What are gallstones symptoms?
Gallstones generally don’t cause symptoms unless they get stuck and create a blockage. This blockage causes symptoms, most commonly upper abdominal pain and nausea. These may come and go, or they may come and stay. You might develop other symptoms if the blockage is severe or lasts a long time, like:
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- Sweating.
- Fever.
- Fast heart rate.
- Abdominal swelling and tenderness.
- Yellow tint to your skin and eyes.
- Dark-colored pee and light-colored poop.
What is gallstone pain like?
Typical gallstone pain is sudden and severe and may make you sick to your stomach. This is called a gallstone attack or gallbladder attack. You might feel it most severely after eating, when your gallbladder contracts, creating more pressure in your biliary system. It might wake you from sleep.
Gallstone pain that builds to a peak and then slowly fades is called biliary colic. It comes in episodes that may last minutes to hours. The episode ends when and if the stone moves or the pressure eases. People describe the pain as intense, sharp, stabbing, cramping or squeezing. You might be unable to sit still.
Where is gallstone pain located?
Your biliary system is located in the upper right quadrant of your abdomen, which is under your right ribcage. Most people feel gallstone pain in this region. But sometimes, it can radiate to other areas. Some people feel it in their right arm or shoulder or in their back between their shoulder blades.
Some people feel gallstone pain in the middle of their abdomen or chest. This can be confusing because the feeling might resemble other conditions. Some people mistake gallstone pain for heartburn or indigestion. Others might feel like they’re having a heart attack, which is a different emergency.
Are gallstones symptoms different in a female?
Gallstone symptoms aren’t different in women or people assigned female at birth (AFAB). But people AFAB may be more likely to experience referred pain — pain that you feel in a different place from where it started. So, they may be more likely to experience gallstone pain in their arm, shoulder, chest or back.
People AFAB are also more prone to chronic pain, and they may be more likely to dismiss pain that comes and goes, like biliary colic does. It’s important to see a healthcare provider about any severe or recurring pain, even if it goes away. Once you’ve had a gallstone attack, you’re likely to have another.
What triggers gallstone pain?
Gallstone pain means that a gallstone has gotten stuck in your biliary tract and caused a blockage. If it’s a major blockage, you might feel it right away. If it’s only a partial blockage, you might not notice until your gallbladder contracts, creating more pressure in your system. Eating triggers this contraction.
A rich, heavy or fatty meal will trigger a bigger gallbladder contraction. That’s because your small intestine detects the fat content in your meal and tells your gallbladder how much bile it will need to help break it down. Your gallbladder responds by squeezing the needed bile out into your bile ducts.
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What are the important warning signs of gallstones?
Biliary colic is the only warning sign of gallstones that you’ll get. It happens when a gallstone causes a temporary blockage, then manages to move out of the way and let bile flow through again. Even though the pain eventually goes away, it’s important to recognize these episodes as the warning that they are.
Once a gallstone has caused a blockage in your biliary tract, it’s likely to keep happening. The same one may be hanging around the same tight spot and continuing to grow. Or you may have more gallstones waiting in the wings. One day, a gallstone might get stuck and stay stuck. This would be an emergency.
What are the possible complications of having gallstones?
If a gallstone blocks the flow of bile through your biliary system, it can affect any or all of the organs in that system. Bile that can’t flow backs up into your bile ducts and organs, causing acute inflammation and encouraging bacterial infections. When severe, these conditions can become life-threatening.
Complications include:
- Cholecystitis (gallbladder inflammation).
- Pancreatitis (pancreas inflammation).
- Cholangitis (bile duct inflammation).
- Hepatitis (liver inflammation).
- Jaundice (bile in your bloodstream).
- Septicemia (an infection in your bloodstream).
Can gallstones make you tired and dizzy?
Dizziness and fatigue are symptoms of low blood pressure. These aren’t typical symptoms of gallstones. However, low blood pressure is a possible side effect of gallstone complications. Severe inflammation or infection in your biliary system could trigger a faster heart rate along with a drop in blood pressure.
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What causes gallstones?
Gallstones form when there’s an excess of one of the main ingredients in bile. The excess ingredient turns to sediment at the bottom of your gallbladder or bile ducts, and the sediment gradually hardens into stones. Cholesterol stones are the most common type. Pigment (bilirubin) stones are the other.
A variety of factors may be involved in this process, including:
- Excess cholesterol. Your liver extracts cholesterol from your blood to make bile. If there’s too much cholesterol in your blood, the proportions in your bile will be off. Bile needs a balance of lipids and acids to hold all the ingredients together. Any excess will fall by the wayside.
- Excess bilirubin. Bilirubin is a byproduct of broken-down old red blood cells. You might have an excess of bilirubin if you have a blood disorder that destroys too many red blood cells, or if your liver is impaired in some way and struggling to process its normal load of bilirubin into bile.
- Not enough bile acids (bile salts). Certain diseases can cause bile acid malabsorption, which means that you lose bile acids in your poop. If you lose too many, your liver won’t have enough left to make bile with. The lack of bile acids creates an excess of lipids (cholesterol) in your bile.
- Cholestasis or gallbladder stasis. “Stasis” means inactivity. If your bile ducts or gallbladder aren’t moving bile effectively through your biliary tract, the bile is more likely to form sediment. This might be an issue with the muscles or with the chemical signaling that tells them to move.
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What risk factors contribute to gallstones (cholelithiasis)?
A variety of diseases and conditions can affect your bile flow or your cholesterol, bilirubin or bile acid levels. But not everyone with gallstones has an underlying condition. Some of the most common risk factors are normal factors, like your age, genetic profile, hormone levels and weight fluctuations.
Risk factors include:
- Age. Gallstones take time to develop and grow large enough to cause an obstruction. Men and people assigned male at birth (AMAB) are more likely to get them after age 60. Women and people AFAB are more likely to get them during their fertile years, roughly between the ages of 20 and 50.
- Hormones. Women and people AFAB are three times more likely to get gallstones than men and people AMAB. Their risk peaks and declines with their estrogen and progesterone levels. Estrogen increases cholesterol levels, while progesterone slows your gallbladder from emptying.
- Weight. Body fat releases estrogen, so having more of it raises your estrogen levels and your cholesterol levels. On the other hand, rapid weight loss, like after weight loss surgery, can also cause gallstones. Losing body fat quickly releases large loads of cholesterol into your bile.
- Genetics. If you’re of Native American or Mexican descent, your genetic profile makes you more prone to higher cholesterol levels in your bile, leading to gallstones. If you have a family history of gallstones, you may be more likely to develop them, regardless of your racial heritage.
