What are gallstones? | Corewell Health

It can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball.

It can cause a lot of pain.

Gallstones affect millions of people of all ages every year.

Certain factors can increase your risk. If you’re a woman — and you’ve had children — or if you’re over 40, your risk of developing gallstones is higher.

Other contributing factors include being overweight, having diabetes, or having a family history of gallstones.

Gallstones can trigger a gallbladder attack, which can begin with waves of cramping down the right side of the rib cage before gradually moving to the back, progressing to severe pain, nausea, diarrhea, or vomiting.

And because the typical American diet is so high in fat — often with a higher percentage of animal fat than vegetable — gallbladder problems have become all too common.

“We’re not sure exactly what causes gallbladder damage, but we do know that the stones are caused by cholesterol in the bile,” she says. Jeffrey Joel, MD, surgeon general at Corewell Health, said. “Lowering cholesterol can be a good preventive measure, as well as weight loss in general.”

Gallstones usually affect people between the ages of 20 and 74, but they can also develop in patients in their mid-teens and those in their 80s and 90s.

For young adults, obesity can be a contributing factor. For the elderly, it may simply result from an aging gallbladder.

What are gallstones?

The gallbladder stores bile produced by the liver. This bile is basically a mixture of cholesterol, bilirubin, and bile salts.

After eating, the gallbladder releases bile through the small ducts of the digestive tract to aid in the digestion of fat. However, some of these materials can harden gallstoneswhich can get stuck in the digestive tract and block the flow of bile.

This can cause the gallbladder to spasm, leading to gallbladder seizures.

“There is a myth that a gallbladder attack can occur after a large meal,” said Dr. Gowell. “It’s not quite true. It’s not the size of the meal but the amount of fat in the meal that stimulates the gallbladder – and that can trigger an attack, usually about half an hour after the meal.”

A gallbladder attack can last anywhere from 30 minutes to four hours.

A doctor can diagnose gallstones in several ways, including through the use of an ultrasound, a small caliber scope called SpyGlass, a combination of x-rays and an endoscopy.

Once diagnosed, gallstones must be treated. If not treated, it can lead to infection or inflammation called cholecystitis, which can cause fever and pain.

Gallstones are not like kidney stones that can pass through the body without medical intervention.

“If you have symptoms associated with[gallbladder stones]you will need to have surgery to remove your gallbladder,” Dr. Jawel said. “It’s the second most common surgery I have.”

correct treatment

The procedure to remove the gallbladder and any gallstones in the gallbladder is called a cholecystectomy.

It takes less than an hour. To recover, you will need about three to seven days before resuming normal activities.

Because the gallbladder is not an essential organ, you can live a normal life without it.

After the surgeon removes the gallbladder, the bile flows from the ducts directly into the digestive tract, rather than being stored in the gallbladder.

In the past, gallbladder removal required major surgery. Today, it is almost always performed by a minimally invasive outpatient laparoscopic procedure.

Before and after surgery, Dr. Jawel recommends patients to avoid foods that are high in fat. That includes fast food.

“One in 20 people may notice an intolerance to fatty foods even after surgery,” said Dr. Gowell. “They may experience diarrhea after eating a heavy meal. We recommend that you avoid fatty foods immediately after surgery and then gradually reintroduce fats into your diet.”

Dr. Jawel also recommends avoiding untested quick fixes that you might find online.

“Don’t try what you might see on the Internet, which is called flash,” he warned. “This is taking rectal oil after you’ve gone days without any fat in your diet in an attempt to ‘flush out’ the gallstones. This can actually cause a gallbladder attack that requires emergency surgery.”

If you experience upper abdominal discomfort when eating greasy or greasy foods, make an appointment with your primary care physician.