Gallstone disease symptoms and treatment. Cholelithiasis. What to do if you have gallstones

is a disease accompanied by the formation of stones in the gallbladder(cholecystolithiasis) or in bile ducts(choledocholithiasis). Stones are formed as a result of precipitation of bile pigments, cholesterol, certain types of proteins, calcium salts, infection of bile, its stagnation, lipid metabolism disorders. The disease may be accompanied by pain in the right hypochondrium, biliary colic, jaundice. Surgery is required. The pathology can be complicated by cholecystitis, fistula formation, and peritonitis.

General information

- a disease characterized by a disorder in the synthesis and circulation of bile in the hepatobiliary system as a result of a violation of cholesterol or bilirubin metabolism, resulting in the formation of stones (calculi) in the bile ducts and gallbladder. The pathology is dangerous due to its development severe complications having high probability fatal outcome. The disease develops much more often in women. Treatment is carried out by specialists in the field of clinical gastroenterology and abdominal surgery.

Causes

In case of violation of the quantitative ratio of bile components in the body, solid formations (flakes) are formed, which, with the course of the disease, grow and merge into stones. The most common cholelithiasis occurs with impaired cholesterol metabolism (excessive content in bile). Bile oversaturated with cholesterol is called lithogenic. Excess cholesterol is formed due to the following factors:

  • With obesity and the use of a large amount of cholesterol-containing foods.
  • With a decrease in the amount of bile acids entering the bile (reduced secretion with estrogen, deposition in the gallbladder, functional impairment hepatocytes).
  • With a decrease in the amount of phospholipids, which, like bile acids, do not allow cholesterol and bilirubin to pass into a solid state and settle.
  • At stagnation in the bile circulation system (bile thickening due to absorption of water and bile acids in the gallbladder).

Stagnation of bile, in turn, can be mechanical and functional. With mechanical stagnation, there is an obstruction to the outflow of bile from the bladder (tumors, adhesions, kinks, an increase in nearby organs and lymph nodes, scars, inflammation with swelling of the wall, strictures). Functional disorders are associated with disorders of motility of the gallbladder and biliary tract (biliary dyskinesia of the hypokinetic type). Also for development cholelithiasis can lead to infections, inflammation of the biliary system, allergic reactions, autoimmune conditions.

Risk factors for developing cholelithiasis include being older and old age, taking medications that interfere with the metabolism of cholesterol and bilirubin (fibrates, estrogens during menopause, ceftriaxone, ocreotide), genetic factors (cholelithiasis in the mother), nutritional disorders (obesity, sudden weight loss, fasting, elevated level cholesterol and high-density blood lipoproteins, hypertriglycerinemia).

The likelihood of developing pathology is increased by multiple pregnancies, metabolic diseases (diabetes mellitus, fermentopathy, metabolic syndrome), organ diseases gastrointestinal tract(Crohn's disease, diverticula of the duodenum and bile duct, biliary tract infection), postoperative conditions (after gastrectomy, truncal vagectomy).

Pathanatomy

Gallstones are varied in size, shape, there can be different numbers of them (from one stone to hundreds), but they are all divided according to their predominant component into cholesterol and pigment (bilirubin).

Cholesterol stones yellow color, consist of undissolved cholesterol with various impurities (minerals, bilirubin). Almost the vast majority of stones are of cholesterol origin (80%). Pigment stones, dark brown to black in color, are formed when there is an excess of bilirubin in the bile, which happens when functional disorders liver, frequent hemolysis, infectious diseases biliary tract.

Classification

According to modern classification gallstone disease is divided into three stages:

  • Initial (pre-stone). Characterized by changes in the composition of bile) does not manifest itself clinically; it can be detected by biochemical analysis of the composition of bile.
  • Formation of stones. Latent stone carriage is also asymptomatic, but with instrumental methods diagnostics, it is possible to detect stones in the gallbladder.
  • Clinical manifestations. Characterized by the development of acute or chronic calculous cholecystitis.

Sometimes a fourth stage is identified - the development of complications.

Symptoms of gallstone disease

The symptomatology manifests itself depending on the location of the stones and their size, severity inflammatory processes and availability functional disorders. Characteristic pain symptom with cholelithiasis - biliary or hepatic colic - severe acute sudden pain under the right rib of a cutting, stabbing character. After a couple of hours, the pain is finally concentrated in the projection of the gallbladder. May radiate to the back right shoulder blade, in the neck, in the right shoulder. Sometimes irradiation to the region of the heart can cause angina pectoris.

