What are gallstones?

Gallstones form when liquid stored in the gallbladder hardens into pieces of stone-like material. The liquid, called bile, is used to help the body digest fats. Bile is made in the liver, then stored in the gallbladder until the body needs to digest fat. At that time, the gallbladder contracts and pushes the bile into a tube called a duct that carries it to the small intestine, where it helps with digestion.

Bile contains water, cholesterol, fats, bile salts, and bilirubin. Bile salts break up fat, and bilirubin gives bile and stool a brownish color. If the liquid bile contains too much cholesterol, bile salts, or bilirubin, it can harden into stones.

The two types of gallstones are cholesterol stones and pigment stones. Cholesterol stones are usually yellow-green and are made primarily of hardened cholesterol. They account for about 80 percent of gallstones. Pigment stones are small, dark stones made of bilirubin. Gallstones can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. The gallbladder can develop just one large stone, hundreds of tiny stones, or almost any combination.

The gallbladder and the ducts that carry bile and other digestive enzymes from the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas to the small intestine are called the biliary system.

Gallstones can block the normal flow of bile if they lodge in any of the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the small intestine. That includes the hepatic ducts, which carry bile out of the liver; the cystic duct, which takes bile to and from the gallbladder; and the common bile duct, which takes bile from the cystic and hepatic ducts to the small intestine. Bile trapped in these ducts can cause inflammation in the gallbladder, the ducts, or, rarely, the liver. Other ducts open into the common bile duct, including the pancreatic duct, which carries digestive enzymes out of the pancreas. If a gallstone blocks the opening to that duct, digestive enzymes can become trapped in the pancreas and cause an extremely painful inflammation called pancreatitis.

If any of these ducts remain blocked for a significant period of time, severepossibly fatal damage can occur, affecting the gallbladder, liver, or pancreas. Warning signs of a serious problem are fever, jaundice, and persistent pain.

Overview | Causes | Risks | Symptoms | Diagnosis | Treatment | Gallbladder Function | Tips

Adapted from the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC)

View the original article here

Dieting and Gallstones

Yes. People who lose a lot of weight rapidly are at greater risk for developing gallstones. Gallstones are one of the most medically important complications of voluntary weight loss. The relationship of dieting to gallstones has only recently received attention.

One major study found that women who lost from 9 to 22 pounds (over a 2-year period) were 44 percent more likely to develop gallstones than women who did not lose weight. Women who lost more than 22 pounds were almost twice as likely to develop gallstones.

Other studies have shown that 10 to 25 percent of obese people develop gallstones while on a very-low-calorie diet. (Very-low-calorie diets are usually defined as diets containing 800 calories a day or less. The food is often in liquid form and taken for a prolonged period, typically 12 to 16 weeks.) The gallstones that developed in people on very-low-calorie diets were usually silent and did not produce any symptoms. However, about a third of the dieters who developed gallstones did have symptoms, and a proportion of these required gallbladder surgery.

In short, the likelihood of a person developing symptomatic gallstones during or shortly after rapid weight loss is about 4 to 6 percent. This estimate is based on reviewing just a few clinical studies, however, and is not conclusive.

Researchers believe dieting may cause a shift in the balance of bile salts and cholesterol in the gallbladder. The cholesterol level is increased and the amount of bile salts is decreased. Going for long periods without eating (skipping breakfast, for example), a common practice among dieters, also may decrease gallbladder contractions. If the gallbladder does not contract often enough to empty out the bile, gallstones may form. Possibly. If substantial or rapid weight loss increases the risk of developing gallstones, more gradual weight loss would seem to lessen the risk of getting gallstones. However, studies are needed to test this theory.

Some very-low-calorie diets may not contain enough fat to cause the gallbladder to contract enough to empty its bile. A meal or snack containing approximately 10 grams (one-third of an ounce) of fat is necessary for the gallbladder to contract normally. But again, no studies have directly linked a diet's nutrient composition to the risk of gallstones.

Also, no studies have been conducted on the effects of repeated dieting on gallstone formation.

You bet. Gallstones are common among obese patients who lose weight rapidly after gastric bypass surgery. (In gastric bypass surgery, the size of the stomach is reduced, preventing the person from overeating.)

One study found that more than a third (38 percent) of patients who had gastric bypass surgery developed gallstones afterward. Gallstones are most likely to occur within the first few months after surgery.

Scientists know that weight loss increases the risk of gallstone formation. However, they don't know whether weight loss increases the risk of silent gallstones becoming symptomatic gallstones or of other complications developing. In addition to painful gallstone attacks, complications include inflammation of the gallbladder, liver, or pancreas. These are usually caused by a gallstone getting lodged in a bile duct.

Although excluding people with pre-existing gallstones from a weight-loss program seems prudent, there is no evidence to support this action. If people have had their gallbladders removed, there is little risk of them having gallstones or bile problems while participating in a weight-loss program.

View the original article here

Who is at risk for gallstones?

Women. People over age 60. Native Americans. Mexican-Americans. Overweight men and women. People who fast or lose a lot of weight quickly. Pregnant women, women on hormone therapy, and women who use birth control pills.

Overview | Causes | Risks | Symptoms | Diagnosis | Treatment | Gallbladder Function | Tips

Reprinted from the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC)

More About Gall Bladders

View the original article here

Gallstones - Symptoms - Treatm

Gallstones are the most common and costly digestive disease in the United States, causing more than 800,000 hospitalizations annually at estimated cost of over five billion dollars. More than 20 million Americans have gallstones and approximately one million new cases are diagnosed each year. Women are twice as likely as men to develop gallstones; the higher prevalence of gallstones in women is thought to be caused by multiple pregnancies, obesity, and rapid weight loss. Well over half a million people undergo cholecystectomy (surgical removal of the gallbladder) each year.

The normal function of the gallbladder is to store bile produced by the liver, and to aid in the digestion and absorption of fats in the duodenum (the first portion of the small intestine). Gallstones compose a solid formation of cholesterol and bile salts. However, research shows that approximately 80 to 90 percent of all gallstones are cholesterol gallstones which form when the liver begins secreting bile that is abnormally saturated with cholesterol. The excess cholesterol crystallizes and then forms stones which are stored in the gallbladder or the cystic duct. Gallstones can also form due to low levels of bile acids and bile lecithin.

When I was diagnosed with gallstones at 26, I was told that the typical gallstone patient was fair, fat, and forty. Today gallstones are seen in younger patients, perhaps due to the large amount of fast foods being consumed. My daughter went through five years of vomiting beginning at age 15, leading me to almost believe that she was bulimic, before she was diagnosed with gallstones at age 20. Risk factors which can lead to increased incidence of gallstones include the "Four Fs:" fat, female, fertile, and flatulent, as well as sickle cell disease (bilirubin), cirrhosis, Crohn's disease, diabetes, pancreatic disease, and hyperparathyroidism.

Have Been Diagnosed With Gallbladder Disease?

Share Your Story!

View the original article here