What Are Gallstones?
Gallstones are pieces of solid material that form in the gallbladder. The gallstone size may vary from a few inches to golf ball size.
Gallstone’s presence is identified through the extreme pain. It may be due to the obstruction of the gallstone in a duct. It may be totally harmless when present in regions other than the duct. They are referred to as silent gallstones. When the gallstone is stuck in the duct, it may be dangerous for life.
Types of Gallstones
There are two main types of gallstones.
Cholesterol Gallstones
These are usually yellow-green in color as they are made out of cholesterol mixed with bile salts and bilirubin. 80% of gallstones are of this kind.
Pigment Gallstones
These are brown or black stones made out of bilirubin. People who get this type of gallstone usually suffer from liver disease or sickle cell anaemia.
The another type is a mix of both, i.e., cholesterol gallstones and pigment gallstones.
What Are the Symptoms of Gallstones?
You may be affected by the gallstones and still not know it. Symptoms usually appear when there is an obstruction in bile flow from the gall bladder into the small intestine. This is also called a gallbladder attack or biliary colic.
Symptoms of Gallstones Are:
- Pain in the upper right side of the of the belly under your ribs
- Pain in your lower chest region, right shoulder, and back
- An upset stomach
- Nausea and vomiting
- Other digestive problems include indigestion, heartburn, and gas.
Gallstones may pass away naturally. But in a few cases, immediate medical care may be required.
Immediate Medical Care is Required When:
- The belly pain lasts for more than 2 hours
- Fever along with the chills
- Your skin or eyes look yellow
These stages should be given immediate medical attention as they may lead to infection and inflammation. In case this medical situation arises, you can order medicines online. It should not be ignored as it is as dangerous as appendicitis, ulcers, and pancreatitis.
Gallstone Pain
The gallbladder can feel the spasm when the gallstone clogs your bile duct. It may be so bad that it may be difficult to breathe. The gallstone pain may also cause:
- It starts soon after you eat
- It may Wake you up from sleep
- It may last 15 minutes to several hours
- Comes and goes over weeks, months, years
When stuck in the bile duct, gallstones may also increase your heart rate and speed up your blood pressure, which may drop quickly. This may lead to dizziness. Tiredness may also occur if the stone is struck for a long time.
What Causes Gallstones
Gallstones are caused due to various reasons:
- When there is too much cholesterol in the bile, Bile, in general, is used for the digestion process. When not used for digestion, it may lead to gallstone formation.
- There’s too much bilirubin in the bile. Excess bilirubin is caused due to liver diseases and blood disorders.
- Your gall bladder does not empty completely. This can also make the bile very concentrated.
Gallstone Diagnosis
A physical examination accompanied by other tests may be required for gallstone diagnosis.
- Blood tests- they can check for signs of infection
- Abdominal ultrasound- The pictures taken through the ultrasound can show gallstones outside the bile duct.
- CT Scan is a specialised X-ray that can take pictures of inside your body, including the gall bladder.
- Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography- this is also used to take pictures of the gallbladder and liver through the help of magnetic fields and radio pulses.
- Cholescintigraphy- it measures the functionality of the gall bladder. This technique can help in the differentiation between cholecystitis and gallstones.
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography- this test combines ultrasound with endoscopy to see the gallstones in areas that cannot be seen through normal tests.
- Endoscopic ultrasound
Treatment for Gallstones
A gallstone can be treated in two ways.
- Gallstone removal treatment with surgery
- Gallstone treatment without surgery
Gallstone removal is the gallbladder removal process, as gallstones are stuck in the bile duct. The body can function without the gall bladder as the liver can produce the bile.