Pain often occurs after eating spicy, spicy, fried, fatty foods, alcohol, stress, heavy physical activity, long work in an inclined position. The causes of the pain syndrome are spasm of the muscles of the gallbladder and ducts as a reflex response to irritation of the wall with stones and as a result of overdistension of the bladder with excess bile in the presence of obstruction in the bile ducts. Global cholestasis due to blockage of the bile duct: the bile ducts of the liver expand, increasing the organ in volume, which responds to a pain reaction from the overstretched capsule. This pain is permanent stupid character, often accompanied by a feeling of heaviness in the right hypochondrium.

Associated symptoms are nausea (including vomiting, which does not bring relief). Vomiting occurs as a reflex response to irritation of the peripapillary region of the duodenum. If the inflammatory process has taken over the pancreatic tissue, vomiting may be frequent, with bile, and indomitable. Depending on the severity of intoxication, there is an increase in temperature from low-grade fever to severe fever. When the common bile duct is blocked by a stone and the sphincter of Oddi is obstructed, obstructive jaundice and stool discoloration are observed.

Complications

Most a common complication Cholelithiasis is inflammation of the gallbladder (acute and chronic) and obstruction of the biliary tract with stones. Blockage of the bile ducts in the pancreas can cause acute biliary pancreatitis. Also a common complication of cholelithiasis is inflammation of the bile ducts - cholangitis.

Diagnostics

When symptoms are detected hepatic colic the patient is referred for consultation with a gastroenterologist. A physical examination of the patient reveals symptoms characteristic of the presence of stones in the gallbladder: Zakharyin, Ortner, Murphy. Skin soreness and muscle tension in the abdominal wall in the area of ​​the gallbladder projection are also determined. Xanthemas are noted on the skin; with obstructive jaundice, a characteristic yellow-brownish color of the skin and sclera is characteristic.

General blood test during clinical exacerbation shows signs nonspecific inflammation- leukocytosis and moderate increase in ESR. Biochemical research blood allows to detect hypercholesterolemia and hyperbilirubinemia, increased activity alkaline phosphatase. With cholecystography, the gallbladder is enlarged, has calcareous inclusions in the walls, and stones with lime present inside are clearly visible.

The most informative and most widely used method for examining the gallbladder is abdominal ultrasound. It accurately shows the presence of echo-proof formations - stones, pathological deformations of the walls of the bladder, changes in its motility. Ultrasound clearly shows signs of cholecystitis. MRI and cholecystotomy also allow visualization of the gallbladder and ducts) cavitary or laparoscopic depending on the condition of the body, pathological changes in the walls of the bladder and surrounding tissues, the size of the stones. Cholecystectomy from a mini-access can always be converted to open abdominal surgery in case of technical need.

There are methods for dissolving stones using drugs ursodeoxycholic and chenodeoxycholic acids, but this kind of therapy does not lead to a cure for gallstone disease and over time, the formation of new stones is possible. Another way to break stones is shock wave lithotripsy– is used only in the presence of a single stone and in patients who do not suffer from acute inflammation gallbladder or ducts.

Prognosis and prevention

The prognosis directly depends on the rate of formation of stones, their size and mobility. In the vast majority of cases, the presence of stones in the gall bladder leads to the development of complications. If successful surgical removal gallbladder – cure without significant consequences for the quality of life of patients. Prevention consists of avoiding factors that contribute to increased cholesterolemia and bilirubinemia, and bile stagnation.

Balanced diet, normalization of body weight, active image life with regular physical activity allow you to avoid metabolic disorders, and timely detection and treatment of pathologies of the biliary system (dyskinesias, obstructions, inflammatory diseases) reduces the likelihood of bile stasis and sedimentation in the gallbladder. Special attention cholesterol metabolism and the state of the biliary system should be paid to persons with genetic predisposition to stone formation.

If there are stones in the gall bladder, preventing attacks of biliary colic will include following a strict diet (excluding fatty, fried foods, baked goods, pastry creams, sweets, alcohol, carbonated drinks, etc.), normalization of body weight, drinking enough liquid. To reduce the likelihood of stones moving from the gallbladder along the ducts, work involving prolonged exposure to an inclined position is not recommended.

Why is it necessary to follow a diet after gallbladder removal?

Many people who have had their gallbladder removed do not understand why they need a diet, because the gallbladder is no longer there! And there are no stones either... Why do you need to eat differently?

