Gallstones - Editor's Choice

Good day! I have suffered from gallstones causing gallbladder attacks twice yearly beginning fall of 2019. I have found a very simple remedy that allows me to cheaply treat my gallstones when they present each spring and fall.

Number 1: Most remedies will not work long term if the underlying issue remains present. For me one of my underlying issues is the quality of water I consume. My diet has already been modified.

Clean Water

I have to use a reverse osmosis system that adds minerals back in post filtration. Even more importantly is keeping the filters changed not just on time, but slightly early. If filters are not changed on time, contaminants and mineral deposits the body cant use are leeched back into your drinking water and will cause harm to your health.

For example: my current system is a single all in one filter system by Waterdrop. Filter life advertised as "1 year". Never go by this. Look at amount of gallons filtered instead. Mine is 950. The drain:waste ratio is 1:1. Means that for every gallon of water filtered for consumption; another gallon is drained as waste by the system. Therefore; I can only really expect to get 475 gallons of use from this filter. I use about 2.5 gal a day. 475 divided by 2.5gal per day = 190 days of use. That gives me roughly 6 months of filter life. I find when I get close to the 6 month mark, I begin to get nausea, dizziness, and gallbladder pangs and stabs as stones begin to form rapidly from my now unfiltered and contaminated water due to an overused filter.

My Remedy

• is obviously first to change the filter, a bit early, (for me it's around 5 and a half month mark.)
• I take 1/16 tsp of BHT (Butylated Hydroxy Toluene) as a 140 lb man, on an empty stomach, with 5-10 drops of magnesium chloride water (made using 1:1 water:magnesium chloride crystals)
• I wash the above down with a tall glass of water (hydration itself dilates blood vessels and organ ducts to allow for more free flow)
• I rub a dropper full of magnesium chloride water on my entire gallbladder and liver area
• I sip on hot water or herbal tea (or sometimes coffee even) for 15 minutes, drinking tall gulps of regular water in between
• Within about 15-30 minutes, my gallbladder's main bile duct begins to undulate and push stones through - felt as twitching and banding against my stomach skin.
• I feel warmth as fresh bile begins to flow where the stone was blocking the ducts.
• My nausea and dizziness disappear, and my appetite returns

If 1/16th tsp BHT doesn't do it, I take another 1/16th tsp and more magnesium as needed.

For my 70 lb dog, I give her the same remedy in a bit of milk if she has stones and her symptoms disappear within literally 5 minutes. She runs through my legs and appears to be having a seizure when she gets stones. We both got gallbladder problems a couple years after pesticide overuse inside our home. Every spring and fall we pass more stones but it gets easier each year.

The main underlying issue here was chemical poisoning causing organ damage. For this, we use sea kelp, cilantro, and magnesium drops altogether several times a week to continually detox. We mop-up with charcoal (1tsp with a few drops magnesium) once or twice a week, too.

So far we have survived. and thrived

I used to do castor oil packs (can get messy and time consuming) and make quart after quart of Chanca piedra tea. But this is all very time consuming and the chanca piedra tea is much more expensive to keep drinking than simply using less than a penny's worth of BHT and magnesium when attacks present.

Bear in mind that according to many systems of belief around health; and especially Ayurveda knowledge (4000+ year old school of medicine in India); every fall and spring the body goes through a natural but somewhat major detox. It's worse on those persons' bodies who have excessive toxins accumulated or do not care for their health actively. Gallstones appear to worsen during these times for individuals affected by them.

I started having a strange pain on my right side that I basically ignored for months until one day after eating lunch and having an alcoholic beverage, within 20-30 minutes I had pain under my rib cage that was a little more alarming. I immediately related it to the food. I finally went to the doc, he sent me for an u/s and confirmed multiple stones, one being as big as 2cm. He then referred me to a surgeon which I never went to because I started researching all I could about gallstones. I'm a big believer in natural remedies and before going the surgical route I like to try other things. I wasn't completely against it just seemed so definitive and I don't do well with being told to do things without good reason. Anyway long story short I never got the surgery, I am eating like I used to and I no longer have pain. I should add after finding out I had stones the pain did get worst at night and I couldn't sleep well. So here's everything I did asap and nothing is in particular order. I just threw everything I could at this.

• I stated drinking Chanca Piedra 1600mg 2 pills 2x's a day for up to 6 months.
• I changed my diet immediately! No greasy food, no fried food, no sugar, no alcohol, no rice, etc. I instead ate lean meat with raw salad. My salad consisted of kale, radishes, carrots, cucumber, tomato, red/yellow pepper. Radishes are good for this so I made sure to always eat that.
• I started drinking papaya juice and aloe juice mixed together with every meal. 1/2 cup of each 2-3's a day. I found this on this site, under pancreas ailments because I was also getting pain on the side of my pancreas so I wanted to fortify that. This also helps with digestion which your pancreas, liver and gallbladder all work together to do so I wanted to make digestion easy as possible.
• I started drinking a lot of ginger/turmeric tea and I would add 1 tbsp ACV to it. ACV is great if you start having pain. It settles it.
• I took a liver support supplement I found on amazon called Natures Craft Liver Support.
• Okay and lastly I did about 4 liver flushes using the Andreas Moritz method. I could have done more but my pain finally went away after the 4th one and I got lazy.

