What Are the Symptoms of a Gallbladder Attack

WHAT IS A GALLBLADDER ATTACK?

One of the most painful gastrointestinal problems is gallbladder attacks. These attacks occur when bile and minerals in the gallbladder form small stone-like deposits or gallstones. As a result, the gallbladder tries to pass the stones through the bile ducts and the stones tend to get stuck and cause anywhere from mild to severe pain.

The gallbladder is a small, green pear-shaped organ in the upper right side of the abdomen near the ribcage. It is about 4-inches long and sits below the liver. To aid digestion and break down fat, the gallbladder stores a yellowish liquid called bile.

Gallstones form in the gallbladder when things in the bile like cholesterol harden. Sometimes gallstones can block the bile duct and cause gallbladder issues.

Note that some people may have small gallstones and pass them without an aggressive attack. Though, when larger gallstones get stuck, they cause gallbladder attacks. Learn about the symptoms, treatments, and causes behind gallbladder attacks.

GALLBLADDER ATTACK SYMPTOMS

Typically, a gallbladder attack feels like a sharp, gripping pain in the upper right or upper middle section of your abdomen that gets worse. Pain can last between twenty minutes to a few hours. Usually, these attacks occur after eating foods high in fat or cholesterol. After a fatty meal, the body attempts to release bile from the gallbladder for digestion, but cannot because of a gallstone blockage.

Gallbladder attack symptoms usually include:

• Pain lasting several hours
• Abdominal pain after eating
• Nausea or vomiting
• Fever or chills
• Lighter-colored stool
• Diarrhea
• Dark or brown-colored urine
• Jaundice, or yellow-ish skin or whites of eyes

The earliest warning sign of a gallbladder problem is sudden sharp pain in the chest, back, or or abdomen. The pain can be intermittent and mild or ongoing and severe.

Furthermore, the pain can become worse with deep breathing or eating, especially a fatty meal like steak. Neither passing gas nor pooping relieve the pain.

If the pain is severe and does not go away after a few hours, do to the doctor; if you cannot tolerate the pain, go to the ER.

Now, there are actually two subtypes of gallbladder disease that lead to attack-like symptoms. The first type is cholecystitis, and the second type is choledocholithiasis.

CHOLECYSTITIS

(koh-luh-si-stai-tuhs) Redness, swelling, or inflammation of the gallbladder due to blockage of the bile duct from excess bile production or gallstones. This disease can occur both chronically or acutely.

Symptoms include:

• Severe pain that starts suddenly in the upper right of your abdomen
• Pain that radiates to the back or below your right shoulder blade
• Bloating
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Chills
• Fever
• Sweating
• Abdominal cramping
• Jaundice (yellowing skin)
• Cholecystitis can also cause a yellowing of the whites of the eyes.

Consult with your doctor if you experience these symptoms repeatedly. They will carefully test your symptoms to eliminate the possibility of further infections, tumors, or blood vessel issues.

ACUTE CHOLECYSTITIS

The most obvious sign of acute cholecystitis is the sudden onset of intense pain near the upper right of the abdomen or under the right shoulder blade, which radiates outward. The pain gets worse with deep breathing as the diaphragm will put pressure on the liver, which then irritates the gallbladder further.

• Pain aggravated by deep breathing
• Fever
• Sweating
• Appetite Loss
• Jaundice
• An abdominal bulge
• Sudden onset of pain lasting several hours

CHOLEDOCHOLITHIASIS

In contrast to the previous condition, this type of vein disease occurs when a gallstone gets stuck in the bile duct. Most of the time, people with gallstones will not notice their passing. However, when a gallstone does get stuck, it causes abdominal pain typically associated with gallbladder disease.

Symptoms include:

• Pain in the upper right abdomen
• Fever
• Yellowing eyes
• Yellowing skin
• Appetite loss
• Nausea and vomiting
• Light, grey, or clay-colored stools
• Dark-colored or tea-colored urine

If these gallbladder attack symptoms last more than two hours or you have a fever, you may need to go to the hospital for emergency medical care.