Let me explain: you have had the consequence removed - the stones and the bubble in which they are formed, and the disease - metabolic disorder - has not gone away, you continue to live with her. Now stones can form in the bile ducts, which is much more dangerous. And the correct one balanced diet, which we usually call a diet, gradually normalizes metabolism and you will get rid of cholelithiasis forever.

Moreover, if in the presence of a gallbladder, the bile in it became concentrated, which gave it the opportunity to exhibit disinfectant properties and kill pathogenic microbes, now it goes directly to duodenum - constantly, having no place to accumulate. This bile cannot help digest large amounts of food, since there is no reservoir where it accumulated - the bladder has been removed.

It is for this reason that it is recommended fractional meals 5-6 times throughout the day and give up irrational use fatty foods . Yes, fat is needed, but small quantities. You also need to drink a lot of water - at least 1.5 liters, which will dilute the bile. And adhere to the list of permitted and prohibited foods for cholelithiasis (you remember - the disease has not gone away!), which is given above.

I hope that the article was useful for you and helped you understand such a complex phenomenon as gallstone disease, its symptoms and causes, surgical treatment and nutrition in the formation of gallstones.

Be healthy! We eat rationally and correctly!

Gallstone disease is also called cholelithiasis. The gallbladder or its ducts enter into pathological condition with this disease due to the formation of stones in them. These are stony deposits, in the people they are called stones. But, of course, it is wrong to compare them with natural stones. They did not come from outside, but independently formed and deposited inside a person for several reasons. Cholelithiasis is dangerous and carries serious problems health, painful sensations, complications, generates secondary pathologies. The sooner you pay attention to the symptoms and go to a doctor who diagnoses and starts treating the disease, the more likely it will be possible to avoid surgical intervention for the removal of stones and the consequences of their formation.

Nature arranged human body in the wisest way. Everything in it is a single well-coordinated system, which, if it functions normally, does not cause problems and reasons to think about your health. But when a person feels pain, this is a signal of trouble, some kind of failure that the body gives to the brain so that it can take actions that can get rid of the problem.

Important! Main and first symptom of cholelithiasis Doctors call the pain, namely, sudden colic, which is localized in the right side under the ribs. But this is a sign of an emergency operational situation, when the stones have moved and created a pathogenic focus. It all begins, at the stage of small formations, with bitterness in the mouth, heaviness spreading throughout the abdomen, starting on the right, and a transient feeling of nausea.

Bitterness in the mouth is one of the first signs of cholelithiasis

For what reason do stones suddenly appear in a well-functioning, normally functioning body, and why do they accumulate in the gallbladder?

The main reason is a violation of metabolic processes. The metabolism of calcium, protein, bilirubin, cholesterol, and so on is disrupted. Participants in these metabolic processes that do not dissolve in bile accumulate in it. There they, fastened to each other, turn into a monolithic compound, which over time hardens under the pressure of more and more particles arriving and clinging to it.

Important! When microscopic particles form stones, they can reach truly huge size, compared to the size of their container - the gallbladder - five centimeters.

Statistically education gallstones occurs in every seventh person, and women are twice as susceptible to this pathology as men. Their bodies contain more estrogens, which inhibit the release of bile hormones.

Estrogens are hormones that stimulate stagnation of bile in the gallbladder.

In addition to slow bile outflow, low mobility and a predominantly static lifestyle, in which everything is inhibited, can provoke the growth of stones. metabolic processes. Also constant use Fatty foods create cholesterol accumulations, greatly increasing the likelihood of stone formation.

Concretions are divided into four types, depending on the components.


On a note! While the formations are small (and they range from 0.1 mm), they lie quietly at the bottom of the gallbladder, and the owner does not even know about their existence.

If he (or she) is lucky, he will be able to feel bitterness, heaviness and nausea after eating. early stage stone formation, before they are overgrown with sediments, reach large sizes and begin to move along narrow channels, causing unbearable pain.

Signs and diagnosis

So, when a stone or several from the gallbladder decides to go out (under the pressure of bile), it is sent along the only available path - the bile duct. The mouth of the duct is narrow, and the paradox is that small stone, which could pass through it without problems, will remain at the bottom of the bubble until it grows to a certain size. Only then will its volume and weight begin to interfere with the bile contents, and it will try to “put pressure” on the calculus, expelling it out.

What will happen to the duct when it gets into solid object having a volume greater than the width of the passage? Of course, the duct will be clogged.