I should add that though I ate so many apples and apple juice before the flushes, and I would get temporary relief it wasn't until I used Malic Acid (500mg, 3x's a day=1500mg for 6 days before flush) instead for the 4th flush that one *large* stone came out and after that the pain finally was all gone.

Its been more than a year and I still have my gallbladder, no pain, I sleep well, and I am able to enjoy some of the yummy things I used to like doughnuts, chips, fried foods, alcohol. I do this in moderation now but before I couldn't eat any at all or I'd have pain. I still eat my salads consistently and occasionally take some Chanca Piedra. I continue to eat as healthy as possible.

I hope this helps you to not give up!

A brief health history first:

I suffer from R. Arthritis for about 10 years. The first 9 years I've been able to manage pretty well with exercise strict diet and herbs. The last year, I seemed to have gotten worse to a point that I couldn't get out of bed. Everything I ate caused me severe joint pain that I just would starve myself and sleep all day. I also noticed that I wasn't hungry anymore and lost about 15 lbs in less than 6 months. I'm petite 110lb and went down to 95 lbs where my bones in my shoulders and ribs were showing. I tried my own natural remedies: turmeric, acv, etc. and still severe pain

Finally after 6 months of nothing working, I saw a local ND but she was no help. All she did was suggest detox supplements that she sold and although I had a little bit more energy, my joint pain was unbearable, like 9 to 10 unbearable and barely getting any sleep at night. I spent about $1000 on her and I was still suffering. She also was a devout believer in muscle testing, so she would tell me I couldn't eat this food or that food which left me barely eating and starving myself further.

I tried elimination diet while in her care and I was starving myself figuring out what foods to eat. I think she made me worse. Then I broke down and decided to spend money on a functional practitioner and he ordered a thorough panel of tests: blood, stool, urine, etc. I found out that I was severely deficient in vitamins, iron, calcium, etc. So I had several bacteria in my stool (h.pylori), had methylation, and high ammomia, high cholesterol, etc. So instead of tackling my bacteria issues which were causing me digestive issues, he sold me expensive herbal supplements to focus on reducing inflammation which cost another 200. Then after 2 weeks he started adding b vitamins and vitamin d but no probiotics or anything to focus on my digestion. I drank Ted's antibacterial tea (1 tsp of each: thyme, cumin, oregano, ceylon cinnamon, and 1/2tsp of clove (everything was grounded) and drank that 2 to 3 times a day and that really helped my joint and my digestion but was still feeling nauseous and having very loose stools..

Finally I decided to let him go and found an amazing ND from N. Mexico. I left a message to the front desk about my issues and he told her to call me back told me to take 4 drops of Lugols first thing AM and Afternoon on empty stomach wait an hour and then take enteric probiotic then wait an hour to eat. He said in about 4 days you should start feeling better. In 2 days, I was pain free and was able to eat way better. Not perfect but 80 to 85% improvement. I decided to drive 6 hours to go see him the next week. I told him about my lab test and all my issues. He didn't even look at them. He knew exactly what I needed. I forgot to add that I also have a very painful right shoulder that is frozen. An xray showed demineralization and osteoporosis (he said vitamin c will cure this).

So he gave me this regimen: no gluten or dairy, eat chicken, eggs, legumes, and lots of fruits and veggies, 4000 mg of vit c, a mutivitamin which includes probiotics and digestive enzymes, fulvic and humic acid drink, plant based iron supplement, and said to sit in sun for 30 minutes everyday for vitamin D. He also told me about earthing which I try to do everyday but now I'm looking into making an earthling mat for my bed. He also said, do an epsom salt flush. I waited a few days to do this flush but in the meantime, everything he gave me, my pain went from 9 to 10 to 2 to 4 just in a few days.

So here is my experience with epsom salt flush. It was a horrible experience. It tasted terrible and although I had lots of chaff and green stones, I was nauseous and had diarrhea and pounding headache for a week rendering me not being able to take supplements or eat anything losing 5 lbs and my weight going down to 90lbs.. A few days later, I suffered severe pain heart palpitations that I thought I was having a heart attack that would not stop after a half hour. I almost went to the emergency room but was scared about the covid. I tried everything to calm it down: breathing exercises, meditation, thinking happy thoughts, but my heart kept pumping hard. Finally I decided to take cbd and it helped me fall asleep peacefully with no problems. I woke up in the morning and my heart started pounding again but not as badly as the night before. I decided to do some research on epsom salt and read that it has high magnesium and figured out on my own that you need potassium to balance it. So I ate banana and freshly squeezed pink grapefruit (from my tree) every day and I haven't had any problems with my heart ever again. It's been 2 weeks since I did the flush. I think the reason my body reacted so badly to it is because I was already sick from the h. Pylori and nutritionally deficient, and so underweight that my body couldn't handle that much magnesium. I want to try the flush again bc I think it will help my digestion but I'm doing extensive research before I engage. I also want to gain more weight before I put my body through that again.

