Can you live without your gallbladder?
546108
aramse.the function of the gallbladder is to concentrate your bile and nothing else. bile is produced by liver and the water content is almost 95-96% when it is released from liver. it then comes into our gallbladder just to have some water absorbed and then the water content diminishes down to 87-88%. that's all. rest of all the contents of the bile which is necessary to keep up ur important body functions are retained as previous. so there should not be any problem. but be careful with fatty foods especially in the parties. it may produce some gastric discomfort as the bile is not so concentrated to digest the fatty foods properly. apart from this there is no problem.\nprobably u r recently going to have cholecystectomy.don't worry, u will be as well after the operation as u were before.
328454
In theory, I suppose you could live with\n\n1. Your brain\n2. Your heart\n3. 1 lung\n4. 1 kidney\n5. Your liver\n6. Some of your glands (not sure which one you absolutely need, probably the pancreas and pineal for sure)\n7. Some blood vessels and cappilaries to connect everything\n8. Enough of your spinal cord to connect everything.\n\nYou could go without skin I suppose, but you'd have to be in a clean environment, like the bubble boy. In that state, let's hope you didn't have any nerves, because every temperature change or slight breeze would cause you some nasty pain. Not to mention you'd dehydrate very easily. Of your head, all you really need is your brain, but you'll need at least a sac or part of your skull or something to hold it. It needs some fluid around it. Probably goes for your other organs too. If you're not moving around (and if this is how things are, you are NOT moving around), you probably don't even need your ribs.\n\nYou're going to need a nutrient tube or something to keep you alive, and probably a machine to breath for you too. For the feeding tube, at least a stomach might be necessary, but I'm not sure about that. I don't know if it's possible to feed nutrients directly into the blood stream.\n\nYou'd be deaf, blind, mute, and unable to feel, taste, or smell, but you could maintain a very precarious existence.\n\nIf you don't want machines or plastic bubbles keeping you alive, I'm afraid you're going to need most of your head and torso. All of your limbs, hair, eyes, ears, nose, lips, nipples, etc, can all be removed though. Removing large amounts of skin leaves you incredibly vulnerable to infection, so you'll probably end up keeping that. But you can still lose some organs! You probably don't need all your glands or remaining bones, and in addition you can drop a kidney, a lung, your spleen, your appendix, at least half your stomach, a large portion of your intestines, your testes or pretty much all your female reproductive organs, depending on your sex, and any excess fat or connective tissue not holding anything necessary in place. Sorry, guys need a penis to excrete waste, so we have to keep it if we are staying away from devices to keep us alive. This would still be a pretty precarious life, and not a lot of fun to be, or be around. You wouldn't be very healthy at all, and probably wouldn't live very long.\n\nSo if you got on a scale and tossed body parts to the other side until you were at absolute limit before you couldn't take away any more and still be alive, I'd say the scale would certainly tip towards the pieces you removed. Your limbs alone would go a long way toward doing that.
893914
Gall Bladder or Pancreatitis (pancreas inflamation).  Both of these organs secrete bile into the intestines to aid in digestion.  The ducts can get blocked or infected, causing bile to build up in the organd (not good), or the organs can themselves be infected (very bad).  Go to a doctor, for upper GI, and they can help you a lot.  Many people have to have the gall bladder removed, but it doesn't affect you too much.
416673
Yes, you can.  Not from not "emptying your bowels" everyday, that's an exaggeration.  But if you don't have one for a long time and you let it build up because of constipation, it can make you really sick and you can even die from it.
264145
The gall bladder contains bile - basically a digestive juice or aid.  If the secretions of the gall bladder (bile) concentrate/thicken - or outflow is impeded for some reason and normal flow out is diminished, concretions or stones can occur.  Not much you can do to prevent them - but people with lower fat diets, have less gall stone prevalence.
988754
kidney stones can be removed by passing them yourself, or by using ultra-sound to shatter them--yet gallstones in the gall bladder can only be removed by taking out the gall bladder to my knowledge- my wife had it done a few months ago--they do it by laporoscopy- just a small incision near the belly button- not major invasive surgery anymore-- maybe i week recovery- just to rest and catch up- any ??-holler back at me- your friend should be fine -don't worry--today- it's only day surgery-after they wake up from the anesthesia- they send them home--not bad at all-really!! don't worry !!!!
