Gallstones Linked to Gut Circumference

I had my gallbladder out when I was 28 years old, had a 28 inch waist, and was in the best health of my life. My doctor said it was because I had a mineral (calcium) rich diet and didn't eat enough fat to process that mineral. So, deposits of calcium started building up in my gall bladder. So much for a big waist causing my gall stones (which were HUGE by the way).

Also, correlation is not causation. I really wish these "studies" SP posts would stress that.

Lastly, I'm so glad MEN have this problem. There's a photo of a girl measuring herself a the top of the article...but the story is about MEN. Seriously, does anyone edit the copy on this site? - 2/2/2013 11:21:03 AM

This article was so slanted - nothing for women. I can probably think of ten women I know who have had attacks and/or gallbladders removed, and not thinking of a single man... I've had attacks while dieting but never reported to doctor because I didn't want surgury. I had read in various "older" herbal books etc old-fashioned remedy type places that applying olive oil on outside of my tummy, like a lotion (maybe 1 -2 teas max) would absorb through the skin and help emulsify the gallstones. (skips digestive system so it doesn't count as fat calories.). Any of the "bitter" types of veggies and herbs do give me relief too - that would include radishes like the woman who ate radish juice (earlier in the comments). - 4/29/2012 7:50:46 AM

I had my gall bladder out March 1st 2012. I am finding of course anything with fat in it gives me an upset stomach. Today I am going to buy some low fat cheese / cottage cheese and see if that helps any. - 3/6/2012 10:24:43 AM

Oddly, losing weight also increases chance of gallstones. I previously lost 60 pounds, and shortly after, had my Gall bladder removed. Dr. Said the weight loss aggravated it.

- 12/7/2011 8:46:46 PM

Hi there everyone. I have been suffering with gallstones for more than a year now. Ive tried almost everything including the liver flush. Nothing worked for me. In the end i came in contact with an old fren of mine, to whom i complained about my gallbladder attacks. She told me that her mother and aunties had this same problem and none of them went for surgery and all of them were cured after drinking radish juice daily. But she did warn me that radish juice is quite potent. I was not sure if that would work for me as it sounded too simple n i thought it was just another hype like the liver flush. Anyway, the next morning, i made myself half a cup of juice and decided to use a straw to down the whole thing. I so regretted it. It literally felt like i was on fire. My stomach was burning. I felt as if smoke was about to come out of my nose and ears. It was terrible. I told myself no matter what i did, i was never going to drink radish juice again. So i called up my fren n told her about the incident and asked her again if the radish juice was rally the cur for her mum and her aunties. My fren sweared by it. Since she was a much trusted fren, i decided to give it a go again. The next day, i was more prepared. I bought some carrot juice and mixed it with radish juice and drank it. It was stil horrible and i still cudnt finish it. So i kept on adjusting the drink till there was only a quarter cup of radish juice and three quarter cup of carrot juice. So i have been doing this everyday. I was expecting some real results. Days passed and the pain continued. Then about one month later, the miracle happened. I suddenly realised that i had no pain for three days. U see, before, there was never a day without a gallbladder attack. Now, three days had passed without pain. So i decided to "test" my gallbladder. I went out and ate kfc. That was deepfried chicken with fries. Nothing happened. No pain. The next day, i had chicken rice. No pain. These are things that used to cause me pain. It's been a week since all my pains have gone away. Im hoping they ... - 11/8/2011 12:14:23 PM

I don't understand the logic behind the stats are you going to tell me that a 6' 6" man HAS to have a 36 inch waist -are they crazy???!!?? - 9/1/2011 10:05:23 PM

I have been reading alot about Gallstones lately looking for ways to avoid them having to be a problem. I've had a sister and our Mom both hospitalized: my sister stones passed painfully so and our Mom's gallbladder had to be removed.

Thank you for this acticle, I will share with my daughter! - 9/1/2011 9:48:03 AM

While the article doesn't specifically mention women, some correlations could probably be made. However, the biggest risk factors that applied to me were family history (both parents and a sister), female, over 40, fertile and fair skinned. The only time my stomach circumference has been overly large was when I was pregnant. - 8/30/2011 7:24:14 AM

What about women? This is an incomplete article, considering that the audience is not all men... - 7/25/2011 9:45:24 AM

there are homepathic remedies for liver cleansing. has anybody tried them? - 7/8/2010 10:43:28 PM

This article is only telling you a part of the story and doesn't tell you that weight loss and not eating enough fat can also increase your chances of gallstones and gallbladder attacks.

