Gallstones

icemantoo
icemantoo Member Posts: 3,361 Member
in Kidney Cancer #1

Just got back from the ER with gastric reflux issues (I have had this for years). A CT w/o contrast showed gallstones but not inflamed. I have noticed over the years that more than a few members have had gallbladder issues with their RCC. I am going to follow up with my gastrointerologist on the reflux issues. Should I be concerned about the gallstones?

 

 

Icemantoo

Comments

  • foroughsh
    foroughsh Member Posts: 779 Member
    #2
    I'm very sorry for what you

    I'm very sorry for what you're going through. I have no personal experience but have seen some with this issue on this board too. Sure they'll chime in.

    Wishing you all the best

  • Kat23502
    Kat23502 Member Posts: 179 Member
    #3
    Did they give you any

    Did they give you any indication how many or what size? Gallstones themselves aren't a concern and imaging studies that we do are pretty definitive for them. Concerns with gallstones is if they pass into the biliary duct they can get stuck causing inflammation, infection, jaundice, etc. So, if there are a couple of larger stones they won't pass into the duct so they usually just roll around in the gallbladder. If the stones are smaller, those are the stones to be worried about. They can pass into the duct through the normal physiologic contraction of your gallbladder and get stuck, causing the above. In either case, if there is no cholecystitis which is an inflamed and infected gallbladder wall, it's nothing urgent. You have likely had these for years as they don't form quickly. They can be missed on CT if they are smaller than the slice thickness of the CT image. So, to recap, unlike most things the larger the better, likely been there for years even if not picked up prior, without wall inflammation they aren't urgent or too worrisome.

  • Jojo61
    Jojo61 Member Posts: 1,309 Member
    #4
    Sorry to hear that, Iceman! I

    Sorry to hear that, Iceman! I haven't heard about the RCC connection, though. I am interested to see what else gets posted on this subject.

    Feel better!

    Hugs

    Jojo

  • stub1969
    stub1969 Member Posts: 978 Member
    #5
    All I know

    Is that my mom had gallstones when I was young and she had her gallbladder removed.  No problem since--probably 35 years ago.  Hope this works out for you iceman--hate to hear you are in pain.

    Blessings--Stub

  • icemantoo
    icemantoo Member Posts: 3,361 Member
    #6
    No pain yet

    So  far the gallstones are not a pain issue, just a finding.

     

     

    Icemantoo

  • Allochka
    Allochka Member Posts: 1,072 Member
    edited September 2016 #7
    I don't know much about

    I don't know much about connection between RCC and gallbladder problems. But my husband does have gallbladder polyps (causing no problems, simply monitored). 

    A friend of mine had gallstones. Very-very rarely she was in terrible pain due to them (like, twice a year). Finally she had gallbladder removed. I hope yours won't cause you pain. But even if they start troubling you, you can always remove gallbladder. As I understood, makes no huge difference to your body functioning.

  • sblairc
    sblairc Member Posts: 585 Member
    #8
    Husbands showed up 2 years after he was nephed

    They are now listed as a finding on his CT scans but haven't done anything noteworthy. His oncologist was not concerned at all. His regular doc never even mentioned them. 

  • icemantoo
    icemantoo Member Posts: 3,361 Member
    edited September 2016 #9
    I guess

    I guess I wont worry until they become an issue. Thanks for the help guys. Not fun getting older. Some of the parts are not in A-1 shape now that I am 73 years young.

     

    Icemanttoo

  • foxhd
    foxhd Member Posts: 3,181 Member
    edited September 2016 #10
    I heard

    the poished stones make nice cane handles.

  • Jan4you
    Jan4you Member Posts: 1,330 Member
    #11
    Hey Iceman...do you take

    Hey Iceman...do you take PROBIOTICS? I do, but before I did, I had a horrible time with reflux.

    Now since taking probiotics (ahead of eating) the reflux is rather infrequent

    Jan

  • hardo718
    hardo718 Member Posts: 853 Member
    #12
    Have to agree with Jan

    Probiotics are wonderful, but you have to be careful about which ones to take. 

    My acid reflux issues disappeared when I stopped working the 7p-7a night shift.

    Fox, you crack me up!!  Thanx for the laugh, can't tell you how much I needed that.

    Donna~

  • TKDgal
    TKDgal Member Posts: 12
    #13
    Gallstones

    Gallstones is how my RCC was found. I am just hoping my gallbladder holds out for a while until I get my partial nephrectomy and heal from that. I am guessing I'll have to have it removed one of these days. 

  • Ree_Maryland
    Ree_Maryland Member Posts: 161 Member
    #14
    gallstones

    Iceman I am sorry to hear you suffer with gallstones. I had surgery about 5 yrs ago to remove my gallbladder , the pain was so intense had to have it removed. I probably had RCC than but did not know it . Hope you feel better soon . 

     

  • JerzyGrrl
    JerzyGrrl Member Posts: 760 Member
    #15
    icemantoo said:

    No pain yet

    So  far the gallstones are not a pain issue, just a finding.

     

     

    Icemantoo

    That's good to hear

    That's good to hear, Icemantoo. Recently had a conversation with a doctor who commented on how it used to be that we pretty much didn't find out about a lot of stuff that we had going on inside of ourselves because we didn't really have any way to look.  In the bad old days, used to be that your gallstones had to get big enough to cause you so much pain one day that you'd junh collapse on the floor, writhing in pain. On the positive side, you'd be able to have a cane (like Fox's) with a really spiffy handle.  What a conversation piece (Also good for clearing out o room by grossing people out)!

    Jerzy

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