Get ready to be Galled Out - Gallstone disease

I am pretty sure you are tired by now to know the number of conditions that prefer women over men. After all, being so awesome to the level that even ailments find you attractive is just on another level. Gallstones are no less, and they, too, are more common in women. The first time they taught us a pneumonic to remember who would likely develop this condition, I was so frustrated and "galled". You know who they say in the books are more likely to develop the condition - the 5 Fs: Fat (rapid weight loss, obesity), Fair (white population), Fertile (those who have had more kids), Female and over Forty. Now tell me, if this doesn't irritate you, what else will? Unfortunately, this holds true and is widely proven.

Gallstones just mean there are stones in your gall bladder, which is an organ responsible for storing bile, helping in the digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. Medically, they call this condition cholelithiasis, which is popularly called gallstone disease. This is a very harmless condition to have as most of us won't even know about its existence for our lifetime. But for a few, it may start showing signs very early in life and keep bothering throughout. Such individuals will have a nagging, griping pain in the upper right abdomen, which can cause severe nausea and vomiting, indigestion, and fever. In cases where one or more factors complicate the condition, symptoms can get severe, like jaundice, the development of pus inside the gall bladder, and the spread of infection through blood, endangering life. 

Most of the times, these stones are identified when someone gets an ultrasound for something else. And in such people, nothing needs to be done. You can choose to wait and watch until you develop symptoms to get it treated. But for everyone else, treatment is warranted. Mild pain will be relieved by analgesics, whereas complicated conditions will require antibiotics and a procedure to relieve the pus or jaundice. 

I chose to speak on this topic because of its sheer numbers and the misconceptions people have. Once, during my postgraduation, I was involved in a banter with one of the patient's daughters, who firmly believed that surgery for problematic gallstone disease is bogus and that good hydration, eating vegetarian foods and taking alternative medicines will cure the condition. Yes, while they do help improve the symptoms, they aren't the final solution. I remember her challenging me that she would come back in a year with her mother cured after following "her" treatment. I did not want to escalate the matter, so I politely accepted her challenge. But then I have never heard from her ever since.

Like her, most people think hydration flushes out the stone, and avoiding non-vegetarian food reduces the progression. But it isn't real. Hydration flushes out stones in the kidneys, not the gallbladder. Your diet must contain less oil and fat, which does not necessarily mean you must entirely quit being a non-vegetarian. People also think medicines work during the disease and that surgery isn't necessary. But sadly, medicines, even Allopathic, that provide a complete cure or dissolve the stones aren't completely effective. The only resort to end the problem altogether is by removing the gallbladder by undergoing surgery, which is relatively safe. People who choose to wait to get operated on can also do so at the risk of the on-and-off symptoms bothering their daily lives and activities. 

After surgery, people might experience flatulence and indigestion for a few days. Avoiding oily and fatty foods with analgesics will help until symptoms improve. So the next time you know someone with the condition, you know what to tell them to expect. Do you also have an exciting story to share that you have had with people at your workplace? Please spill the beans in the comments. We all love a good story.

This post is a part of Blogchatter’s #A2Zchallenge