Sorry such a long story but I am feeling way better. My body has been through so much for the past year that now I'm just getting my strength back and am slowly introducing my body to different foods, almost like a baby. My pain has subsided to level 1 to 2 maybe 4 on bad days. My right shoulder is better but I found out I pinched a nerve in my neck causing my shoulder pain which I can barely move. I'm just going to start pt and go from there. That Lugol's saved my life and now I can sleep eat and exercise. And what's amazing, it only cost $ 12 for 2 bottles of 2%. I spent over 4k on the the 2 doctors and got nowhere. Shows that even ND's don't know what they're doing. Finding a good one very rare.

Hope my story helps. Stay safe and healthy!

Rocio

I just want every one to know that it is the malic acid in Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) that softens gallstones.

One source says, it takes 1 apple to make 1 ounce of ACV or 2 tablespoons. One apple has 0.08875 grams or 88.75 mg of malic acid in it from what I understand.

Another source says there is 200 mg to 1000 mg per apple.

Another source says - The amount of malic acid in two apples is about 3 grams which is the recommended daily dose. If you are eating one apple then you will need to 2 and a half 600 mg tablets. Each pill needs to be taken with a cup a water.

So an apple may range from 88 mg to 1500 mg but this allows you to ball park therapy doses.

I see on the bottle of malic acid that I have that 1 tablet contains 600 mg. You'd also avoid that acid damaging your teeth.

Another piece of info - Apples have a combination effect because they also contain pectin which is an water-soluble fibre. This binds to bile and we pass in out in our stools. Therefore if we can consume more pectin then more bile will be passed and this forces the liver to produce more fresh bile which washes through the biliary system.

This means that it may be easier to take malic acid instead.

I can take malic acid without problem but I get side effect like migraines / neuralgia etc if I take ACV.

At least 12 years ago I started to have pain in the gallbladder area. A sonogram of the area concluded that I did NOT have stones, but I have since learned from Timh that the scans can miss the stones. The gallbladder pain and trouble came and went through the years. It tended to be worse in pregnancy. Somewhere along the line I found Earth Clinic and started using Apple Cider Vinegar for gallbladder attacks and other things and it helped me for years.

In the last year, it seems that things were getting worse and worse. More and more foods were on my "that doesn't agree with me list, " and I mean healthy foods. The supplement Betaine Hcl helped for a while and then it stopped helping. I was afraid to eat pretty much anything. I did finally see a doctor who sent me for an ultrasound. The report was that I had one large stone (1.5 cm) and that my gallbladder was "full of stones." Meanwhile, I started taking digestive enzymes and at least I could eat if I was careful and didn't eat too late in the day. Bloodwork indicated that my liver function was fine. So, after hearing about gallbladder flushes for a dozen years, I finally got up the courage to try it. I figured, the worst thing that could happen would be that I would get a stone stuck and need surgery. I was headed there anyway, so I had little to lose and a lot to gain.

I followed the protocol outlined on the gallbladder cleanse page. I was careful to follow it closely at that seemed important. In brief here is what I did:

No fat breakfast and lunch. No food after 2pm.
7 pm - 1 T. epsom salt in 3/4 cup water. NOT delicious, but tolerable with a straw.
9 pm - 1 T. epsom salt in 3/4 cup water. (Still NOT delicious! )
The epsom salt was doing its job of purging my system, but I didn't feel too awful and was able to play card games with my kids until their bedtime.
11pm - 1/2 cup organic olive oil, 1/2 cup fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. I added 1/4 t. salt and 20 drops black walnut tincture and 6 digestive enzyme capsules. (I put it all in the blender, except for the enzymes.) I drank my drink, which was actually pretty tasty. It was like salad dressing. I lay down on my right side with my right leg bend and up. I was afraid it might make me sick but it did not. I was afraid I would need to get up and have more purging from the epsom salt, but I did not.
7 am - 1 T. epsom salt in 3/4 cup water. (STILL NOT delicious! )
9 am - 1 T. epsom salt in 3/4 cup water. (Okay, I really don't like this.)
11 am - I resumed juice and later light soup etc. But dinnertime I felt pretty good though ate lightly.

I probably passed around a dozen "stones" during the day. Small pea sized and colored. Not too exciting. Obviously NOT the large stone seen on the sonogram. But I had read that you may need to do several to get all of the stones out. A little discouraging, but at least the first flush was behind me and it wasn't awful at all. Just kind of inconvenient. You basically can't do much and need to be near a rest room for close to 24 hours.

