The main symptom of gallbladder stones is biliary colic, which is sudden, severe pain on the right side of the abdomen. This pain usually appears approximately 30 minutes 1 hour after the meal, but disappears after the end of food digestion, because the gallbladder is no longer stimulated to release bile.
It is important that gallbladder calculus is quickly identified by imaging tests and thus treatment is initiated, which can be done with the use of medications to dissolve the stones or surgery, depending on the number of stones and how often symptoms appear.
So, if you think you have a calculation, select your symptoms
However, symptoms occur in some cases, so gallstones can be discovered during routine exams, such as abdominal ultrasounds. For example, people at higher risk of gallbladder stones should schedule an appointment with the gastroenterologist to monitor and identify the problem early on.
The gallbladder is responsible for storing bile, a greenish fluid that helps digest fat. At the time of digestion, bile passes through the bile ducts and reaches the intestine, but the presence of stones can block this path, causing inflammation of the gallbladder and pain.
It can also happen that the stones are small and can pass through the bile ducts until they reach the intestine, where they will be eliminated with the stool.
If symptoms occur, you should consult your family doctor or gastroenterologist. If the pain is constant or if in addition to the pain there is fever and vomiting, you should go to the emergency room.
Diagnosis of gallbladder stones is usually done by ultrasound. However, more specific tests, such as MRIs, scanners, or CT scans, may be used to identify whether the gallbladder is inflamed or not.
Gallbladder stones are formed by changes in bile composition, and some factors that can cause these changes include:
Because of hormonal differences, women are more likely to have gallstones than men. Learn more about the causes of gallstones.
Treatment of gallbladder calculus should be guided by a gastroenterologist and is based on the size of the stones and the presence or absence of symptoms. People with small stones or those who don’t have symptoms often take medications to break stones, such as ursodiol, but it may be years before they disappear.
On the other hand, people with frequent symptoms are indicated for surgery to remove the gallbladder. There is also a treatment with shock waves that breaks gallbladder stones in smaller stones, such as kidney stones. In addition, the patient should avoid a high-fat diet, such as frying or red meats, and regular physical activity. See more details on treating gallstones.
Learn how to feed gallbladder calculus by observing: