Unlike pain from gas, gallbladder pain is typically not relieved by changing position, burping, or passing gas. Heartburn is not a symptom of gallbladder problems , although a person may feel nauseated and vomit. Given the location of the gallbladder, what seems like gallbladder pain may actually be pain related to issues other than gallbladder disease , such as those related to your heart, muscles, and other organs within your digestive system. This is why it's important to have your pain evaluated by a medical professional.
The following health problems are all potential sources of gallbladder pain:. The most common cause of "gallbladder pain" is gallstones also called "cholelithiasis" , which are hard particles that form due to either an imbalance of the substances that make up bile the fluid that the gallbladder secretes to aid in the digestion of food or the gallbladder not emptying as it should. These particles can be quite small or grow to the size of a golf ball. Typically, the formation of gallstones happens very slowly.
A person may develop one large stone, multiple small stones, or a mix of the two. It is entirely possible to have gallstones and not have any symptoms. Such stones are considered benign because they do not interfere with the functioning of your digestive system. Pain occurs, though, when a gallstone blocks one of the ducts in the biliary tract—the part of your body that contains your gallbladder and your bile ducts. The pain may ease when the gallstone moves and the bile duct is no longer blocked.
Serious complications can arise from having gallstones. The gallbladder, common bile duct, or the pancreas may become inflamed and infected, posing a great risk to your health. Rarely, gangrene or rupture of the gallbladder can occur, or a gallstone may cause a bowel obstruction.
Besides gallstones, biliary sludge thickened bile salts may also form in the gallbladder. This sludge blocks healthy bile emptying out of the gallbladder, potentially causing similar symptoms and complications as gallstones.
Gallbladder inflammation called "cholecystitis" most commonly develops as a result of gallstones. Less commonly, cholecystitis develops without gallstones called "acalculous cholecystitis".
Acute Cholecystitis. When a gallstone becomes stuck within the gallbladder, inflammation ensues, causing sudden and sometimes severe abdominal pain called "biliary colic" along with nausea, vomiting, fever, and a loss of appetite. Biliary colic describes a dull, cramping pain in the upper-right part of the abdomen. Acalculous Cholecystitis.
Acalculous cholecystitis causes the same symptoms as acute cholecystitis, although a gallstone is not the culprit. While the precise cause is not clear, experts suspect poor bile and blood flow within the gallbladder may cause this condition to develop.
Acalculous cholecystitis is mostly seen in people who are severely ill, like those on mechanical ventilation or those with a major infection or severe burn injury. Acute cholangitis occurs from a bacterial infection in the common bile duct, often as a result of an obstructing gallstone, or sometimes from a bile duct stricture or cancer of the gallbladder, bile duct, pancreas, or duodenum first part of the small intestine.
Symptoms of acute cholangitis may include upper-right-sided abdominal pain, fever, and jaundice. In more severe cases, a person may also develop low blood pressure and confusion, which can be signs of life-threatening sepsis. Rarely, your gallbladder may rupture or burst open as a result of gallbladder inflammation cholecystitis.
Even rarer, an injury like a motor vehicle accident or sports contact injury may result in gallbladder rupture, causing sudden and severe, sharp pain in the upper-right part of your abdomen. Choledocholithiasis is where gallstones block the common bile duct, restricting the flow of bile from the liver to the intestine.
The resulting rise in pressure can cause an increase in liver enzymes and also jaundice. Functional gallbladder disease FGBD , sometimes referred to as "chronic acalculous gallbladder dysfunction" or "biliary dyskinesia," is the technical name for gallbladder disease without the presence of any gallstones. It includes dysfunction of the sphincter of Oddi, the muscular sphincter that helps to control gallbladder emptying.
Symptoms may come on suddenly or occur chronically. Biliary dyskinesia is a gallbladder syndrome that occurs when your gallbladder is not emptying properly. Due to improper drainage of bile, gallbladder pain and other symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting, may result. Biliary dyskinesia is usually only identified after other causes of pain like gallstones have been ruled out.
Most of the treatment recommendations have been written to address people with gallbladder hypokinesia underfunction , but there is a growing body of research about people with hyperkinesia, whose gallbladders empty too much. Current research indicates that both hypokinesia and hyperkinesia of the gallbladder may benefit from gallbladder removal cholecystectomy. Are there certain clues that suggest a gallbladder problem? Gastroenterologist Michael Kirsch, MD , explains how this organ works and some of the classic gallbladder symptoms.
Most of the time, the gallbladder just stores bile produced by the liver. Bile helps to break down fats, so when you eat a meal, the gallbladder gets to work squeezing some of that bile into the intestine to help with digestion. If bile contains too much of one or more of its components, it can harden into pebble-like gallstones , which can block the flow of bile. Kirsch says. You could have one right now and not even realize it!
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Gallbladder attacks can last anywhere from minutes to hours, Diya Alaedeen, M. Plenty of people are clueless that they have gallstones because they have no symptoms, Dr. Bedford says. And even without symptoms, gallstones also increase your risk of gallbladder cancer , the Mayo Clinic says.
If your gallstones do happen to be symptomatic instead of silent, here are common signs of a gallbladder attack you should be aware of, according to the Mayo Clinic :. If your gallbladder attack continues without treatment, the symptoms, as per the NIDDK , can become even more serious and progress to:.
The symptoms are similar to regular gallstone symptoms, but with a few extras thrown in:. While anyone with a gallbladder can develop gallstones, there are many known risk factors for developing them. This is because gallstones and gallbladder attacks can get progressively worse if left untreated, and complications can even be fatal in some cases, the NIDDK says.
These exams and tests can also help your doctor rule out conditions like appendicitis , ulcers, and gastroesophageal reflux disease , which happens when acid in your stomach frequently flows back into your esophagus, according to the Mayo Clinic. This might sound startling, but gallbladder removal, or cholecystectomy, is one of the most common surgeries in the United States, per the NIDDK.
And, as we mentioned, you can live your life normally without your gallbladder. There are two types of cholecystectomies: laparoscopic cholecystectomy and open cholecystectomy, the NIDDK says.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomies are more common. During this procedure, your doctor will remove your gallbladder using a laparoscope a small tube that allows surgeons to work by making minimal incisions , according to the NIDDK.
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