A few weeks later I repeated the flush (2nd flush). I used 1 T. epsom salt in 2/3 cup water (instead of 3/4 cup), which is recommended if you don't get many stones the first time. I also added 1/2 teaspoon citric acid to my olive oil drink. I kept every thing else the same.
I did pass more stones - the green kind. Probably 100 or so. Plus "chaff."

A few weeks later I repeated the flush (3rd). The only change was that I think I layed on my back and not my right side. I had almost no stones and just some chaff. I was getting discouraged, but at least after each flush I did feel better for a week or two.

Somewhere around the time of the second flush I started to take dandelion/burdock root/alfalfa tincture (home made) because these are good herbs for stones and for liver/gall health.

After the third flush I started using castor oil packs several nights a week over the liver area. So before my fourth flush, I had been doing castor oil packs and herbs.

Fourth flush. I repeated the protocol with the tweaks from before (2/3 cup water with the epsom salt, citric acid.) I also laid on my left side instead of right. (That is what Timh says he does. It makes more sense to me to do that, too.)

I had dozens of green stones and some chaff around the time of the morning epsom salt drinks. And the day after that, lo and behold, I passed two rocks, each about 2 cm in length. I was so excited!!! These were light in color, irregularly shaped and hard. Wow, wow, wow! I couldn't quite believe it. Aside from paying for another ultrasound, I had worried that I would not know if the stones were out. What if they came out and I missed them? What if the herbs dissolved them?

Why did the fourth flush work the best?
Maybe it took that long to get things moving.
Maybe the herbs and castor oil helped.
Maybe laying on the left side is better.

Interestingly, I felt bad for a couple of days after the flush. Usually I am back to normal quickly but I took a longer time to recover. It makes me wonder if the whole thing caused some detox type reaction.

Another thing to note is that I have consumed apple cider vinegar regularly for years. As in - I have bought and used gallons over the years. I love it for many things. For some, apple cider vinegar seems to dissolve stones. But maybe my type of stone doesn't dissolve with acv.
I did try taking Malic acid for days up to the flushes and it didn't seem to make a difference for me.

After the first flush I read that you could have a taste of honey at the end of the epsom salt drinks to get rid of the bitter taste, so I did this and found it helpful.

There are many "nay sayers" to the gall bladder flush. Certainly it does not behoove certain people if people can do this at home and avoid surgery....there has been the assertion that the small pea green soft stones are a result of saponification and that they are just the olive oil and I can't recall what else and not real stones. If this assertion were true, it would not make sense that each time I have done a flush I get a dramatically different amount of those green stones. One time I had almost none. Another time at least one hundred. I would expect if this were saponification and I always followed the same recipe, the amount of green stones would be about the same.

I will probably do a few more flushes. I am a little bit addicted now. :) I am pretty amazed that for under $10 I have cleaned out my gallbladder, been spared surgery, and get to keep this little organ that has caused me a good bit of trouble, though I am sure I am better off with it than without it!

I hope this will be helpful to others. I have found reading the stories of others' experiences very helpful to me in this whole process, so I decided to write out the details.

~Mama to Many~

Every single symptom I was suffering from was in conjunction with gall bladder issues & stones. It made sense, the pains where right where it suggested. I initially went through my health insurance's website to find someone to go get a check up. But when I used the cost estimation tool, it was going to cost me at the very, very least $7,000. That was just for the procedure to remove my gall bladder, let alone recovery & anything else. My brother had his removed a few months ago & ended up paying $28k. No way, not for me.

So I found a lot of sites listing the natural approach. I was a bit skeptical, but after reading so many positive reviews, I decided for less than $20, I'd give it a try. What's one more week if it doesn't work..then I will contact a doctor. I am so happy to say that it won't be necessary.

I followed the cleansing instructions very closely. I knew I had two days off in a row coming up so I decided to start the process the night of my last attack. It was really late at night & I first ended up running to the store to get some Apple Cider Vinegar...what a lifesaver. It cut the pain out within 20 minutes for me. While I still felt some pressure, I was actually able to sleep thanks to this stuff.

Then, for the next 4 days, I ate 2-3 apples a day and drank as much 100% apple juice as I could. I ate pretty clean during that time, too. I also normally drink a gallon of water a day, so I stuck with that so I kept myself well hydrated. On the day of the flush, I was a bit excited to see if it was going to work for me. I drank apple juice with the epsom salt, because the water route was just not working for me. It was horrible, I won't lie. I cringed knowing I'd have to repeat the drink but in the end, it is so worth it.

For the final step, I drank a 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, with a 1/4 cup sugarfree grapefruit juice. I would have preferred to freshly squeeze the juice but I just simply did not have that option. I laid on my right hand side for 2 hours straight. Then I got some water (big mistake) and ended up throwing up a bit of the evoo. Not fun, it was the weirdest feeling to throw up oil. I had read after the fact to not do anything else after the last drink, but I was a bit thirsty & kind of a night owl.

