Your gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped organ on the right side of your abdomen, just beneath your liver. Your gallbladder is part of your digestive system. Its main function is to store bile. Bile is the fluid your liver produces that helps digest fats in the food you eat. Bile is a mixture of mainly cholesterol, bilirubin and bile salts. Several conditions can cause problems in your gallbladder. The most common condition is gallstones. Gallstones are typically harmless but can sometimes lead to disease states. Gallstones are formed due to three reasons:
1) When there is an excess of cholesterol in the blood.
Normally, your bile contains enough chemicals to dissolve the cholesterol excreted by your liver. But if your liver excretes more cholesterol than your bile can dissolve, the excess cholesterol may form into crystals and eventually into stones.
2) When there is a shortage of bile acids.
A major constituent of bile is Bilirubin – a chemical that’s produced when your body breaks down red blood cells. Certain conditions cause your liver to make too much bilirubin, including liver cirrhosis, biliary tract infections and certain blood disorders. The excess bilirubin contributes to gallstone formation.
3) The gallbladder doesn’t empty correctly.
If your gallbladder doesn’t empty completely or often enough, bile may become very concentrated, contributing to the formation of gallstones.
Since cholesterol and bile acids are both controlled by the liver, a free flow of liver Qi (Energy) is needed to maintain normal bile acids. Stagnation of liver Qi hinders the free flow of bile from the liver and gallbladder and can result in the formation of gallstones. When the liver Qi stagnates, the bile is not secreted properly or it is secreted insufficiently, causing accumulation of humid heat in the gall bladder.
The action of heat and humidity over a long period of time causes the formation of stones. Gallstones range in size from as small as a grain of sand to as large as a golf ball. Some people develop just one gallstone, while others develop many gallstones at the same time.
Gall bladder stones are of three types:
1) Cholesterol stones: These are usually single stones. Humid-heat in the liver and gallbladder causes these stones.
2) Pigment stones: These are composed of bile pigments. They are always numerous in numbers. They are less common.
3) Mixed stones: These stones are made up of cholesterol, calcium and bilirubin, and are the most common types of stones.
Gallstones may cause no signs or symptoms. If a gallstone lodges in a duct and causes a blockage, the resulting signs and symptoms may include:
Sudden and rapidly intensifying pain in the upper right portion of your abdomen.
Sudden and rapidly intensifying pain in the centre of your abdomen, just below your breastbone.
Back pain between your shoulder blades.
Pain in your right shoulder.
Nausea or vomiting.
The pain may last several minutes to a few hours.
Here are some treatment principles: Remove stagnation of Qi in the liver. Normalise the movement of Qi in the liver, and expel the gall bladder stones.
Treatment:
Liv 3, Liv 14 GB 34, 341/2 ↓all.
Liv 3 ↓ It is the organ source point of the liver. It nourishes the liver, moves liver Qi and stops hypochondriac pain and distension.
GB 34 & 34 ½ ↓ They regulate the gallbladder and stop the pain and expel the gall bladder stones.
Special notes:
1) Acupressure can be used to expel gallstones.
2) Either set of points from the above two patterns may be used based on the accompanying symptoms.
3) Treatment should be given every day for 40 days.
4) Give treatment for 2 hours. This stimulates contraction of the gall bladder reaching a peak after 2 hours. During the first an hour and a half, large amounts of bile are accumulated in the gallbladder. The contraction stops for about 30 minutes and suddenly after 2 hours, the gall bladder orifices open bile flow out. If the stone is in the gallbladder, it can be expelled if it is under 1 cm in diameter. If it is in the cystic duct it can be expelled, if it is under 1.5 cm in diameter. Sand like stones are less painful but more difficult to excrete.
Successful expulsion of stones with acupressure occurs in 70% of cases.
(The views in this column are personal and should not be construed as medical advice)
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