my 22 year old has gall stones. wtf?

[mopinko]

she called me the other day, describing sharp pains in her stomach. she described exactly the sort of pain that her father exhibited when his gall bladder went bad. i told her to go to the er.
she says they insisted that it was a bladder infection, which she apparently also has. but she kept insisting that her mother thought it was gall bladder, and they did an ultrasound to placate her. the doc said no way did she have gallstones, and if she did, she would eat her socks. doc was last seen cutting out little paper socks to eat.
kid does have the genes for it. her dad had his out at 40, and i have stones that are not bothering me yet.
but damn, 22?

(not asking for medical advise. just wondering if this is as off as it seems)

[YOY]

1. I knew a guy with kidney stones in college.

In the dorm he had to pass one one day...some actually thought it was funny to make fun of pissing out a tiny stone until he heard the screams.

We all heard the screams. God that must have been painful.

[havocmom]

2. I know several young adults who developed gall stones in teens and early 20s

Like you, I wonder if genetics comes into play. Of course, fatty fast food can't help much either.

[mopinko]

5. she doesn't eat that stuff. she is a vegetarian,

which does mean she ends up eating cheese often, but....

[havocmom]

11. And cheese can be a problem.

along with nuts and other plant fats

[LibertyLover]

3. My goddaughter had gallstones at 12, 20 years ago

Now there was a contributing factor in her case. She had contracted Lyme's disease in the fall, which was not caught until almost Christmas. She was put on antibiotics, and then more antibiotics and finally, in the spring was put on a brand new super antibiotic that she had to have dripped into a vein twice a day. For that she had a shunt installed. Anyway, towards the end of the course of the drug, she developed sharp pain, so strong that she could not stand. Naturally it was a holiday weekend and the ER was a disaster. But her mom persisted and kept mentioning the medicine to anyone who would listen. They finally did an ultrasound and found that the drug has crystalized in her gall bladder, causing gall stones. They medicated her and sent her home, after confirming with the drug manufacturer that eventually the stones would dissolve. They did, but she has been warned to keep an eye on her gall bladder because it could decide to develop stones on its own now.

Just an odd question regarding your daughter - did she by any chance loose some weight recently? I developed gall stones 14 years ago when I lost some weight, started eating healthier and exercising. My doctor told me that I had caused their formation by cutting back on the fatty foods and loosing weight. I eventually had to have it removed.

I hope that she is feeling better and doesn't have more problems.

[TechBear_Seattle]

4. Unusual, but not something that will put her in a medical oddities text

Gallstones can be caused by inheritence, weight, diet and causative conditions including various enzyme deficiencies. Many people develop tiny crystals throughout their lives, but usually they pass out of the system long before they get cause any problems. If there is any inflamation, however, it could cause a blockage that allows the crystals to grow into stones.

[mopinko]

6. she is skinny as a rail.

although she was taking depo shots for a couple of years and gained a lot of weight. lost it again when she quit. that was about 2 years ago.

[TechBear_Seattle]

8. It sounds like she has a genetic disposition, for starters

So she is likely one of the people that produces and passes crystals regularly. If she has an infection, the activation of her immune system might have cause enough inflammation to prevent the expelling of those crystals. Or maybe something got stuck, I don't know. Like I said, 22 is young but not very odd.

[Coyote_Bandit]

7. I know someone

who had stones and had their gallbladder removed at 18.

I have known several folks who have had gallstones and had their gallbaldder removed in their 20's and early 30s. A lot of these folks were active and appeared healthy - not overweight or obese.

One got gallstones after she had spent several months toning and increasing her physical activity - and losing those last ten punds to get back down to her weight in high school. She has never been able to return to that weight. She says her doctor advised that was not likely with the gallbladder removal because of the change in her enzymes.

I've also known two people who had their gallbladder removed only to develop dumping syndrome. I'll let you google that. While it can be controlled through diet and medication it is a lifelong consequence of gallbladder removal for some. A consequence the doctors don't generally talk about.

Before having that gallbladder removed I'd recommend getting a second opinion and considering alternative non-surgical therapies.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. I took a 26 yr-old to the ER because her gall bladder ruptured and she needed

emergency surgery.

[elocs]

10. My sister had gallstones when she was 23.

She had surgery a month after she had her first child.

