| Once you suffer from your first gallbladder attack, you | | | | do away with the stones, at least you will be putting |
| will find yourself hoping that it never, again, happens. | | | | less of a burden on your liver. |
| Unfortunately, if you have gallstones, the pain is very | | | | Diagnosing Gallstones |
| likely to return until you resolve the problem. While | | | | Aside from the pattern of pain, gallstones are fairly |
| gallstones do not always cause a life threatening | | | | easy to detect with ultrasound and CT scans. Both of |
| condition, you should never assume that you can | | | | these procedures are painless, and do not require |
| simply "diet" away this problem. In most cases, once | | | | hospitalization. In fact, once your doctor obtains the |
| gallstones form, it will take medical intervention to get | | | | results of these scans, he/she may conclude that you |
| rid of them. | | | | do not need immediate surgery. As long as the stones |
| Symptoms Associated with Gallstones | | | | are small and not obstructing the bile duct or the |
| Even though your gallbladder is located in the region | | | | pancreas, you can easily go on for years without |
| below the right side of your ribcage, pains can show | | | | further intervention. That said, you will also need to |
| up in unusual places. This includes between your | | | | ensure that you know how to avoid a gallstone flare |
| shoulder blades, just below the right shoulder, or in your | | | | up. |
| back. Typically, gallbladder pain will increase in intensity | | | | Making a Choice about Surgical Intervention |
| for about half of an hour, and then continue on for | | | | Over the years, researchers have searched for a |
| another hour before finally subsiding. Many people will | | | | number of ways to reduce the number of surgeries |
| tell you that this pain is every bit as bad as what you | | | | performed for gallstones. Among other things, you |
| may experience with kidney stones. If the stones are | | | | may be able to make use of medications that will |
| preventing bile from leaving the liver, you may also | | | | dissolve the stones. While the stones may reappear |
| experience nausea, jaundice, chills, and other signs of | | | | later on, at least you will not need to deal with the |
| liver damage. In some cases, gallstones can also lead | | | | complications of surgery. Even though gallbladder |
| to inflammation of the pancreas. Since both situations | | | | removal is a fairly safe procedure, some patients end |
| represent life threatening emergencies, you should | | | | up with diarrhea and nausea for the rest of their lives |
| seek medical attention immediately. | | | | Each year, thousands of people discover that they |
| Risk Factors for Developing Gallbladder Disease | | | | have gallstones. While many of these people do not |
| Contrary to popular belief, a diet high in cholesterol will | | | | need to undergo immediate surgical intervention, |
| not increase your risk of developing gallstones. While | | | | gallbladder disease can still be painful and distressing. If |
| these stones are most often made up of cholesterol, | | | | you are not currently suffering from gallbladder |
| using birth control pills, and hormone replacement | | | | disease, you may want to evaluate various aspects of |
| therapy all seem to have a significant impact on getting | | | | your lifestyle in order to see if you can reduce your |
| this disease. If you are over 40, age alone can also | | | | risks as much as possible. As with many other things |
| lead to an increased chance of developing gallstones. | | | | related to your health, limiting exposure to things that |
| Depending upon the situation, you may find that | | | | will increase your risk of developing gallstones will, in |
| avoiding fried or fatty foods will help reduce the | | | | the long run, be of benefit to your health. |
| number of painful attacks that occur. While this will not | | | | |