Among themselves, doctors call this situation "rockfall". If it has begun, the pains may still stop and be recurrent, but they will intensify and become more frequent until they become incessant.

Important! With a complete blockage of the outflow of bile, without helping the patient, the pancreas will soon become inflamed (the pancreatitis), the gallbladder itself (the name of the pathology - cholecystitis), and also forms obstructive jaundice with all the consequences.

Diagnostic methods

Until the patient suffers from pain in the form of colic, it is quite difficult to diagnose cholelithiasis by eye. After all, nausea and heaviness in the stomach are symptoms of many diseases, even those not related to the gastrointestinal tract. Bitterness in the mouth can also be caused by more than just a single pathology. Even colic on the right does not indicate one hundred percent of cholelithiasis. How can you find out about the presence of stones? With the help of ultrasound.

Attention! Primary stones, which are not visible on ultrasound, at the initial stage, can only be detected when taking bile for biochemical analysis.

Ultrasound or X-ray abdominal cavity(when early diagnosis the last procedure - with the introduction of contrast) will give excellent result and will help detect even small stones.

And if for some reason these two types of studies are not available, today there is an alternative - a special study called choledochoscopy. On it, the doctor will see the stones with his own eyes, determine their size and location with an accuracy of a tenth of a millimeter, and also inform the patient how necessary it is to operate in order to remove the stones.

Choledochoscope - a device for conducting choledochoscopy

On a note! The opinion of surgeons regarding stones is clear - remove them in any case. Most doctors of therapeutic specialization believe that it is better not to touch stones in the bile, as long as they behave calmly.

No symptoms - no treatment? It's not quite right. It is possible and necessary to treat stones. More precisely, stones cannot be treated, but they can be crushed, dissolved, or removed in a less invasive way than surgery.

How to rid a patient of stones

Surgeons believe that getting rid of the patient’s stones conservative methods doesn't make sense. It takes a long time, is not always effective, and is fraught side effect, most importantly, stones with high probability will grow again.

That is, in principle, two ways are proposed. If stones are found, but their size is small and they do not give symptoms, it is recommended to ignore their presence, while following a diet and monitoring their size in order to notice their increase in time, health threatening patient. This situation can last for years and even decades.

The second way, if a “rockfall” has begun, is to completely remove the entire gallbladder.

Is there life without a gallbladder? Today medicine answers: “yes,” but its representatives on this issue are divided into two camps. Many people believe that the gallbladder to modern man not needed. And although it moves away, together with the stones and channels there, emergency situations, for example, at the beginning acute cholecystitis , which is about to develop into peritonitis, inflammatory the entire peritoneum, or with complete blockage and rapidly developing pancreatitis, you can live without a gallbladder.

Moreover, the patient’s life and health will remain full, subject to regular nutrition. No, you won't need special diets and strict regimes.

Regular nutrition is the key to permanent removal of the gallbladder

On a note! Our primitive ancestors did not have refrigerators or supermarkets. They received food only when they hunted successfully, and this did not happen every day. And if they are full, accordingly, irregularly. But on the day of a successful hunt, they ate “for future use.” This is why the gallbladder was needed - to store bile in a “reservoir” until the moment when it is needed to digest food (fats and proteins).

Since today a person can easily afford not to eat “for future use,” bile can be released directly from the liver in small doses gradually, carrying out a continuous digestive process.

The second “camp” is categorically against removing the bladder without endangering the patient’s life. They believe that the gallbladder plays a vital role in the digestive process. It’s true, the organ accumulates bile and throws it in portions into the intestines and stomach to ensure the digestion process. Without a bladder, bile will flow directly, its concentration will be more liquid, food will be digested less efficiently, which will eventually lead to gastrointestinal diseases.

Treatment options

Leaving aside surgical radical ways, there are still a few options left to deal with the stones.

Table. Non-surgical methods of treating cholelithiasis.

WayDescription

Firstly, a well-functioning diet. The regime is strict, the diet is specific. No fats, spicy, smoked, fried, minimum protein foods. This is necessary so that the stones, if any, do not acquire new “details” and remain safe, lying at the bottom of the gallbladder.

Secondly, medicines that dissolve stones. Such means exist, and they, albeit slowly, do their job. "Ursofalk", chenodeoxycholic acid and other drugs, with the help of which, with a certain patience and luck, you can completely get rid of stones within a year. Yes, it is expensive and not always effective. The effect depends on many factors, not just the size and number of stones. Moreover, if patients maintain their previous lifestyle, stones will almost certainly form again after just a few years. A possible complications after long-term use These drugs cause damage to liver cells.

The third way to destroy stones is a shock wave. If the formations are single and small, they can be crushed and removed from the body naturally in small parts. This procedure is the most commonly used today because it is minimally invasive, well tolerated, highly effective, and can even be performed on an outpatient basis.

The method has a significant drawback - the stones are crushed using an ultrasonic device into fragments that have sharp ends. At the exit, they can damage the shells. Therefore, after crushing, the above-mentioned drugs are prescribed to dissolve the corners and smooth out the shapes in order to reduce complications.

This method can partially be classified as surgical, since in order for the laser beam to crush the stone in a directional manner, a puncture is made in the body. There is also a drawback here - the possibility of burns to the mucous membrane.

In all cases except the first, the stones will almost certainly grow back. And the patient, exhausted from the fight against stones, will sooner or later agree to an operation to excise the gallbladder.

On a note! In case of surgery to remove the gallbladder, it is best to choose laparoscopy. With it, the anterior one is pierced abdominal wall(that is, the tissue is not cut), and through these punctures the gallbladder with all its contents is removed. There are practically no marks, healing proceeds quickly.

Prevention and complications

The development of cholelithiasis is fraught with a number of complications.

What's the best thing to do? Do not have stones, or have them, but they are small, and try to prevent them from growing to a size where they will have to be removed along with the blister. To do this, it is necessary to engage in the prevention of cholelithiasis.

Important! If you have small stones, you should not take it in any form. choleretic drugs, not only medications, but also herbal medicines. They will certainly cause migration of stones and complications. Also, you can't use mineral water.

Preventive measures include:


In general, there is nothing terrible or difficult in observing the above preventive measures No. This is the norm healthy person which he must adhere to if he does not want to have not only gallstones, but also many other diseases. After all, maintaining health is not the highest price to pay in order not to one day be faced with a dilemma: to live with a gallbladder filled with stones or without it.

Video - GSD: symptoms

Gallstone disease (cholelithiasis) is a disease that is accompanied by the formation of calculi (stones) in the gallbladder or bile ducts. Cholelithiasis is also called cholelithiasis.

Unfortunately, today this disease is very common. As a person ages, the risk of developing of this disease. In addition, cholelithiasis is more common in females.

Among all diseases of the digestive system of the body, cholelithiasis occupies one of the first places due to its widespread prevalence. The disease is treated by a gastroenterologist,

If the quantitative ratio of bile components in the human body is disturbed, then formations begin to form strong character, which are often called flakes. As the disease progresses, the flakes increase in size and turn into stones.

Often, the occurrence of cholelithiasis is promoted by excess cholesterol in the bile.

Causes of increased cholesterol levels:

  1. Excess body weight.
  2. Eating a lot of foods with high content cholesterol.
  3. Decrease in the number of bile acids.
  4. Reducing the number of phospholipids - substances that prevent bilirubin and cholesterol from changing their state to solid.
  5. Thickening (stagnation) of bile.

There are other possible reasons for the development of gallstone disease:

  • poor nutrition;
  • genetic predisposition;
  • sedentary lifestyle;
  • hormonal disorders in the body that are associated with weakened functions thyroid gland, as well as taking hormonal medications;
  • pregnancy;
  • liver injuries and diseases;
  • diabetes;
  • inflammation that occurs in the gallbladder.

The development of the disease during pregnancy is associated with increased cholesterol levels.

Stages of gallstone disease

There are several stages of development:

  1. Initial - at this stage changes occur in the composition of bile. The initial stage is called pre-stone. There are no accompanying symptoms of the development of the disease at this stage, as a result of which it is impossible to identify the onset of the disease. Only a biochemical analysis of bile can help identify the disease.
  2. Stone formation is the stage at which stone formation occurs. There are also no symptoms of the disease, however modern methods diagnostics will help identify the development of cholelithiasis.
  3. The stage of clinical manifestations is the stage at which acute or chronic form of cholelithiasis is diagnosed.

Symptoms of the disease

Symptoms depend on the location of the stone formation and its size. The most basic symptom of the disease is acute pain that occurs in the right hypochondrium.

The pain can be cutting or stabbing in nature. The pain can radiate to the neck, back, and also right shoulder or a spatula.

Usually pain syndrome occurs after eating fried, fatty, spicy food or after consumption alcoholic drinks. Also severe pain cause stress and physical activity.