The next morning, I drank another serving of the salt. No movement. Then it was time for the final serving & thank god for that. I ended up chasing it down with some honey because I was afraid I was going to throw up again. Luckily, it stayed down & just about an hour later...well, out came the stones. I was basically on & off the toilet for a few hours & was amazed at what was coming out. It makes you feel kinda weird to get up & look at what has come out, but it was also kind of fascinating.

This has saved me thousands of dollars & those little devils are just right there. I ended up eating some low-sodium soup two hours after the last salt drink...I was starving. But I eased myself back into it & didn't have the mentality of "Oh, well they're out now so I can go back to eating like crap." I feel like after this cleanse, I need to stick to a cleaner diet to prevent this from happening again. While the flush was very successful for me, no side effects at all, it's not something I would want to do again. You definitely need two consecutive days, because you will basically live in your bathroom for a while. But I would recommend this to anyone & everyone. It is much better than paying way too much money to get your organs removed.

I forgot where I got this from, my family has used it for years with success. My daughter was told she needed gallstone surgery some years back but used this flush instead. She passed the stones, and didn't need the gallstone surgery.

I don't know about you, but I believe my gallbladder has a purpose for being there and I'd like to keep it. -------------------------------------

INGREDIENTS:

. Apple juice
. Grapefruit juice (canned is OK).
. lemon juice, fresh squeezed is better
. Epsom salts
. Extra virgin olive oil (The green colored oil)
--------------------------------------------
Monday through Saturday drink all the apple juice you can with your regular diet.

On Saturday, 3 hours after lunch, dissolve 2 teaspoons Epsom salts in a small glass of hot water and drink it, followed by a glass of grapefruit juice.

Repeat the Epsom salt, hot water procedure in 2 hours.

Eat nothing for dinner except a half a grapefruit and a glass of grapefruit juice.

Just before going to bed, mix 1/2 cup of warm olive oil with 1/2 cup of grapefruit juice and drink it.

Follow that with 1/2 cup olive oil mixed with 1/2 cup of lemon juice.

Then go straight to bed lying on your right side with your right knee pulled up as close to your chest as possible for a half hour.

On Sunday morning take 2 more teaspoons of Epsom salts in a small amount of hot water, at least an hour before eating breakfast.

That mornings bowel movement will contains small green irregular shaped cholesterol stones, some just smaller than the size of cherries.

I know this is tough but it has worked really well for my family. hope it works well for you.

GrannyJo

Since improving my health by exercise, choosing fresh and homemade foods, and taking magnesium supplement, my frequency of "attacks" (what I think are gallblader attacks) is very low to what it used to be. Ocassionally I'll still indulge. Unfortunately when I do, it still triggers an attack about 20% of the time. Usually after eating fast food, red meat, or something dairy-rich.

My definition of attacks is: a horrible pain in my upper stomach that can become so intense, I can barely manage to straighten my torso. I'm doubled over constantly, walking hunched if I can muster the will to walk around. The pain radiates up my sternum and into my upper back between the shoulder blades. It feels like a gigantic pair of fists are shoved into my chest and stomach, squeezing and twisting in opposite directions so that nothing can go further in or out. My upper stomach will feel a little hard or rigid too - like it's all tensed up.

Sometimes I get my boyfriend to pound his fist into my upper back, like he's punching back for me! I'll grind my fist into my back too and sometimes that pressure helps minimally but only while I'm doing it. I know, totally bizarre of me. But it's what makes sense at the time. In the past for attacks, I've taken carrot juice which I read helps digestion and/or a cup of my powdered magnesium supplement (called Natural Calm -it's amazing! ) which takes the edge off. Once, I chewed raw ginger I cut right off the root in pure desperaton. All these things have helped (although carrot juice stopped being as effective for some reason).

The attacks last an hour to several hours and can be mild or severe to where I'm panting and squirming all over the bed, moaning in helpless pain. Sometimes there's oh so ladylike belching involved but if it's bad, it doesn't matter how much my body tries to do this, it doesn't alleviate anything.

I had an attack that woke me up very early this morning. :( It's my fault. I even thought it might be coming last night. I was SO tired last night I didn't want to cook, even though that little voice inside my head said I should do it. I didn't listen and got a chicken burrito from a taco shop on the way home thinking chicken is a mild choice. It didn't even end up being that good - it was gross and had unexpected amount of greasiness like it was cooked on an uncleaned surface that had been used for red meats. I only ate half feeling how heavy it was getting in my stomach. Less than 2 hours later, I could FEEL like this attack was coming. In preperation I found this page with all the great reviews about apple cider and apple juice working. I was hopeful and meant to go get apple juice and the apple cider from the store but fell asleep with my phone still on my chest, this page still on the screen when the attack woke me up.

