Gallstones and Splenectomy or ITP

I was diagnosed with ITP in 2006, at the age of 32, and after not responding to natural remedies or medication (except for IVIG), I had a splenectomy in 2007. I was just diagnosed (2013) with gallstones after having a couple of gallstone attacks and am looking at having my gallbladder removed. (I eat a healthy diet and do not have high cholesterol.) Does anyone know of any relationship between ITP and/or splenectomy and the development of gallstones?

Paloma

I doubt it's related. These are common causes of gall stones:

What causes gallstones?

Experts are not completely sure why some people develop a chemical imbalance in their gallbladder which causes gallstones, while others do not. However, we do know that gallstones are more common among: •Overweight/obese people, especially women. A study revealed that a bulging midriff almost doubles a woman's chances of developing gallstones and the need for surgery to remove them.

Obese children have a considerably higher risk of developing gallstones, compared to kids of normal weight, researchers from Kaiser Permanents reported in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition (August 2012 issue).

Women who have been pregnant
•People who have recently lost lots of weight.

•Intentionally losing weight and then regaining it may increase men's risk for gallstones later in life.

•Women taking oral contraceptives.

•Women undergoing high-dose estrogen therapy

•People with a close relative who has had gallstones.

•A study revealed that a gene variant significantly increases the risk of developing gallstones.

•People whose intake of dietary fat is high.

•Twice as many women get gallstones than men.

•People over 60 years of age.

•Native American Indians.

•People who take statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs).

•People with diabetes.

•Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for women during the menopause is linked to a higher risk of gallbladder problems. A study found that HRT administered by skin patches or gels poses a smaller risk than HRT given orally.

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153981.php

Thank you, Sandi. The problem is that the only characteristics that I have that would put me at risk for gallstones are that I am a woman and have been pregnant. I don't fit any of the other at-risk categories. This is why I was curious whether or not there might be a connection between ITP and gallstones. My platelet count had gotten down to 1,000 when I was first diagnosed with ITP and in order to get my count up, I had regular IVIG treatments--often twice a month. This went on for a year.

One year after I had my splenectomy, I had to have my gall bladder out. Don't know exactly what happened. Hadn't lost any weight; wasn't on hormone pills. It just happened.

Did you have any additional problems after having your gall bladder removed?

I couldn't find any connection between splenectomy and gall stones in a search. I guess it's just another one of those things. Sometimes things go wrong even if you're not in a high risk group.

Not really. Had to stay away from deep fried foods, but that was no big deal. Now, we don't even miss it. The thing that bothered me the most, was that when I had the ultra sound done before the splenectomy, they found the stones, but didn't tell me. If they had have, we would have changed the way we ate and I wouldn't have had to go through the pain. I never did think there was a correlation between the splenectomy and the stones.

Two years ago I was diagnosed with diverticulitis. That attack wasn't as painful as the gall bladder one. I'm not supposed to eat certain foods because of that, too. Had to give up peanuts, and I do miss them. Some of the veggies I'm not supposed to eat, I do, with no problem.

Thanks, Sandi, for looking into this. And thank you, Cindy, for sharing your experiences. It is often so difficult to know when to draw connections and worry and when to just let things go. ITP was such a frightening experience--I always worry that it will come back. Thanks again to both of you for your thoughts.