If you have gallstones, you really know about it. They’re incredibly painful, small stones that are formed in the gallbladder. They’re made of cholesterol and whilst tiny ones don’t cause any symptoms normally, the bigger ones can get trapped in the ducts leading in or out of the gallbladder or even move out of the gallbladder altogether. These are the ones that cause the problems, namely:
sudden, hugely intense pain in the abdomen (either in the centre, between sternum and belly button, or in the upper right);
nausea
vomiting
jaundice (yellowish appearance of the skin and whites of the eye)
So what is the gallbladder, why do we need it, how do we avoid gallstones and what do we do if we get them?
The gallbladder is a rather small internal organ that lives just beneath the liver. Its job is to store bile, which is concentrates by extracting the other liquids from it. Bile is what the liver produces to help to break down food, and the liver passes the bile down various ducts to the gallbladder. The more concentrated the bile becomes there, the better it is at digesting fats, which it does when the gallbladder releases it into the digestive tract when food needs breaking down.
For all that, it is not a vital organ and can be removed without any long-term, ill effects.
Gallstone disease (when the gallstones cause a problem) comes in two forms:
1. Uncomplicated gallstone disease – when the gallstones block the duct that leads into the gallbladder. Causes occasional bouts of pain in the abdomen lasting a few hours at a time. Episodes can be weeks or even months apart.
2. Complicated gallstone disease – the gallbladder becomes inflamed and more serious complications and symptoms are experienced, like high temperature, jaundice, constant, intense pain in the abdomen.
If you develop gallstone disease you’re not alone: it’s estimated that around 10 – 15 percent of adults develop it, though most have no symptoms. You’re more likely to develop them if you’re female (women develop them three times as often as men do) and as you get older. Obesity is a major risk factor, mainly because obese people tend to have high levels of cholesterol. So losing weight can help you to reduce your risk of developing the disease.
The good news is that gallstones are easily treated, with surgery to remove the gallbladder (usually by keyhole method, meaning shorter recovery time and less traumatic surgery). If you have uncomplicated gallstone disease, surgery may not be necessary. If your symtoms last longer than eight hours, and/or you have a fever, then you may have complicated gallstones disease and should seek immediate medical advice.