What are gallbladder stones? These are solid stones that are formed in the gall bladder. The sizes of gallbladder stones range in different sizes from a few millimeters (like a grain of sand) to a few centimeters (like the size of a golf ball).
When there is too much cholesterol contained in your bile, gallbladder stones form. These gallbladder stones are formed from excess cholesterol (these crystallize to form the stones), bile salts, and calcium that accumulate over time.
People who have relatives that have gallbladder stones, people who are obese, people who have high blood cholesterol levels, women who take drugs that have oestrogen, and people with intestinal inflammation are considered to be at risk of developing gallbladder stones.
What are the symptoms that we have gallbladder stones? One fact is sure, that not all gall bladder stones cause any symptom. Even gall bladder stones that are detected in a scan do not usually require any treatment. But, regardless of which, any case should be discussed with your doctor. The symptoms of gallbladder stones are present in one of three ways.
One symptom is called chronic cholecystitis. This is an inflammation of the gallbladder. This would cause sporadic abdominal pains. The pain sometimes gets worse in an hour and then would stay the same and spread to other areas such as the right shoulder and between the shoulder blades.
The attack usually lasts from a few minutes to three hours before the patient gets better. Eating fatty foods (e.g. cheese, chocolate, or pastry) can cause the attack.
The other symptom is an acute inflammation/infection of the gallbladder. The patient would feel persistent pain and is made worse by movement or coughing. The pain is usually felt under the ribs on the right side. If patients experience such things they may need to see a doctor and be admitted to a hospital.
The third symptom is jaundice. This usually results from an obstruction of the flow of bile from the liver to the gallbladder. Patients would usually experience itchiness on the skin and other symptoms of cholecystitis.
People who appear to have these symptoms should see their doctor for proper diagnosis since these symptoms are also similar to symptoms of other diseases as well.
Like all other diseases we all would face, gallbladder stones are best prevented rather than cured. It would sometimes take a change in diet or a person’s life style to help avoid developing them.
Jack is a content builder of www.gallbladderpain.org/ and he shares his knowledge on gallbladder stones.
