Ursodeoxycholic acid or Ursodiol goes by fairly a lot of trade and brand names. Ursodiol is an acid that simply be chemically synthesized, which is why it is continuously being manufactured and sold all over the world since 1998. It is a drug that lessens cholesterol absorption and is used to dissolve cholesterol-type gallstones.

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However, if a patient discontinues taking this drug, there’s a chance for the gallstones to recur if the condition that made their formation possible in the first place isn’t treated. Because of this, surgical treatment via cholecystectomy ruins the superior treatment to ursodiol when treating gallstone-related conditions.

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The recommended dose for ursodiol of radiolucent gallbladder stones is eight to 10 mg/kg a day in two to three divided doses. For the meantime, the recommended daily dosage of this drug for gallstone prevention in patients undergoing rapid weight loss is 600 milligrams per day. A study has recommended that an ursodiol dose of about 10 mg/kg a day should be enough to completely dissolve an uncalcified gallstone that’s less than 20 millimeters in maximum diameter for up to two years in some patients.

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During treatment, your doctor will observe your progress with periodic ultrasound examination. If your gallstones show to have dissolved, ursodiol therapy should be continued and dissolution reaffirmed on a repeat ultrasound examination within a month or three. Throughout the treatment, do not dare enhance the dose or take the drug more often than prescribed by your pharmacist or doctor, because the side effects to this can be disastrous.

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Ursodiol is not a fast remedy for dissolving gallstones, because it takes months of treatment before it could completely dissolve even one gallstone. There is also the probability of incomplete dissolution and recurrence of stones. However, if your doctor has approved it to you, then he or she has probably weighed the pros and cons of using ursodiol as opposed to using alternative treatments. This medication is most helpful if your gallstones that are small or “floatable”—that is, high in cholesterol—and if your gallbladder is still functioning properly.

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Notify your doctor right away if you are pregnant or plan to be pregnant before beginning ursodiol therapy. There hasn’t been any real evidence that this drug is dangerous to the unborn child, but just to be safe, ursodiol is not recommended for use during pregnancy. In turn, concern must be observed when taking ursodiol during breastfeeding, because it is also unknown whether ursodiol taken by a nursing mother passes into her breast milk.

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Aside from having an total allergy to ursodiol, do not take this medicine if you are sensitive or have ever had an allergic reaction to most any other bile acid medications. Additionally, this drug cannot melt certain types of gallstones, like radio-opaque stones, calcified cholesterol stones, or radiolucent bile pigment stones. In conclusion, if you have a biliary tract—gallbladder, bile duct, and liver—problems or certain pancreas or liver conditions, your doctor will probably not prescribe this drug to you.

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The most usual side effects of using this drug is vomiting, viral infection, urinary tract infection, upper respiratory tract infection, stomach ulcer, stomach or intestinal disorder, sore throat, skin rash, sinus inflammation, nausea, nasal inflammation, muscle and bone pain, menstrual pain, joint pain, insomnia, indigestion, high blood sugar, headache, hair loss, gas, flu-like symptoms, fatigue, dizziness, diarrhea, cough, constipation, chest pain, bronchitis, back pain, arthritis, allergy, and abdominal pain.

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