The cause of pain can be a spasm that occurs in the area of ​​the gallbladder ducts. The reason for its appearance is irritation of the gallbladder wall due to stones formed in it. Another cause of spasm is overstretching of the walls of the gallbladder, which appears due to blockage of the bile ducts.

The following manifestations of the disease are also possible:

  • nausea;
  • flatulence;
  • a feeling of bitterness in the mouth;
  • heartburn.

Subsequently, cholelithiasis can lead to the development of other ailments:

  • pancreatitis;
  • cholecystitis;
  • jaundice;
  • liver abscess.

The peculiarity of the disease is that early stages The development of cholelithiasis does not manifest itself in any way.

Treatment

Treatment of cholelithiasis can be carried out using the following methods:

  • abdominal surgery;
  • laparoscopy;
  • drug litholysis;
  • hardware dissolution of stones;
  • traditional medicine.

In most cases, surgery is required to treat the disease. Radical treatment gives diseases good results, and also does not pose any danger to patients.

Indications for the operation are as follows:

  1. The diameter of the stones is more than 1 cm.
  2. A large number of stones.
  3. Inactivity of the gallbladder (completely clogged with stones).
  4. Availability diabetes mellitus at the patient.
  5. Possibility of blockage of the bile ducts.
  6. If the stones contain calcium salts and bilirubin.

After the operation, it is necessary to conduct correct image life and follow a diet to eliminate the possibility of re-formation of stones in other organs, for example, in the liver.

If the stones are small in size, then there is a possibility of dissolving them using medications. These are drugs that prevent the intestines from absorbing cholesterol. In addition, these substances help dissolve cholesterol, which is contained in stones.

Drug dissolution of stones is contraindicated if the patient is pregnant. In addition, such therapy will not be effective if the gallbladder is “off” if it is more than half clogged with stones, if the diameter of the stones exceeds 2 cm.

Diet

When treating gallstone disease, it is very important to follow correct mode nutrition.

For patients, a specially developed diet No. 5 is prescribed. It is prescribed by her attending physician.

Principles of dietary nutrition:

  • the daily calorie intake should not exceed 2500;
  • meals should be divided - there should be several meals a day;
  • portions should be small;
  • it is necessary to reduce the amount of fat consumed;
  • It is recommended to drink at least 2 liters of water per day;
  • You should not eat fried or smoked foods.

Thus, patients need to eat exclusively boiled, stewed, steamed or baked foods. It is also important to limit the amount of salt to 10 grams per day.

It is necessary to exclude from the diet foods that cause overload of the liver and other organs of the digestive system, gas formation and the production of bile. These products include:

  • mushrooms;
  • baking;
  • alcoholic drinks;
  • tea and coffee;
  • spices and herbs;
  • fatty meat and fish;
  • sausages;
  • high fat dairy products;
  • cabbage.

It is allowed to drink weak tea diluted with milk.

Products that can be consumed during the diet:

  • bran bread;
  • lean meat and fish;
  • seafood;
  • low-fat dairy products, including cheese (in limited quantities);
  • vegetables high in pectin;
  • soups;
  • nuts and seeds.

It is also allowed to eat some fruits - bananas and apples. However, the latter are recommended to be consumed only baked. As for sweets, you are allowed to indulge yourself with natural marmalade. It is recommended to drink decoctions, jelly, and freshly brewed compotes.

Compliance dietary food helps improve the functioning of the gallbladder and the whole body, and also strengthens the immune system.

Is it possible to do without surgery?

Very often, drugs are used to treat the disease alternative medicine. However, you should not hope for traditional medicine on late stages development of cholelithiasis. In addition, you need to contact a gastroenterologist in any case.

You can find out a specialist’s opinion regarding the treatment of gallstone disease without surgery from the following video:

Herbal infusions

To treat the disease, the following recipes based on medicinal herbs will help:

  1. Take immortelle flowers, peppermint leaves and coriander fruits. Mix all ingredients and pour boiling water. Leave for 2 hours.
  2. Take in equal parts the following ingredients: chamomile flowers, peppermint leaves and lemon balm leaves. Pour boiling water over the collection and strain.
  3. Mix the ingredients: wormwood grass (10 grams), sandy immortelle flowers 910 grams), dandelion root (10 grams), madder root (40 grams). Pour boiling water over the ingredients and strain.
  4. Mix wormwood herb and horsetail herb in equal proportions. Pour the mixture with water and boil for 10 minutes. Then strain and take one glass daily in the morning and evening.
  5. Mix the following ingredients in equal proportions: chamomile flowers, immortelle flowers, peppermint leaves, dandelion root and buckthorn bark. Pour the mixture with water and boil for 10 minutes. Then strain and take one glass every day in the morning and before bed.
  6. Combine the following ingredients: buckthorn seeds, fennel seeds (one part each), peppermint leaves, immortelle flowers and wormwood herb (two parts each). Add water and boil for 25 minutes. Strain the infusion and take one glass every day after waking up and before bed.
  7. Mix the following components: sandy immortelle flowers, buckthorn herb, knotweed herb, chicory herb and St. John's wort herb. Pour water and boil for 6 minutes. Let it brew and strain. Take several times during the day, an hour after meals.

Such herbal recipes will help fight the symptoms of gallstone disease. In addition, herbs help dissolve stones and remove them from the gallbladder into the intestines.

Juices and decoctions

The following recipes are also effective in treating the disease:

  1. Decoction of watermelon rinds. Watermelon rinds must be dried and crushed, then add water and cook for 30 minutes. After cooling, the broth must be strained and consumed several times a day.
  2. Althea - effective plant. To prepare the decoction, you will need to take two tablespoons of crushed marshmallow root and cook them in one liter of wine (dry white) for 5 minutes. After cooling, you need to strain and consume up to 3 sips every few hours.
  3. Infusions of wild lingonberries and strawberries are also effective. The berries must be poured with boiling water and left for 30 minutes.
  4. No less useful is a decoction of rosehip root. The root must be crushed, poured with water and boiled for at least 60 minutes.
  5. It is also useful to use a decoction of rose hips when you are sick, which improves immunity and saturates the body with vitamins.
  6. Mix the following ingredients in equal proportions: black radish juice and honey. Drink a tablespoon before each meal.

These recipes help strengthen immune system, dissolving stones, lightening the load on digestive system and gallbladder.

Folk remedies

Other remedies are also effective:

  1. Beetroot and its decoction are very effective for cholelithiasis. To prepare the decoction, you need to cook the beets until they are completely boiled. The finished syrup should be drunk before meals, 50 grams.
  2. An infusion based on the birch chaga mushroom is one of the most effective means. To prepare, you will need to chop the mushroom, pour it hot water and let it sit for about 2 days.
  3. An effective method of treating the disease is to drink cold mineral water (Borjomi, Essentuki and others).
  4. Potato water helps remove stones. To prepare, you will need to cook the potatoes until completely softened. Drain the water from the puree and pour into containers.
  5. If the stones are small in size, then it is effective next method treatment: you need to fast for 24 hours, allowing yourself only plain or mineral water. Then you need to do an enema to cleanse the intestines and drink olive oil. Following the oil, you will need to drink a glass of lemon or cranberry juice. After a few minutes you need to drink a laxative.
  6. Tincture of barberry leaves with alcohol also helps remove stones from the gall bladder.
  7. Also effective method- this is the reception of Provencal oil.

Such folk remedies help dissolve stones and remove them from the place of accumulation into the intestines.

Cholelithiasis - serious illness, which lead to dangerous consequences. On initial stages The disease does not manifest itself in any way.

Available recipes for treating cholelithiasis without surgery can be found in the following video:

In contact with

Gallstone disease is considered a common disease of the bile ducts. The disease is observed mainly in women. Signs of cholelithiasis: severe stabbing pain under the right rib, nausea, retching. This disease leads to dangerous complications. Therefore, when a person experiences the first symptoms, he needs to consult a specialist who will prescribe medication or surgical treatment.

What it is?

A pathology accompanied by a change in metabolism, in which the bile ducts appear, is called cholelithiasis (ICD-10 code: K80). It is considered one of the most common abdominal diseases. The pathogenesis of gallstone disease is that the gallbladder fills with bile increased concentration, further, its stagnation occurs, and first small clots appear, which later turn into stones.