It was a milder attack so I took the magnesium, then drove to the grocery store for the apple cider vinegar and apple juice. It got worse at the store but it's so close to my house that I made it. Like described here, I took the suggested 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (the Heinz brand) mixed with a glass of apple juice (Simply Apple brand). It took me 10-15 minutes to finish drinking it. I was a little taken aback a little at the burny feeling in my throat and through my stomach but I thought of that as working magic. The burn is nothing really unpleasant or harsh - nothing compared to the pain of the attack at least! :)

As I took the last few sips I had already started feeling the pain subside. My stomach softened to the touch and the little swell the rigidity creates sometime went away. About an hour later, the pain was pretty much all gone and just some minor discomfort and remnant soreness was all that was left! THIS is the best pain remedy for the attacks I've EVER tried. I've never had the pain go away as rapidly or as close to complete as this before. Now I DID start with the magnesium supplement but it's help was minimal (it's MUCH better for preventative than reactive purposes).

It's drained me though. These attacks take nearly everything out of me. I've mustered the energy to write this post because I want it to be read by people looking for experiences of other people who go through it and what has worked for them. I'm telling you it works! If you're having an attack, my say is try it.

Thank you to Earth Clinic and all who took the time to post their experiences too. I would not have turned to the apple cider/apple juice concoction and gotten my quick relief if not for you!!

My first gallbladder attack came on abruptly in my early twenties. I had just started school at San Diego State University. I was running to class, dodging gi-normous sheets of rain (this was in the late 90s during the infamous El Niño storms). Out of nowhere, a flood of nausea welled up from my solar plexus and I found myself doubled over. The pain was so sharp and sudden that it practically knocked the wind out of me. My boyfriend just stared at me wide-eyed and panic-stricken. After about 5 minutes, I recovered enough to make it to class, but afterward I was totally freaked out, because... I mean, what the heck WAS that?

The bouts of pain and nausea continued over the next week, and by then I was seriously tripping. All I could think was that 1. something was really, really wrong...like on an internal-organ-level, which was not something I'd ever imagined or had to deal with before, and 2. I didn't have health insurance.

So, I did the only thing I could think of at the time that my starving-student-budget would allow: I went to an urgent care center. The doctor there looked me over in hurried-urgent-care-doctor fashion and asked me 20 (or more) questions. He had the nurse give me a cup of what he called a "G.I. cocktail" which was some gooey white stuff that seemed to sort of numb my insides in a way that felt as weird as it tasted. Then he told me that, from what I'd just described, although he couldn't properly diagnose it without an ultrasound, he guessed that I had gallstones. He said that once you have them, the only way to get rid of them is by having your gallbladder surgically removed. He gave me prescriptions for an ultrasound and some Vicodin, neither of which I got filled because I couldn't afford to.

As soon as I got home, I started researching my condition on the internet. Surprisingly, I discovered that there were alternative perspectives of the disease ("I have a disease?"), its origins and how to treat it. It was pretty fascinating stuff, actually. My looming despair began to lighten to cautious optimism. Thus was my first foray into the world of alternative/holistic medicine and philosophy, where I still live to this day.

One remedy I discovered online at the time was Hulda Clark's olive oil/lemon gallbladder cleanse. I decided to go for it. I had no insurance and no money for conventional medical treatment, so why the ~hail~ not (sorry for the obscure El Niño joke :).

I followed the cleanse instructions as precisely as I could. I downed my olive oil/orange juice mixture and went straight to bed (per the instructions), overwhelmed by the competing emotions I was feeling all at once:

*** Scared ***
"What if this makes things worse and I end up in the emergency room?"

*** Skeptical ***
"It's probably a bunch of BS. Who am I to question the medical establishment's prognosis of a serious medical condition by attempting to cure it with some back alley remedy that uses $8 worth of items you can buy at a corner store."

*** Excited/Hopeful ***
"What if it works? I know it's gross, but I kinda can't wait to see what comes out."

Fast-forward to the following morning: O . M . G.

I could hardly believe it. That morning, nature called me out of bed before the sun came up, and I was stunned to see that I had just passed hundreds, I'm talking HUNDREDS of stones... and they were all BLACK. It was one of the grossest things I'd ever encountered. And the coolest. Though the quantity decreased with each round, I continued to pass more stones throughout the morning that averaged about the size of a pea. What a relief it was to know the this cr@p was no longer IN my body. It took a good deal of effort to refrain from broadcasting my experience to everyone I knew, as if they just couldn't wait to hear about the contents of my toilet.

My perspective of the Western Medical establishment was permanently altered that day. Basically, this inexpensive grocery store remedy had done what the urgent care doctor had said was not possible. I do accept that Western Medicine is necessary in some situations, but I generally find it unnecessarily invasive, as well as inadequate in its ability to treat root causes and address the whole person. As a result of my first experience with this liver cleanse home remedy, in addition to the pain and nausea subsiding, my skin cleared up and I began to lose some of the weight I had gained over the previous year. Also, during the several months following I was able to work through a LOT of emotional baggage that I had been mired in for years. From a Holistic point of view this is a perfectly reasonable and complementary side-effect of such a release.

