovery from something that could have been an in-and-out same day surgery.