what causes Gall stones?
471018
gall stones are pieces of cholesterol that have been compacted.  so obviously, cholesterol causes them.  So, stay away from lots of greasy fried foods and don't overload on the sweets.
604044
Gallstones are the most significant risk factor for the development of gallbladder cancer. Roughly 75 to 90 percent of patients with gallbladder cancer also have gallstones. Larger gallstones are associated with a higher chance of developing gallbladder cancer. Chronic inflammation of the gallbladder from infection also increases the risk for gallbladder cancer. Unfortunately, sometimes cancer of the gallbladder does not produce symptoms until late in the disease. When symptoms are evident, the most common is pain in the upper right portion of the abdomen, underneath the right ribcage. Patients with gallbladder cancer may also report symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, weakness, jaundice, skin itching, fever, chills, poor appetite, and weight loss.
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.
18754
I had an extreme amount of gall stones & after a year of horrible pain, ended up having my gall bladder removed.  \n\nIf your case is not as severe as mine, the main treatment is a change in diet.  If certain foods trigger pain, avoid them.  Try to eat healthy foods, not spicy, and not fried.  Dairy and foods with excess fats can also trigger more pain.  \n\nI'd suggest talking with your doctor and asking for alternative ways to heal.  Also, if you have any herbalists in your town, they might be able to advise some herbs or supplements to try.\n\nGood luck!
545773
Never.  Slim Fast has too many vitamins and minerals and unnatural things that your body can't process.  Can cause gallstones.  My mom's doctor calls it "a surgeon's best friend" because it makes so many people have gallstones.
373472
There are some medications out there but ultimately you will probably have to have surgery.  Gall stone pain can sometimes mimic a heart attack.  Today the surgery for gall stones is much less evasive than it used to be.  Be sure to avoid fatty foods and change your diet as probably specified by your physician.  Gall stones are painful.  I have had my gall bladder removed.  I only have about a 1 inch scar.  Isn't modern medicine great!  lol  My thoughts are with you!
773637
Diarrhea after gallbladder surgery is actually pretty common. The function of the gallbladder is to store bile, which contains digestive salts made by the liver. During meals, the gallbladder releases the stored bile salts into the intestine to help with digestion. After food is digested and absorbed in the intestine, the bile salts are also reabsorbed and recycled. After gall bladder surgery, the liver must make more bile salts, and more are released between meals because there is no place to store them. The increased amount of bile salts can sometimes overwhelm the intestines' capacity to absorb them. In turn, the unabsorbed bile salts can prompt the colon to secrete fluids, leading to diarrhea. This is a benign, although obviously annoying condition.\n\nThere are medications, such as Questran, that bind the excess bile salts for patients who experience severe diarrhea. Talk to your doctor about it.
866868
Since all of her symptoms seem to be related to the gallstone, removing the gallbladder would seem to be the cure. However, she could have what is referred to as gallstone pancreatitis. Check for a stone in the distal CBD with ultrasound or ERCP.
1008082
Well, gallstones are relatively unusual in children and unborn babies,but have been noted in the following conditions:\n1.neonatal cholestasis- caused by sepsis (infection), hypoxia (usually in mothers who smoke or have lung conditions like asthma),or poor maternal nutrition,or mothers with high cholesterol levels.\n2.hereditary spherocytosis/sickle cell disease\nThese are both inherited blood disorders\n3.Problems with enterohepatic (liver)  circulation\nSometimes,even in the absence of these,some unborn children have gallstones.\nlt is not life-threatening.Elective  C-section at 39 weeks is okay.\nUltrasound can be used to break up the stones without surgrey after birth,thank God!\nWish you a safe delivery!
991160
A wide variety of things can cause this.  You can learn about the most common ones by clicking on the different Liver categories on the following list\n\nhttp://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/encyclopedia_L-Ln.htm\n\nBest wishes!
562638
When my gallbladder gave me problems I was having stomache pain and diarria, plus heartburn. It got to the point that the pain in my upper stomache got so bad I couldn't sleep-it was worse at night. After a few hrs of pain it would jsut stop. I had an upper GI test and they found out it was full of stones and wasn't even working. i've read that sometimes too much calcium causes the stones and i've wondered if all the vitamins i took while I was pregnant didn't help cause it. Both my sister and I had our gallbladders remover shortly after having our first child.\nYou'll know if you need ot have it out. I was fortunate to have my first major attack after I was laready scheduled for surgery to have it removed. My sister had several attacks before her Dr figured it out and the pain was so horrible she fell to the floor in pain and we had to take her to the ER where they gave her Morphine to dull the pain.
547911
Since your sister had her gall blabber removed, She is likely like many others with gallstones- over weight.  Obesity carries with it the risk of fatty liver disease or syndrome.  Fat collects on the liver and impedes its function, causing a jump in the level of enzymes.  The enzymes mean the liver is working harder.\n\nRemoval of the gall bladder may be increasing the workload on the liver or there may be an infectious process going on such a hepetitis.
360670
Your gall bladder does not make anything, but it stores bile from your liver in it.  When you eat a meal, your stomach tells your gall bladder to dump all that bile into your intestines.  Bile helps your body break down and absorb fats.  So without it, bile will just be continuously dumped into your intestine.  That means that you don't get a lot of it when you eat, so you may have a hard time digesting fats.  Hope this helps.
459606
you should go on Yahoo, and look up gallbladder symptoms.
312234
I would recommend getting another ultrasound from another doctor.  This same thing happened to my wife when we were in college.  We saw several doctors until finally one thought they saw stones on the ultrasound.  She was scheduled for surgery and when they got in there they found a lot of necrosis around the gall bladder and the gall bladder itself was severely damaged.  I know this sounds weird but the next time you have a bowel movement check your stool and see if there is a mucous like (snot) substance in it.  The gall bladder is used to store bile that is made in the liver.  It is the bile that is released from the gall bladder that allows us to break down fats from our diet.  If the duct is blocked or the gall bladder is working improperly then you will see fat in your stool because your body is unable to break it down and use it for energy.  Hope this helps.
390411
The gallbladder  is a pear-shaped organ that stores about 50 mL of bile (or "gall") until the body needs it for digestion. The gallbladder is about 7-10cm long in humans and is dark green in appearance due to its contents (bile), not its tissue. It is connected to the liver and the duodenum by the biliary tract.\n\n\nThe gallbladder stores bile, which is released when food containing fat enters the digestive tract, stimulating the secretion of cholecystokinin (CCK). The bile emulsifies fats and neutralizes acids in partly digested food. After being stored in the gallbladder, the bile becomes more concentrated than when it left the liver, increasing its potency and intensifying its effect on fats.
913104
So far the answers are right - i will just add a little.  Yes the bile is needed to digest the fats - it has enzymes that break fat down.  However, the effects after having gall bladder taken out are short-lived, after a while breaking down fats isn't a problem again.  the reason is that your pancreas also produces fat breaking enzymes (lipases) and so you don't really lose the ability to breakdown fat by losing your gallbladder.  It just take a while for your body to adjust.