Quote Originally Posted by Massimo
i went to a doctor but he just suggested i take motrin (anti inflammatory) and wait to see if it goes away. He made no diet suggestions but obviously this is something that has stemmed from bad eating habits. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this and had any suggestions on diet changes or herbal remedies.
Don't fall prey to the uneducated hippie pseudosciences. Herbal remedies don't do shit, and dietary habits are most often not the problem, according to actual scientists. However, the data is not completely gathered so it is actually correct to say that something like dietary habits may play a role. I think it is likely, but there is a huge difference between diet playing a role and actually knowing what that diet is.

The LAST thing you want to do with ANY medical issue is look towards pseudoscience. This means things like alternative 'medicine', 'health' foods, etc. They're as illegitimate as creationism. However, you don't wanna take primary care physicians word for it without thinking, just like you don't wanna take anybody's word for anything without thinking. Primary care is different than specialists. They are pretty much the hardest working doctors in the developed world, and they spend so much time working that they make mistakes and are often not up to date on the science. One example of this is a 2004 study that found that 10 million women who had hysterectomies were getting pap smears for cervical cancer detection, yet hysterectomies remove the cervix, so the treatment was worthless and misleading. Even then, specialists can miss stuff or have insufficient data/knowledge. It is important to get second opinions

So here's what you do...

Forget about alternative medicine completely. Research this stuff on the web. Make sure that sites like quackwatch.org are in your bookmarks. Make sure that opinions you see on the web are backed up by peer reviewed research, you can do this by using pubmed, among other ways. I recommend finding a forum with people who understand science. They are easy to find. I recommend ones like freeratio.org, hypography.com, and even bodyrecomposition.com

The point to do this is to develop some idea of what's going on with you, and some idea of the best course of action.

Meanwhile, get a second opinion. Either find a specialist who deals with gall bladders or get a different primary care physician, and express to them your concern about this and why. Not only will they give you their medical opinion, but it will be a slightly more thoughtful opinion because they will know of your diligence and concern.

Good luck, and remember, one of the best things you can do is research this on your own while IGNORING pseudoscience. Pseudoscience sources are sometimes right THAT something should change, but they are almost always wrong with HOW to change it.