234773
It depends on the size and amount of stones that you have.As far as alternative treatment is considered,stay away from so called "gall bladder flushes",trying to flush out stones yourself is a serious no no,because their is a chance a stone can get lodged in the bile duct,and in that case it would require emergency surgery.Most of the time gallstones remain inactive and there is no potential risks other then the  occassional discomfort after fatty meals.Most gastrointologist reccomend having the entire gallbladder removed,if the stones are very large or it continues to be bothersome.Stones can push against the liver leading to several serious conditions.This is why proper evaluation and treatment from a well trained gastrointologist is an absolute must!What are the complications of gallstones? \n\nBiliary colic is the most common symptom of gallstones, but, fortunately, it is a self-limiting symptom. There are, however, more serious complications of gallstones. \n\nCholecystitis. Cholecystitis is an inflammatory condition of the gallbladder. Like biliary colic, it too is caused by sudden obstruction of the ducts by a gallstone, usually the cystic duct. In fact, cholecystitis may begin with an episode of biliary colic. Obstruction of the cystic duct causes the wall of the gallbladder to begin secreting fluid just as with biliary colic, however, for unclear reasons, inflammation sets in. At first the inflammation is sterile, that is, there is no infection with bacteria; however, over time the bile and gallbladder become infected with bacteria that travel through the ducts from the intestine.\n\nWith cholecystitis, there is constant pain in the right upper abdomen. Inflammation extends through the wall of the gallbladder, and the right upper abdomen becomes tender when it is pushed. Unlike with biliary colic, however, it is painful to move. Individuals with cholecystitis usually lie still. There is fever, and the white blood cell count is elevated, both signs of inflammation. Cholecystitis usually is treated with antibiotics, and most episodes will resolve over several days. Even without antibiotics, cholecystitis often resolves. As with biliary colic, movement of the gallstone out of the cystic duct and back into the gallbladder relieves the obstruction and allows the inflammation to resolve.\n\nCholangitis. Cholangitis is a condition in which bile in the common, hepatic, and intrahepatic ducts becomes infected. Like cholecystitis, the infection spreads through the ducts from the intestine after the ducts become obstructed by a gallstone. Patients with cholangitis are very sick with a high fever and elevated white blood cell counts. Cholangitis may result in an abscess within the liver or sepsis. (See discussion of sepsis below.)\n\nGangrene. Gangrene of the gallbladder is a condition in which the inflammation of cholecystitis cuts off the supply of blood to the gallbladder. Without blood, the tissues forming the wall of the gallbladder die, and this makes the wall very weak. The weakness combined with infection often leads to rupture of the gallbladder. The infection then may spread throughout the abdomen, though often the rupture is confined to a small area around the gallbladder (a confined perforation).\n\nJaundice. Jaundice is a condition in which bilirubin accumulates in the body. Bilirubin is brownish-black, yellow when it is not too concentrated. A build-up of bilirubin in the body turns the skin and whites of the eye (sclera) yellow. Jaundice occurs when there is prolonged obstruction of the bile ducts. The obstruction may be due to gallstones, but it also may be due to many other causes of obstruction, for example, tumors of the bile ducts or surrounding tissues. (Other causes of jaundice are a rapid destruction of red blood cells that overwhelms the ability of the liver to remove it from the blood or a damaged liver that cannot remove bilirubin from the blood normally.) Jaundice, by itself, does not cause pr
615236
Any good multivitamin would be fine. The fact that you don't have a gall bladder doesn't affect that choice.
1094507
If you or someone you know thinks they have the beginning to liver cirrhosis.. email me and I will send you the recipe for a wonderful liver/gallbladder cleanse that is easy and you can pick up all the ingredints at your grocery and or helath food store.. 3 days no fasting gets rid of any stones as well. JJ:)
208544
Weight loss does occur in some people after any surgery, but this is incidental (except after gastric bypass and the like).  Removal of the gall bladder in and of itself has no such intended effect.  One of the common sympotms of a diseased or obstructed gall bladder is a flare up of discomfort after eating fatty foods.  One may argue, that the removal of the GB may actualy allow a person to eat MORE fat!
