The gallbladder is a small sack just under the liver. A healthy gallbladder stores bile made by the liver. This bile is used during digestion to help break down fats. After a meal, the gallbladder squeezes out the bile it’s holding through tubes called ducts into the small intestine.
Sometimes substances in the bile will crystallize. These crystallized substances are called gallstones. Most gallstones are harmless, but they can cause pain, nausea, inflammation, and occasionally infection. Gallstones are a fairly common occurrence, and most will eventually make their way out of the body through the same ducts into the small intestine as non-crystallized bile substances.
When gallstones cause pain, it’s known as a gallbladder attack. Gallbladder attacks most often happen suddenly, lasting anywhere between a few minutes and several hours. The following list is offered to help you better understand the signs and symptoms of a gallbladder attack.
1. Abdominal Pain
When gallstones become stuck in a duct, they can cause sudden abdominal pain. The pain will most often occur in the upper right area of the abdomen right below the ribcage. Some people have had pain start right underneath the breast bone in the upper center area of the abdomen. The initial pain from a gallbladder attack may feel sharp, stabbing, dull, or cramping. The suddenness might take your breath away. The pain will feel steady in nature as opposed to coming in waves of lessening and surging. After the initial pain hits, it may radiate outward from the original pain point to other areas of the abdomen, sometimes to other areas of the body entirely. It can radiate lower until the pain rests in the middle of the abdomen near the belly button. A common complaint is after the initial pain hits, it radiates to the back between the shoulder blades.
In rare cases, it’s possible to experience a gallbladder attack without pain. If you’re worried that you’re experiencing gallbladder attacks, it’s important to contact your doctor for adequate diagnosis. Your doctor will be able to tell you if your symptoms are caused by gallstones and offer a viable treatment plan.
2. Nausea
Nausea is a common symptom with gallbladder related issues, including a gallbladder attack. It is a feeling of discomfort or unease in the stomach area. It can make you feel like you need to throw up. It can be described as feeling queasy or sick to your stomach. It can precede vomiting, but it does not always. You may also dry heave while nauseated. Dry heaving is when your body goes through the reflexes of vomiting without actually forcing out food. If you experience prolonged nausea, you should consider contacting your doctor as it may be a sign of serious illness.
3. Pain After Meals
Pain after meals, especially fatty meals, is a hallmark symptom of a gallbladder attack. It doesn’t have to be fatty meals though. If you tend to overeat and have gallstones causing inflammation in your gallbladder, you may find that you experience pain not long after you eat. Your gallbladder will still try to do its job in the digestion of your food by squeezing out bile to the small intestine. This can cause further irritation in an already inflamed gallbladder, especially if a gallstone is stuck in a duct. The pain can last from around 15 minutes to several hours.
4. Stomachache
A stomachache is a specific kind of abdominal pain that happens near the belly button. It can feel dull, achy, sharp, or cramping in nature. With a gallbladder attack, it can happen shortly after eating, or it can happen after the pain originates in the upper abdomen area and radiates outward. In most cases it will be a steady pain once it starts. Everyone gets a stomachache now and then. The occasional stomachache shouldn’t cause alarm. However, if you experience recurring stomachaches along with other signs and symptoms on this list, it may be time to set up an appointment with your doctor.
5. Vomiting
Vomiting, also known as throwing up, is when the body forcefully ejects the contents of the stomach out of the body through the mouth. This is often preceded by queasiness, gagging, feeling like you need to bend over, and a clenching or lurching feeling in your stomach. With gallbladder attacks, it tends to happen after you’ve eaten a fatty meal. Many people feel relief from stomach pain and queasiness afterwards, and you may feel sleepy as well. The act is uncomfortable, but it shouldn’t feel painful. If you’re experiencing severe abdominal pain and vomiting at the same time, you should seek medical attention.
6. Yellowing of the Whites of the Eyes
Yellowing of the whites of the eyes is known as jaundice. Jaundice is caused when the bile pigment bilirubin builds up in the body. Bilirubin is yellow and gives bile its color. In the case of gallbladder attacks, the gallstones block the gallbladder ducts and cause bilirubin to back up into the liver. From the liver, bilirubin gets mixed into your bloodstream and spread throughout the body. It’s not toxic until it reaches high concentrated levels, but it is a sign that something has gone wrong in the body. If your eyes have gone yellow, it’s time to see your doctor.
7. Yellowish Skin
Jaundice doesn’t just affect the eyes. If bilirubin has entered your bloodstream, you will also experience yellowish skin. Bilirubin isn’t the only thing to cause yellowish skin. If you eat a lot of carrots or take beta-carotene tablets for vitamin A, you may experience skin yellowing. This is called carotenemia. If you reduce the amount of vitamin A you’re taking in, then your skin will return to normal. A quick way to tell the difference between jaundice and carotenemia is that jaundice will always turn your skin and the whites of your eyes yellow. Carotenemia will not affect your eyes.
8. Abdominal Tenderness
Abdominal tenderness, also known as point tenderness, is when you feel pain while pressure is applied to parts of the abdomen. This is generally a sign of inflammation wherever the abdominal tenderness occurs. The pain felt can be mild to severe. With gallbladder attacks, the abdominal tenderness will tend to be located around the upper right part of the abdomen or near the belly button. While your abdominal tenderness might not be caused by gallbladder issues, it’s important that you seek medical attention. All known causes of point tenderness are considered medical emergencies and can be life threatening if left untreated.
