Gallstones form when the digestive liquid (called bile) stored in your gallbladder hardens and forms stones. The gallbladder is just a sack located under your liver that stores the bile produced by the liver. Bile breaks up fats.
There are two types of gallstones. Cholesterol stones form when the bile contains too much cholesterol, too much bilirubin, or not enough bile salts, or when the gallbladder doesn't empty as it should for whatever reason. Pigment stones tend to develop in people who have cirrhosis, too much bilirubin, or other reasons.
Who Gets Them
Once you've developed a gallstone, you're more likely to develop more of them. But you may not know you have one, since the majority of people with gallstones don't have any problems. You're more likely to develop gallstones if you:
- Are a woman
- Are overweight
- Use birth control pills, are on hormone therapy, or are pregnant
- Are over age 60
- Are Native American (especially Pima Indian) or Mexican American
- Have a family history of gallstones
- Have diabetes
- Have lost a lot of weight quickly
- Fast
- Have high blood triglycerides (a type of fat)
- Use cholesterol-lowering drugs
What to Do
If you have gallstones, but no pain, chances are your doctor will recommend you leave them be. If they aren't causing you pain or interfering with your gallbladder, liver, or pancreas function, they probably don't need treatment.
If they get stuck in the passageway between your gallbladder and intestines, you'll experience steadily increasing pain in your upper abdomen that lasts from 30 minutes to several hours. You might also have:
- Pain between your shoulder blades or under your right shoulder.
- Nausea or vomiting
- Abdominal bloating
- Intolerance of fatty foods
- Colic
- Belching
- Gas
- Indigestion
This is called a gallstone "attack," and it often occurs after you've eaten a fatty meal. You should see a doctor right away if you experience any of the following severe symptoms:
- Sweating
- Chills
- Low-grade fever
- Jaundice (yellowish color of the skin or whites of the eyes)
- Clay-colored stools
The most common medical treatment is to surgically remove the gallbladder. Each year, more than 500,000 Americans have gallbladder surgery. Fortunately, 99 percent of people can live without a gallbladder without any problems. It's not even necessary to change the way you eat. One percent will suffer from diarrhea.
Reduce Your Risk
You can reduce your risk of gallstones by exercising daily, losing weight if you're overweight, eating lower fat meals, and eating healthier fats such as the fats in nuts and fish. |