1157708
Rats do not have gall bladders due tot he fact that their bile breakdown, is done through acidic means with bile acid and muricholic acid, which then means as they dont have a bile reaction and so dont nee gall bladders\n\non the upside they dont get gall stones either.....
280472
Gallbladder Removal?\nA friend of mine had her gallbladder taken out. Ever since she has problems digesting food. If I were you and it was not an emergency, I would first look for a gentle solution. \n\nThere are natural solutions to clear out the ducts, stones etc. A naturopathic (NMD, ND) or even a homeopathic physician may be able to help. (Phone book of your area.) You may also want to look in the book Healthy Healing by Linda Rector Page.\n\nDinshah would use the Dinshah colors Lemon and Orange for gallstones. Dinshah was an ingenious physician from India, who healed his first color patient with an indigo colored bottle. The patient was given up to die by his colleagues, but thanks to Dinshah's color treatments, she was up in three days! (About Dinshah Color MedicineTM see www.biochakra.com.)\n\nI like to think about our body of being complete with all organs needed.\n\nMake a wise decision for yourself.\nCordially, India.Magica
268769
I had my gallbladder removed back in 2004 and had problems with having to go the restroom IMMEDIATELY after eating anything. It got to the point where I never wanted to go out and eat. I would also get very sick to my stomach after eating sometimes. I'm doing better now...but sometimes these things still happen. I never heard of what your wife is experiencing....why did she have an emergency surgery? Did a gallstone get into the pancreas?
205434
You can live without a spleen. I know 2 people who lost theirs. You shouldn't however visit Nantucket or Cape Cod without one. There's a bacteria there that your body needs a spleen in order to fight off.
449804
I had gall bladder surgery 3 years ago. They did it laporscopically which means they went through my belly button and mad 3 small incisions in my stomach. Since it is in the stomach region, they do consider it major surgery, however, after having it I really don't think it is that bad. I stayed in the hospital overnight and then went home the next day. I did have a little pain at the hospital in my back and shoulders because when they pump your abdomen when air so they can work easily around the organs, it leaves tiny air bubbles inside you when they take the air out, so that was uncomfortable but I didn't feel it anymore after 2 or 3 days. My abdomen was really sore and when I walked around it would have a few sharp pains if it jiggled or something but I had some pretty good medicenes that helped me out. The recovery was pretty easy acctually. After a week I was doing really well. I still had pain but not as bad at all. I could start doing things at 2 weeks like going places. And I had to stay on a really low fat diet for about 6 weeks because the gall bladder helps digest fat and since I didn't have that anymore, fat runs through me faster and could make me sick. So after 6 weeks, my body was used to this change and could go back to eating reguarly. Not to say that fatty foods are okay to eat even after the 6 week mark because sometimes I get really bad diarea still (after 3 yrs) because my body doesnt have the gall bladder. All in all I am pretty normal still. I don't even notice a change really. I eat a normal diet so everything is fine. Good luck and don't be scared. It goes smoothly and quickly and you'll be fine.
381500
Get some fermented mongolian horse milk. Eat some fiber rich meals. To clean out the gallstones and bile ducts, try to find the receipy for epsom salts combined with olive oil. It must be done correctly.
834297
You’ve already been answered correctly by Shannon.  Once the gall stones have been removed, usually the gall bladder is also removed as it usually affected by chronic cholecystitis, and if left in-situ it may lead to recurrence of cholecystitis.  However, certain patients do have a tendency of their bile forming stones by the process of sedimentation.   Now this can only happen after a surgical removal of gall bladder in the CBD (Common Bile Duct) which carries the bile from the liver into an opening in the small intestine (its duodenal part).  IF this CBD is somehow damaged or constricted, stones can start forming in it and may again restart gall colic.  Sometimes the stones, being small as they are, get into the pancreatic duct and may block it, resulting in pancreatitis and its resulting complications.