MY LIVER CLEANSE, circa 1997:

* fruit and apple juice for breakfast

* baked potato w/ a little salt only for lunch

* no water or food after 2pm

* that afternoon, prepared solution of 3 Tbs Epsom salt & 3 cups water, stored in a container for later use

* 6pm - drank 3/4 cup of the Epsom salt water and immediately thought, "OMG...this stuff is actually considered fit for human consumption?"

* 8pm - drank 3/4 cup more of epsom salt water, "Yecht!"

* 10pm - juiced 3 medium sized oranges & combined with 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil. Took it to my bedside in a plastic lidded container. Shook it several times and then drank it fairly quickly, as I expected it to be disgusting. Actually, it wasn't so bad... the Epsom salt was way worse!

* proceeded to lie completely still face up on my bed for 30 minutes and then somehow allowed myself to drift off to sleep

* the instructions say to take another 3/4 cup dose of Epsom salt when you wake up the next morning, but NOT before 6am, then take the remainder 2 hours later. That morning I woke up before 6am and started passing stones right away. A little later, I tried to take another dose of Epsom salt water, but I only ended up drinking about 1/2 of it until I convinced myself that the cleanse was already working and, therefore, that was a good enough excuse to avoid drinking the rest of that nasty concoction. I should mention, however, that in subsequent cleanses, I have followed the instructions more thoroughly, and the results are worth enduring the taste in the end.

The instructions I've seen for this same cleanse have been slightly modified since then, and these days can be found @ http://curezone.com/cleanse/liver/huldas_recipe.asp

I've tried variations of the cleanse with varying degrees of success.

In conclusion, YEA for me.

If you have gallstones, this WORKS! Absolutely. Follow the protocol and you will get relief and be stronger afterwards. I had to go to the ER at 4AM several months ago because of a gallstone attack. Dr. recommended surgery. I tried this instead and DANG if it didn't flush out over 400 stones and MAN I feel better. No more food allergies, breathing better no more reflux. It's a blessing =)!

Used the following protocol:

*Over 4 days, Consumed 1 gallon of organic, cold pressed Apple Juice (in a glass bottle).
*Ate 1 organic apple each day of the cleanse, between breakfast and lunch
*Day of cleanse (5th day) --- Fresh, organic fruit for breakfast (Watermelon, Figs, Kiwi, Papaya OR grapefruit.. Choose ONE, but eat as much as you want.
*Vegetable soup for lunch with beets, carrots, garlic, onion, turmeric, pinch of sea salt and oregano (liver and gallbladder supporting vegetables)
*3 PM -- 6-8 ounces of walnuts
*5PM & 7PM -- Epsom salt -- one and a half level tablespoons of Epsom salt in 8 ounces of warm, purified water.
*Between 9-10PM -- Olive Oil & Juice -- Drink ¾ cup (6 ounces) of organic cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. A small amount (2 tablespoons) of freshly squeezed orange, grapefruit, or lemon juice may be added to improve the taste (optional). Immediately after drinking the oil, go to bed and lie on your right side with your knees drawn up to your stomach for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, you can stretch out and go to sleep. If you experience cramping, walk around for ten minutes or so and then go back to bed. You may also feel nauseated during the night. This is due to the release of stored toxins from the gallbladder and liver. This is normal and a sign the Liver Gallbladder Cleanse is working.

Works like a blessing =)!! Best of luck to all

Liver Gallbladder cleanse - Liver flush by Dr. Hulda Clark (slightly adapted, for South Africans)

Liver cleanse and gallbladder cleanse flush NO surgery
------------
MAIN Ingredients:
• 1/2 Cup Olive Oil (Extra Virgin)
• 1 Big grapefruit (1/2 cup freshly squeezed or 3 lemons)
• 4 tablespoon EPSOM salts
• 3 cups water

Other things you'll need:
• NB: Deworm yourself 2 days before you start!!!
• 1 cup water (to sip after Epsom salts)
• Honey (to take the bitter taste away)
• Peppermint oil (for nausea, from health shop)
• Colander to collect the stones and clear jar with lid to store
them in.

Choose a day like Saturday for the cleanse, since you will be able to rest the next day. Take no medicines, vitamins or pills that you can do without; they could prevent success. Stop the parasite program and kidney herbs too, the day before.

CLEANSE DAY:
Breakfast & lunch: with NO-FAT NO SUGAR. (soft food is best) such as cooked cereal with fruit, fruit juice, bread and preserves or honey (NO BUTTER NO MILK), baked potato or other veggies with salt only. This allows the bile to build up and develop pressure in the liver. Higher pressure pushes out more stones.

2:00 PM. Do not eat or drink after 2 o'clock. If you break this rule you could feel quite ill later. Get your Epsom salts ready. Mix 4 Tablespoons in 3 cups water; pour into a jar. This makes 4 servings, 3/4 cup each. Set the jar in the refrigerator to get ice cold (for taste only).

6:00 PM. [[1]] Drink one serving (3/4 cup) of the ice cold Epsom salts. Drink a few mouthfuls of water after wards, it will taste sweet.