Types of illness

The disease is classified according to its stage:

Classification of the disease by localization:

Disease types:

Types of stones

The following types of stones are distinguished:

  • cholesterol type. They contain cholesterol (80%), which crystallizes when the level of bile acids and lecithin in bile decreases. This happens due to dysfunction of the liver, with endocrine pathologies and use junk food.
  • pigment type. The composition includes bilirubin and other breakdown products of hemoglobin. A lot of bilirubin appears in diseases of infectious etiology, autoimmune process, chronic poisoning, taking certain medications. These stones small size- up to 0.1 cm, and of different colors (dark green, black, gray), several pieces are placed.
  • Calcareous. Formed due to the deposition of calcium salts near the cholesterol crystal, desquamated epithelial cells, bacteria. This type of stones is formed when the structure of the gallbladder wall is disturbed due to frequent inflammation.
  • Mixed type. Calcifications are layered on the cholesterol and pigment type of the stone. As a result, they have a layered structure. Their formation occurs under the influence of inflammatory processes in the wall of the gallbladder. They are yellow and brown and are found in large numbers.

Causes and factors

Stagnation of bile in the bladder and deterioration of metabolism are the main causes of the disease.

The etiology of cholelithiasis is different. The disease very often appears in people over 40 years of age, especially in those who live in urban areas. Often stones are found in the bladder, less often in the ducts. The main causes of cholelithiasis: stagnation of bile in the bladder, deterioration of metabolism, changes in the bladder wall due to inflammation.

The following disease factors are identified:

  • eating junk food;
  • infectious diseases;
  • deterioration of gallbladder motility;
  • hormonal imbalance;
  • drinking alcohol;
  • meat food in larger quantities;
  • inactive lifestyle;
  • liver disease.

Symptoms of gallstone disease

Symptoms of gallstone disease in women are the same as in men. This is a disease for a long time may be asymptomatic and discovered by chance, during a medical examination or diagnosing other diseases. But most often the first clinical manifestations symptoms appear due to stone getting stuck in the duct or in the area of ​​the bladder neck. The pain in gallstone disease is very strong, appears sharply, and is also cutting, stabbing, localized with right side in the hypochondrium and in the projection of the stomach, radiating to the lower back, in right hand, spatula. Nausea and frequent urge vomiting, yellowness of the skin.

If stones remain in the bladder for a long time and there is stagnation of bile, this leads to the development chronic form diseases. With this form, patients experience a nagging, mild pain, which intensifies after eating junk food. There is also bloating, diarrhea (discolored stools), a bitter taste in the mouth and heartburn, and an increase in body temperature.

Mechanism of pain

With this disease, pain occurs due to the following processes:

  • with mechanical irritation of the inner membrane of the bladder or ducts with a stone;
  • in case of hyperextension Bladder due to increased intracavitary pressure;
  • with spasm of the muscles of the bladder and ducts.

These ailments occur when the stone moves and gets stuck in the neck of the bladder. This attack appears:

  • after a sudden movement;
  • abnormal loads;
  • eating fatty or spicy foods in large quantities.

Diagnosis of the disease

Diagnosis of gallstone disease includes the following stages:

  • At the first manifestations of the disease, you should definitely contact a gastroenterologist and surgeon. They will collect an anamnesis of the disease, conduct an objective examination, palpation and percussion of the abdominal organs (tenderness at the point of Coeur and positive Murphy's syndrome, Mussy), and make a differential diagnosis.
  • General blood and urine tests. In blood test increased amount leukocytes and ESR. A urine test reveals a large number of bilirubin.
  • Blood biochemistry - high performance bilirubin levels, increased levels of alkaline phosphatase, ALT, GGT, AST, and cholesterol.
  • Ultrasound of the abdominal organs.
  • CT and MRI.
  • Scintigraphy of the biliary tract.
  • Cholecystography.

Treatment and nutrition

Surgical or drug treatment Only a doctor can prescribe it.

Before treating gallstone disease, you should definitely consult a doctor. He will examine the patient, give recommendations, and prescribe surgical or medicinal treatment. If the disease is treated with medication, drugs are prescribed to dissolve stones: “Ursohol”, “Ursofalk”; To relieve pain, antispasmodics and painkillers are used: “No-shpa”, “Duspatalin”; when inflammation occurs in biliary tract we need antibiotics of the penicillin series - “Ampicillin”. Tetracycline antibiotics and nitrofuran drugs are widely used. To protect the liver during inflammation in the gallbladder and bile ducts, and improve its functioning, hepatoprotectors are prescribed: “Essentiale”, “Antral”. Vitamins are also prescribed.

An effective method of treating such a disease is shock wave cholelithotripsy. Its essence is to crush large stones into small ones using sound wave. Indications for treatment with this method are stones up to 3 cm. As operational ways therapies are used classic way gallbladder removal and laparoscopic method.