Several years ago I had my gallbladder removed and I kept thinking, why do we have something we don't really need. Recently I had surgery to remove stones that had formed in the bile ducts. I'm not a big eater nor do I consume a lot of cholesterol but it got me to thinking. These little facts are from a book called Uncle John's Bathroom Reader; I found it to be interesting.
GALLBLADDER
Location: This four inch pear shaped sac sits under the liver, below your ribs on your right side.
What it does:
It's part of the digestive system. The liver produces a substance called bile, which gets stored in the gallbladder before being moved via a tube called the duodenum into the small intestine where it digests fats.
Get it Out:
The liver purifies the blood against toxins. If you eat too much cholesterol, the liver dumps some of it into the bile. During storage in the gallbladder, the cholesterol-bile sometimes hardens into gallstones: greenish, pain causing lumps that can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. If the gallstones are really big and really hard, the doctor may opt to remove the entire gallbladder. But you can live without it- if you don't have a gallbladder the liver delivers the bile dile directly to the duodenum.
I've never felt so awful and full of pain. Three nights in a row I was sent home from the emergency room. Finally a doctor with sense had them do an ultra sound. One more day I would have needed a new liver, it was infected. Now when I complain, they listen because rarely do I complain unless I'm about to pass out. Some times you have to be a real pain in the a** in a busy er. They almost killed me; livers aren't very easy to replace. Duh!
Jun 30, 2010 @ 02:32:12
sorry to hear about that..
