Thanks Folks,

Yeah, I'm not saying that the flush doesn't work. Believe me, I feel great after doing it this weekend. It's certainly done something wonderful to improve my health. I actually went running on Sunday evening, something I haven't been able to do for a long time.

My main concerns were the opinions expressed on: http://www.pathguy.com/altermed.htm

Now, this guy has quite a detailed pathology site, and, being a complete layperson, I'd normally trust someone with this background. I don't have any reason to distrust the medical profession, even though I've encountered my fair share of rude doctors (I'm sure they have the same ghastly rude patient stories to counter). The only thing that turns me off this site is this guy's apparent close-mindedness to this therapy. He could well be right, and the stones may be soap, but he seems to have written it off a little too hastily for my liking.

I'm open-minded, so I want to consider all sides of the story. The concrete evidence I have so far is how great I feel right now, so that's a plus in favor of the flushes. I guess the proof of the pudding will be in a few months time when I go again for blood tests and another ultrasound. In reality I think I'm in the middle on opinions here. I know that the flush did me the world of good, and I think that some sort of independent testing could prove this. This is a positive thing. For example, maybe what "pathguy" says is true, and the stones are soap, formed in the digestive system. That doesn't necessarily mean the flushes don't work. Independent testing could perhaps show (just a "for example") that perhaps the majority of stones are soap, and a small minority are real gallstones. Would this matter? Not one bit. If it gets the stones out, then overall it's a good thing, even if there are hundreds of "false positives" mixed in with the real ones.

There's another site: http://www.liverdoctor.com which is quite good, and seems to be more in the middle of the road when it comes to opinion on this. The Liver Doctor seems to have a sensible attitude to the flushes. While she recommends against them for acute conditions (let's face it, she'd have to do this. As a doctor, she can't recommend untested therapies, just like a lawyer can't advise a client to do something illegal, and she certainly couldn't recommend something that has even a slight chance of actually bringing on a gall bladder attack. She's avoiding being sued, which is only sensible) but she does mention that, anecodotally, there are many cases of success with flushing. A lot of alternative therapies start off like this, something anecdotal that works but can't be proved, until someone devises the correct test for it.

Anyway, I'm planning my next flush in two weeks and keeping an open mind.

Ern.