[Tikki]

12. That was pretty close to the age I was when...

I had my gallbladder removed. I was 24 years old. I really suffered
for a couple of years prior because it hadn't been diagnosed.
Now-a-days they do that laparoscopic surgery...piece of cake.

Been there, I wish her well...
Tikki

[ProgressiveProfessor]

13. The old rule was the 3 Fs, but they are seeing at all ages these days

[mopinko]

14. she couldn't remember the 3rd f, but

the er doc seemed to still think it was a good yardstick- forty, fat, and ?

[Why Syzygy]

15. Fair. Light complexion/hair. nt

[ProgressiveProfessor]

16. Female. Women used to have the majority of gall bladder issues

[Why Syzygy]

17. Actually there are five.

"fair, fat, forty, fertile, and female"

http://www.drhoffman.com/page.cfm/140

[MountainLaurel]

18. Out of curiosity

Do you know if she's on oral contraceptives? When I had my gallbladder out at 33, the doc mentioned that the hormonal changes caused by the Pill can impact cholesterol and the other substances in the gallbladder.

[mopinko]

20. she just started them

hmm. doesn't seem like she could get this in one month.

[nickinSTL]

19. my wife had her gall bladder removed at 21

due to gall stones.

She's the youngest of 4 and they've all had gall stones. I think it's likely there's a genetic component there.

[that went welll]

21. Cheese has hard-to-absorb calcium and that is why

the top dairy-consuming countries (USA, Sweden, and Denmark) have the HIGHEST RATES OF OSTEOPOROSIS! Because they are taking in way too much phosphorus and the calcium is not easily absorbed the way deep leafy greens are!

Your daughter should go vegan and eats lots of RAW produce, as well as RAW ORGANIC apple cider vinegar, which dissolves crystals!!!!

[Sgent]

22. Get it out if she's getting sick

I was finally diagnosed with gall stones at 21, after 3 hospitalizations and maybe 1-2 more ER visits from the age of 18 for unknown reasons. I used to get very sick due to them -- 104 degree fever, cold sweats, vomiting to the point of not being able to suck on ice... Went through every specialist (infectious disease, neurology, heart, etc.) for a work up. Finally, my family practice doc ordered an ultra sound, found sludge, removed the gall bladder next week, and I haven't been sick since.

I never really had pain from the GB, but it made me very ill.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

23. I had gallbladder attack, no health insurance

I did get a sonogram, and next step would be surgery.

I had to wait so long to see the surgeons - I was ambulatory - that
by the time I could see them I tried to ride it out.
The pain was horrible. Plus the vomiting and the back and abdominal pain.

I think this was triggered by my very fatty diet at the time.

If I had medical insurance I would have been more persistent in getting surgery.

Instead, I stopped eating anything except cream of wheat, low or no fat stuff, nothing with much fat at all.

I quit eating any meat for about a month or two, but started having just a little chicken or fish now and then, not every day.

I started drinking pear juice at night too. It helps with this problem.
I don't trust some of the "natural" remedies that urge people to drink olive oil.
Sounds like that would trigger an attack, and you don't want to do that.

Now its about 2 years later and as long as I stay way from red meat, I'm ok and can eat normally.

No one else in my family has had this problem.

Do some googling on this subject. Surgery isn't perfect. But waiting too long can mean a ruptured gallbladder, damage to your liver ducts or other problems.

I was just lucky that by an instantaneous change in diet (heck I couldn't keep anything down first few days anyway) seemed to make a big difference.

Doctors can give you a diet to follow.

You want to avoid fatty foods, check fat content in everything. Avoid fat, cheese is one culprit, red meet must be fattier than other meats or else it is just more likely to trigger an attack for some reason.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

24. Not that rare. A definite pain though. Hope she feels better soon.

[Justitia]

25. I had emergency gallbladder surgery at 18. Doc said I had "hundreds" of stones.

I had been having major attacks for 3 yrs.

It had nothing to do with diet, foods I ate, etc. I was barely 100 lbs.

Some docs think it's related to hormones.

OMG - the attacks are horrible & last for hrs!

I was so happy to get the damn thing out. Doc told me my gallbladder was partially gangrene!

Nowadays, if you get it out early w/the lap surgery, it's really a snap.

Gallstones do not pass & never get better.

Best wishes to both of you.