Many people, including children, can experience right upper quadrant pain attacks. This is the type of abdominal pain that sometimes radiates to the upper back or shoulder blades. It usually occurs after eating fatty or fried foods, heavy meals, and is accompanied by nausea/vomiting and/or bloating, followed by loosening of the stool.
Usually, even when you have all of these symptoms, your test results may be normal, leading doctors to think that the disorder you have is called biliary dyskinesia. “Biliary” means bile, “dys” means abnormal, and “kinesia” means movement, movement. Abnormal movement of bile can occur in the gallbladder, in the bile ducts inside and outside the liver, and also in the valve between the bile duct and the duodenum; the first part of the small intestine. This valve is called the sphincter of Oddi. In the medical literature, clinicians consider biliary dyskinesia and type 3 sphincter of Oddi dysfunction to be similar conditions.
If the tests do not reveal structural abnormalities, there are no serious inflammations or stones in the gallbladder, biliary dyskinesia is often misdiagnosed with IBS, functional dyspepsia, gastroenteritis, reflux, psychosomatic diseases, etc. When patients are given the drug, it modifies or covers up the symptoms. More specific tests may show a low ejection fraction, which means low gallbladder function; <35% EF is considered abnormal. When detailed tests reveal that patients have a low ejection fraction, they are referred to surgeons to have their gallbladder removed.
So, the question remains… to remove or not to remove the gallbladder in case of biliary dyskinesia?
Excessive pressure buildup in the bile ducts or irritations are thought to be responsible for these typical symptoms of biliary dyskinesia. Unfortunately, there are many other reasons.
On the one hand, the gallbladder, liver, bile ducts, sphincter of Oddi, stomach, and duodenum work as a team. The nervous system and digestive hormones (blood messengers) do their interrelated work. Very often, it can be a setback with the proper regulation of the digestive organs.
On the other hand, bile is an extremely complicated solution consisting of water, minerals, bicarbonate, cholesterol, lecithin, and bile salts. It also has highly aggressive bile pigments and bile acids, various fat-soluble toxic substances. Changes in the biochemistry of bile make it a very aggressive and irritating fluid. In turn, it can cause spasms and irritation of the gallbladder wall.
A number of parasites, which reside in the gallbladder and bile ducts, are difficult to detect. For example, Giardia lamblia may be responsible for some cases of biliary dyskinesia and type 3 sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, especially in children.
It seems that hepatitis, fatty liver, Candida yeast overgrowth, parasites, congestion, inflammation, infection, high acidity levels, and poor eating habits can cause bile to become thick, acidic, and aggressive. . Such things make it difficult for bile to move through the ducts. Toxic substances in the bile, parasites, irritation, and food allergies can restrict proper movement of the gallbladder, bile ducts, and sphincter of Oddi.
The acidity of the whole body can change the pH of the bile. Due to the precipitation of extremely aggressive bile acids, acidic bile irritates the gallbladder, bile ducts, sphincter of Oddi and duodenum causing spasmodic contractions with pain. The aggressive, acidic bile irritates the small intestine and even the stomach, causing nausea and vomiting. I explained this in more detail in my ebook and articles.
Taking scientific research, clinical evidence and common sense into account, treatment for biliary dyskinesia should start with a non-invasive approach. Some methods of complementary or alternative medicine can be particularly helpful in this situation. Let’s focus on some of them.
First, what we have to do is make the bile more liquid and less congested. It can be done by drinking plenty of water, fresh vegetable mixes or juices, eating vegetable soups, drinking healing mineral water from Karlovy Vary, herbal teas, etc. Avoiding dehydration is mandatory.
Secondly, it is necessary to promote the liver to produce more bile. Some herbs such as barberry, rosehip, fennel, corn silk, and mint have choleretic actions that lead to the production of more bile. Clinical studies by European doctors showed that drinking Karlovy Vary healing mineral water can help the liver to produce more bile.
Third, we need to reduce congestion in the gallbladder by opening up passageways like the bile ducts and the sphincter of Oddi. Many people do not know that acupuncture and electroacupuncture decrease spasms and pain in cases of biliary dyskinesia.
Also, Mother Nature placed most of the digestive organs in the abdomen. And each of our organs needs its space to function. The most difficult position supports the gallbladder, since it is squeezed between the liver, stomach, duodenum, and large intestine. There is not enough space in this area. If a person suffers from abdominal fat, gas or constipation, the pressure inside the abdomen increases, just like when we wear tight clothing or belts. This, in turn, causes further restrictions in the movement of the gallbladder. Gentle abdominal massage, point massage, or chiropractic manipulations can decrease adhesions, free up gallbladder movements, and decrease sphincter of Oddi spasms.
Fourth, many Americans have a congested gallbladder because they are afraid of eating fatty food products. Due to bad publicity, people stay away from eggs, avocados, sour cream, butter, oily fish, and cold-pressed olive oil. These food products are natural stimulants of bile ejection. Opposites, animal fats, trans fats, combination of fats and sugars, alcohol, unhealthy eating habits like eating on the go, irregular meals, overeating leads to gallbladder congestion and should be avoided in case of biliary dyskinesia .
Fifth, this is virtually unknown even to health professionals. Bile acidity and toxicity are primary factors for biliary dyskinesia. A naturally alkaline diet, various cleansing techniques, herbs, restoring friendly intestinal flora, fighting parasites and Candida yeast overgrowth can lessen the symptoms of this condition. As I mentioned before, and is explained in detail in my book, acidity makes bile aggressive and irritating.
In the case of biliary dyskinesia, European doctors recommend drinking Karlovy Vary healing mineral water either from a thermal spring or at home. This water is not just mineral water that people drink when they are thirsty. Karlovy Vary healing mineral water has been used as a healing remedy for 500 years. Dissolving genuine Karlovy Vary thermal salt in pure water makes it possible to drink healing mineral water at home.
The minerals, bicarbonate and trace elements neutralize the acidic compounds in the bile and the water helps to eliminate them from the body. According to the medical literature, thousands of people with biliary dyskinesia improve their gallbladder and sphincter of Oddi motility by using this healing mineral water. Taking some mineral supplements such as cellular magnesium-potassium also neutralizes acidity, decreases spasms and abdominal pain.
Women, whether at puberty or perimenopause, more often suffer from biliary dyskinesia. It may be due to hormonal involvement in women. Other factors that worsen the symptoms of biliary dyskinesia are anxiety and stress. Acupuncture, herbs, self-hypnosis by listening to personalized CDs at home, nutritional supplements, and healing exercises can be helpful in this situation.
Mother Nature doesn’t make mistakes. The gallbladder is an important member of the digestive team. When there are no stones or severe inflammation in the gallbladder, especially in children and young adults, or healthy people, removal of the gallbladder may be unnecessary. Maybe it makes sense to try to improve their slow function, decrease the congestion in the bile ducts. By analogy, if there is congested traffic in the tunnel, the police officers will not blow up the tunnel, but will try to solve the traffic jam by organizing smooth movement inside this tunnel.
Medical statistics show that gallbladder surgery does not guarantee that pain will go away. For some people, life without a gallbladder is getting miserable. Searching for “post-cholecystectomy syndrome” on the internet can perfectly illustrate my concern.
The information in this article is presented for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for the diagnosis, treatment and advice of a qualified licensed professional.