8:00 PM. [[2]] Repeat by drinking another 3/4 (three fourths) cup of Epsom salts. You haven't eaten since two o'clock, but you won't feel hungry. Get your bedtime chores done. The timing is critical for success. (extra: Add a few drops of peppermint oil to avoid nausea)

9:45 PM preparation. Measure 1/2 cup olive oil in a 'quick-shake' or cup size jar. Wash grapefruit well in hot water and dry; squeeze by hand into a measuring cup. (MUST BE FRESH). You should get 1/2 cup full, now add to the olive oil. Close the jar tightly with the lid and shake hard until watery (only fresh
grapefruit juice does this). Now visit the bathroom, even if it makes you late for your ten o'clock drink. Don't be more than 15 minutes late. You will get fewer stones.

10:00 PM. [[3]] Drink the potion you have mixed. You may want to take sleeping capsules with the first sips to make sure you will sleep. You may use honey to chase it down. Take it all to your bedside; drink it standing up. Get it down within 5 min. (15 min. for very elderly/ weak persons). LIE DOWN IMMEDIATELY.
You might fail to get stones out if you don't. The sooner you lie down the more stones you will get out. Be ready for bed ahead of time. As soon as the drink is down lie flat on your back with your head up high on the pillow. Try to think about what is happening in the liver. Keep perfectly still for at least 20 minutes. You may feel a train of stones traveling along the bile ducts like marbles. There is no pain because the bile duct valves are open (thank you Epsom salts!). (extra: Lie on your right side). Go to sleep, you may fail to get stones out if you don't.

Next morning, [[4]] take your third dose of Epsom salts. If you have indigestion/ nausea wait until it is gone before drinking Epsom salts. You may go back to bed. Don't take this potion before 6:00 am. 8:00am. [[5]] Take your 4th (the last) dose of Epsom salts. You may go back to bed again.

[[6]] After 2 More hours you may eat. Start with fruit juice. Half an hour later eat fruit.

[[7]] One hour later you may eat regular food but keep it light. By supper you should feel recovered.

How well did you do? Expect diarrhea in the morning. Use a colander or net to make sure you collect all stones. Look for the green kind since this is proof that they are genuine gallstones, not food residue. Only bile from the liver is pea green. The bowel movement sinks but gallstones float because of the cholesterol inside. Calcified stones and stones containing protein may sink, but colander will catch all stones. Count them all roughly, whether tan or green. You will need to total 2,000 stones before the liver is clean enough to rid you of allergies or bursitis or upper back pains permanently. The first cleanse may rid you of them for a few days, but as the stones from the rear travel forward, they give you the same symptoms again. You may repeat cleanses at two week intervals. Never cleanse when you are ill.

[Note: I started passing chaff through normal bowel movements after my 4th colon cleansing fast, approx.. after a total of 4x14= 56 days of total colon cleansing within 9 months. The chaff continued in normal bowel movements for 8 months! Thousands of tiny stones, looked like small popcorn and small bee pollen granules, others looked like moth wings. Sometime I would drop at one bowel movement 50 -100 pea size stones that would float in the water. It was truly an experience. Almost daily for 8 months! When I did my first Dr. Clark's liver cleanse I immediately dropped over 200 pea size green and tan stones, and when I examined them I was shocked. They crushed in my fingers and what I found was pure fat, pure cholesterol. Can you imagine hundred of them. Also in my second liver cleanse I had the same experience].

Sometimes, the bile ducts are full of cholesterol crystals that did not form into round stones. They appear as a "chaff" floating on top of the toilet bowl water. It may be tan colored, harboring millions of tiny white crystals. Cleansing this chaff is just as important as purging the stones.

How safe is the liver cleanse? It is very safe. My opinion is based on over 500 cases, including many persons in their seventies and eighties. None went to the hospital; none even reported pain. However it can make you feel quite ill for one or two days after wards, although in every one of these cases the maintenance parasite program had been neglected. This is why the instructions direct you to complete the parasite and kidney rinse program first. This procedure contradicts many modern medical viewpoints. Gallstones are thought to be formed in the gallbladder, not the liver. They are though to be few, not thousands. They are not linked to pains other than gallbladder attacks. It is easy to understand why this thought: by the time you have acute pain attacks, some stones are in the gallbladder, are big enough and sufficiently calcified to see on X-ray, and have caused inflammation there. When the gallbladder is removed the acute attacks are gone, but the bursitis and other pains and digestive problems remain. The truth is self-evident. People who have had their gallbladder removed surgically still get plenty of green, bile coated stones, and anyone who cares to dissect their stones can see that the concentric circles and crystals of cholesterol match textbook pictures of "gallstones" exactly."

One lady here in East London, recently had her healthy gallbladder removed and they found zero gallstones!!!! Shocking hey!!!

GOOD LUCK, GOOD HEALTH. GOD BLESS YOU