Gallbladder pain symptoms

Gallbladder is a very important organ, which is a part of the body’s digestive system. It contains the bile, which is vital for the conversion and dissolution of the entered food. However, sometimes we can feel gallbladder pain and in the majority of cases, the symptoms of this disorder appear suddenly and usually after a meal.

Symptoms of gallbladder pain

The symptoms of gallbladder pain are obvious and cannot be mistaken for the symptoms of some other disorder. The most common signs are sharp pain in the upper abdomen on the right side and pain between the shoulder blades that spreads more to the right side and to the back. Furthermore, the person with this gallbladder disorder may experience dull and cramping pain, as well as heartburn, bloating and flatulence. One of the symptoms of gallbladder pain is the painful bowel movements with clay-colored stools. Moreover, the person with this condition may have green or yellow skin, especially under the eyes. The above mentioned symptoms of gallbladder usually aggravate and become more severe after a meal rich in fats.

Causes of gallbladder pain

One of the main causes for the occurrence of gallbladder pain is gallstones. It is known that gallbladder has the role to receive the waste products from the liver. The recycled hormone and cholesterol should not be all at once passed from gallbladder to the colon. When recycled cholesterol and minerals mix together in the gallbladder, the gallstones are formed of accumulated excessive cholesterol. Over time, the accumulation becomes larger and stays in the gallbladder. There are cases when these gallstones did not ever cause any pain or any other symptom, but in the majority of cases, gallstones cause intense pain, especially when the liver manufactures a great deal of bile, which flows past gallstones.

Women are more susceptible to the gallstones, which happens because of the hormone estrogen, which holds back the forming of bile salts that have the role to carry cholesterol from the liver and gallbladder to the colon. Moreover, those women who are pregnant or use high-estrogen child birth control pills have the increased level of estrogen and thus are at great risk to develop gallstones.

Prevention of gallstone pain

One of the ways to avoid gallstone attack is to be more physically active. It is proven that those who are physically inactive are at greater risk to experience gallbladder pain. Furthermore, the diet should contain omega-3 fatty acids, but in small amounts.