1. Bile Basics
The gallbladder is a small pear shaped organ located just below the liver in the upper right part of the abdomen. The liver makes bile that is stored in the gallbladder until the body needs it. The gallbladder secrets bile into the small intestine during the digestive process. Bile contains bile salts, water, fat, bilirubin, proteins and cholesterol. When bile crystallizes, gall stones develop.
2. Two Kinds of Gall Stones
Gall stones come in two types. One is made of excess cholesterol in the bile and the other is made of pigment. Gall stones made of cholesterol come from too much cholesterol in the bile. Pigment stones are made of too much bilirubin. Gall stones are dangerous because they block the secretion of bile from the gallbladder to the small intestine. This usually results in a gall bladder attack. Left untreated the condition can be serious and even fatal.
3. Sudden Severe Symptoms
Gall stones cause what most people commonly call a gall bladder attack. A gall bladder attack comes on suddenly and with severe pain. Although gall stones take time to develop in the gall bladder, sudden, severe symptoms result when the gall bladder becomes inflamed or diseased. Gall stone symptoms include steady pain in the right upper abdomen, pain between the shoulder blades and pain under the right shoulder. If you have any of these symptoms, especially at night, call your doctor or seek medical treatment immediately.
4. Who's Got the Gall?
We've all got a gallbladder and most people have a few microscopic stones. But some people are at an increased risk for gall stones. People with elevated cholesterol levels in their blood are at greater risk for gallstones due to an increased amount of cholesterol in the gall bladder. Women over 60, women who are pregnant or are taking birth control or use hormone replacement therapy are at a greater risk for gall stones. People on cholesterol lowering drugs, diabetics or those with a family history of gallstones are also at risk. Mexicans and American Indians have an increased risk for gall stones as well as those who are obese.
5. Severity Determines Treatment
If you have gallstones but don't have any symptoms, there usually isn't any treatment needed. If you have frequent gall bladder attacks your doctor my want to remove your gallbladder. Gall bladder surgery used to be major surgery with many weeks of recovery. However, new methods of removing the gallbladder make the procedure much less invasive with quicker recovery. There are also some drug therapies that dissolve gall stones over the course of several treatments.
