The gallbladder, bloodletting, and being a wildcat.

I had this insanely vivid and clear dream the other night that led me down a wormhole of all things gallbladder. I’ll share the dream in the paragraph below. If you are someone who enjoys hearing others recall the strangeness that lives in their subconscious- enjoy. If you are not someone who enjoys that, you can skip the next paragraph and get straight to the gallbladder :)

In the dream: I was approached by two people who asked me if I could speak at a “medical conference” about bloodletting. I explained that I had only done bloodletting on myself (?) but that I had so much past life experience doing it that I felt pretty confident that I could come up with something. The whole thing felt weirdly nonchalant and fine. I was at the “medical conference” but it turned out that the entire thing was about the gallbladder and it also felt like I had stepped back in time into the 50’s. It was very artsy. There were projections on the walls of videos of antiquated gallbladder removal surgeries, old posters and medical illustrations displayed everywhere. Two gentlemen were taking me around introducing me to everyone as ‘a blood letting expert’ and ‘a real wildcat’. I felt slightly embarrassed, confused, but completely confident and nonchalant. I ended up having a whole booth set up and there were hundreds of people lined up for me to essentially shiv them under the right armpit. I had an expert hand and felt weirdly confident and nonchalant.
So, I woke up and went down a gallbladder wormhole and am reflecting on my own relationship with my gallbladder and how I can best support that little dude and thought it would be fun to gather up all the words and share them here. It's been a while since I've been inspired to write a blog post.

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The Gallbladder:

I will begin by saying that I am not a medical doctor. I am simply a gal who is fascinated by the human body and its functions, who has done some schooling in various medical teachings, is medically minded/curious, and is an herbalist who likes to think deeply about things from time to time. I am not intending to diagnose or treat any issues and ask that you always check in with yourself, your medical provider, or care provider if you feel like this could be something to look into for yourself or those that you care for. 

The gallbladder is a small, about 3-4 inch, pear shaped organ that is in the upper middle right of your trunk, about where your bottom rib connects to the sternum.
There are many ways to look at an organ and how it functions in the body. There is the physiological/western/medical way and there are also many ancient and unusual/interesting other ways. I tend to unfold my thinking while considering all of these things.

​In TCM, the qi, the lifeforce energy, moves through meridians, or channels, of the body. The gallbladder meridian is associated with judgment/ decision making/ the way we digest our food and our experiences/and our muscle and connective tissue health. There is a scale or spectrum of  deficiency-balance-excess. The main emotions of the gallbladder are anger/certainty or uncertainty/fear/being easily startled/panic about choices or decisions. It is associated with the solar plexus chakra, which is all about our personal power/ self esteem/ courage/ belief systems and structures. If thinking about it from the humor cosmology perspective it is associated with yellow bile and black bile, which represent anger and melancholy.

Physiologically, the gallbladder's main function is to store bile, which comes from the liver. When we eat, our gallbladder contracts and secretes bile, which moves through a pathway, intersecting with a series of bile ducts (the biliary system), into the duodenum, which is the upper part of the small intestine, to begin the process of breaking down and digesting food. After we eat, the gallbladder will be left empty and begin to be filled again from the trusty liver.  Along with its main gig of storing and secreting bile, it, in turn, also helps with breaking down fats and making sure that we are digesting and absorbing nutrients properly. Bile is a combination of cholesterol, bilirubin, and bile salts. The function of the gallbladder correlates with the balance of those levels as well. 

Ideally everything is functioning smoothly and there are no issues but things like high stress levels, high cholesterol, dietary or digestion imbalances, etc can cause issues. Some common problems that can come up with the gallbladder are:
  Gallstones- they can be between the size of a grain of sand and a golfball. Stones generally occur from stagnation and can form in the gallbladder and down into the biliary tract. They can be harmless and can also cause nausea, pain, and inflammation.
   Cholecystitis- the inflammation of the gallbladder and a blockage from the exit of the gallbladder into the biliary tract. This will cause fever, pain, and can at times require surgery.
   Gallstone pancreatitis- the inflammation of the pancreas because a gallstone moves from the gallbladder and blocks the pancreatic duct just before the small intestine.
**Gallstones are made of an excess of cholesterol and bilirubin. 

If issues come up, there are ways to support the gallbladder including dietary shifts, emotional shifts, and of course, plant medicines.

Anything that supports the liver will also be supportive for the gallbladder, which tend to be bitter and pungent, but some specific herbs are: Milk Thistle, Dandelion, Turmeric, Artichoke leaf, burdock, celandine, ginger, barberry, beets, oregon grape, peppermint, aloe vera, radish, lemon, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, cayenne. Magnesium may also be helpful. Castor oil packs are wonderful and balancing. And if you feel you are lacking bile you can find bile supplements. 
As always, when choosing herbs, be sure to consider the energetics of the herbs and the condition and match them properly. For example, if you felt you were producing too much bile you would not want to use an herb that is going to stimulate the production of more. So be sure to do your due diligence to find the right match.

Well, that was my brain dump on the gallbladder. I'm sure there is so much more to say and so many more questions. I always encourage letting your curiosity guide you to a better understanding. Thank you for reading.

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