Gallstones are a common problem for women who experience a large weight loss. My wife lost a lot of weight, but was eating less that 20 grams of fat per day and after 5 or 6 months developed gallstones and began having attacks and had to have her gallbladder removed.

Since your gallbladder works the most when you eat fatty foods, if you don't eat enough fat your gallbladder doesn't get enough work and the bile will solidify into gallstones. When you do eat fatty foods, your gallbladder compresses to push out the bile and your stones will either irritate the lining of your gallbladder or get lodged in the bile duct and give you attacks that are tremendously painful. The stones can't be removed through surgery and are too dangerous to be passed (can get lodged and cause damage to your liver or pancreas or both), so you have to have surgery to remove your gallbladder altogether.

So, yes, lose weight, but also be sure to do it carefully and with a balanced diet, otherwise you may experience the gallbladder problems you were trying to avoid. - 7/8/2010 1:35:37 PM

This article doesn't tell the whole story. I've had my first gallbladder attack when I was dieting to lose weight. Afterwards my doctor told me that dieting is a risk factor for gallbladder stones. The article is correct though that obesity also is a risk factor. Here's some more info:


http://www.win.
niddk.nih.gov
/publications
/PDFs/Dieting
andGallstones2002.pdf
- 7/8/2010 10:52:03 AM

I do not think their their study is accurate... So don't be afraid SCULLYFAIRY . i'm 60, big gut which I'm slowly losing but this is actually for the 7th or 8th time. I know with SP am thinking will be the LAST TIME
All these studies only look at the actual people who come in sick - not the hundreds of others out there not sick so their population is skewed. Remember -- Figures never lie , liars figure. You need a population of at least 1000 people to come close the results of 10,000 and these guys were no where near that level. A much better study of East Anglia University in England had 25,000 people and found "Exercise to prevent gallstones" ANI, Feb 10, 2010, 06.34pm IST "....Writing in the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology , boffins said one reason might be reduced cholesterol levels in the bile..."
- 7/8/2010 10:31:30 AM

When I was in college without actually declaring myself to be a vegeterian I became one and I also lost a bunch of weight (using the starvation method)...then I met my meat eating future husband...after a couple of weeks of meals that involved slabs of Prime Rib and pork chops I developed a horrible pain in my side that turned out to be my Gall Bladder. I was told to see a surgeon... which I didn't do and I some how I got better (maybe the stone got moved through my system?)...about 10 years ago my son who had been heavy lost a lot of weight....after horrible pain and an emergency room visit we found out he had a Gallbladder filled with stones that had to be removed..I guess that is another reason to lose weight at a reasonable rate because this was a most painful experience. - 6/11/2010 9:51:36 AM

I had what I later discovered was a gall stone attack when I was 7 months preg with my first child. I was out of town, so didn't go to doc until afterwards. I was in terrible pain, throwing up and multiple BMs. I had just eaten a big meal of burger and fries and was up all night with it. When I told my ob/gyn, he said I was prob constipated and needed exercise and to drink water. Then after the baby was born, I began having shoulder pain. I was told to stretch and exercise. I did, even though it hurt to raise my arm. Then one night, I couldn't breathe - felt like there was a band around the bottom of my bra and I couldn't get my breath any deeper. The nurse said it was prob anxiety. Still in pain, the doc checked for UTI, didn't find anything, and gave me Vicodin. Finally, my eyes and skin turned yellow. I went to a family physician who promptly put me in the hospital. She said something was wrong with my liver and put me on hepatitis watch. On the 2nd day in the hospital, with a 7 week old breast-feeding baby, they finally discovered by ultrasound that I had gallstones. I had gallstones removed from my bile duct (hence the yellow) and my gall bladder removed. I was then told that gall stones are common after pregnancy. (I also have an apple body, and my grandmother had gall stones.) So if they are so common, why are they so hard to get diagnosed??? I wonder if moms-to-be who are high risk for gall stones could have that checked when they get their baby ultrasounds... - 10/28/2009 11:21:06 AM