Hi, I have posted on here a few times but mostly lurked for a little over a year. Just wanted to give you guys an update. I developed gallbladder type symptoms some years ago, they were mild and came and went without incident. Then about 21 months ago I began having very painful "attacks" that lasted for days. I did not have any stones visualized on three separate ultrasounds, but my ejection fraction was low (21%) on a HIDA scan. I researched gallbladder dysfunction, came across this site, and tried to remedy the error of my years of poor eating, stress, and exercise. I did mini-flushes a few times, drank olive oil and lemon juice tonics, took a variety of liver-healing supplements including milk thistle, and upped my exercise while decreasing the junk in my diet. Well, that helped somewhat, but I was still having pain. I waded through more medical studies online and found that I definitely did not want my gallbladder out, but I needed more pain relief. I found that people taking UDCA (ursodeoxycholic acid, also known by trade names Urso, Ursofalk,etc.) had a significant decrease in their gallbladder symptoms even if the stones didn't dissolve. While I would have preferred to have gone without any medication, I was coming to the end of my rope with the pain. UDCA isn't used too much in typical gallbladder sufferers anymore, but docs prescribe it for liver disorders and for obese people losing weight rapidly. I talked to my doc about it and I told him that I was on a weight loss program and would like to take UDCA to prevent gallstone formation since I didn't need any more problems. He reluctantly agreed (if he hadn't agreed, I would have bought it online, it is readily available if you do some searching). I began 300mg twice daily. For people with calcified stones or lots of sludge it can take several weeks to get any relief, but I noticed relief within about 2 weeks. I have now been completely pain-free for over 5 weeks! This doesn't sound like long, but I was having DAILY pain for well over a year. I am continuing my diet, supplements, and flushes and I think that, in the long run, those things will help the most, but I am happy that I have gotten some relief from the pain. If the pain had kept up its intensity I would have likely gotten worn down and had the surgery. Now I feel that I am at least buying some time while I get my body back in good condition. I did not have a repeat ultrasound since all my ultrasounds have been completely normal (no stones, no sludge, no inflammation) but I did have another HIDA scan---it was completely normal! The ejection fraction was normal and there were no indications of chronic or acute cholecystitis. Anyhow, I don't post much, but I do read the board, thanks to everyone here and best wishes.