Three Things to Know About Gallbladder Problems

Once you suffer from your first gallbladder attack, you will find yourself hoping that it never, again, happens. Unfortunately, if you have gallstones, the pain is very likely to return until you resolve the problem. While gallstones do not always cause a life threatening condition, you should never assume that you can simply "diet" away this problem. In most cases, once gallstones form, it will take medical intervention to get rid of them.

Symptoms Associated with Gallstones

Even though your gallbladder is located in the region below the right side of your ribcage, pains can show up in unusual places. This includes between your shoulder blades, just below the right shoulder, or in your back. Typically, gallbladder pain will increase in intensity for about half of an hour, and then continue on for another hour before finally subsiding. Many people will tell you that this pain is every bit as bad as what you may experience with kidney stones. If the stones are preventing bile from leaving the liver, you may also experience nausea, jaundice, chills, and other signs of liver damage. In some cases, gallstones can also lead to inflammation of the pancreas. Since both situations represent life threatening emergencies, you should seek medical attention immediately.

Risk Factors for Developing Gallbladder Disease

Contrary to popular belief, a diet high in cholesterol will not increase your risk of developing gallstones. While these stones are most often made up of cholesterol, using birth control pills, and hormone replacement therapy all seem to have a significant impact on getting this disease. If you are over 40, age alone can also lead to an increased chance of developing gallstones. Depending upon the situation, you may find that avoiding fried or fatty foods will help reduce the number of painful attacks that occur. While this will not do away with the stones, at least you will be putting less of a burden on your liver.

Diagnosing Gallstones

Aside from the pattern of pain, gallstones are fairly easy to detect with ultrasound and CT scans. Both of these procedures are painless, and do not require hospitalization. In fact, once your doctor obtains the results of these scans, he/she may conclude that you do not need immediate surgery. As long as the stones are small and not obstructing the bile duct or the pancreas, you can easily go on for years without further intervention. That said, you will also need to ensure that you know how to avoid a gallstone flare up.

Making a Choice about Surgical Intervention

Over the years, researchers have searched for a number of ways to reduce the number of surgeries performed for gallstones. Among other things, you may be able to make use of medications that will dissolve the stones. While the stones may reappear later on, at least you will not need to deal with the complications of surgery. Even though gallbladder removal is a fairly safe procedure, some patients end up with diarrhea and nausea for the rest of their lives

Each year, thousands of people discover that they have gallstones. While many of these people do not need to undergo immediate surgical intervention, gallbladder disease can still be painful and distressing. If you are not currently suffering from gallbladder disease, you may want to evaluate various aspects of your lifestyle in order to see if you can reduce your risks as much as possible. As with many other things related to your health, limiting exposure to things that will increase your risk of developing gallstones will, in the long run, be of benefit to your health.

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