5 Things You Should Know About Gallstones
If your doctor has told you that you need to have a gall bladder removal, you might be interested to learn a little bit more about the gall bladder you are about to lose and the gallstones that have made you ill.
1. What Are Gallstones?
The gall bladder stores and concentrates a digestive fluid called bile that is produced by your liver to help break down fatty food. The bile is made up of bile salts, cholesterol and waste products. If the balance isn’t right, small lumps of cholesterol can form into gallstones.
2. What Are The Symptoms Of Gallstones?
You won’t usually know when a gallstone forms, unless it starts to cause problems. If a gallstone begins to irritate your gall bladder, becomes trapped in one of the ducts inside the gall bladder, or moves out of the gall bladder and starts causing problems elsewhere, you can start to experience symptoms, such as pain, nausea, and jaundice.
3. How Can Gallstones Be Treated?
You doctor might want to try using medication to break down your gallstones, but this doesn’t work for most people. The best option for most people is gall bladder removal. The operation can usually be carried out using keyhole surgery, so you should be able to leave hospital fairly quickly.
4. How Long Does It Take to Recover?
You might be able to go home the same day, although some people do have to stay in overnight. You should be able to go about your usual routine within a fortnight and you will be able to exercise normally in about a month. Recovery times are longer of you need to have open surgery for gall bladder removal, but you will be back to normal in about six weeks.
5. Can You Live Without a Gall Bladder?
You should be able to live a perfectly normal life after gall bladder removal. Your liver can still produce bile so you will still be able to digest food normally. Some people find that very fatty or spicy foods are a bit harder to digest after the surgery, but as long as all the gallstones are gone you should feel the same as ever.
1. What Are Gallstones?
The gall bladder stores and concentrates a digestive fluid called bile that is produced by your liver to help break down fatty food. The bile is made up of bile salts, cholesterol and waste products. If the balance isn’t right, small lumps of cholesterol can form into gallstones.
2. What Are The Symptoms Of Gallstones?
You won’t usually know when a gallstone forms, unless it starts to cause problems. If a gallstone begins to irritate your gall bladder, becomes trapped in one of the ducts inside the gall bladder, or moves out of the gall bladder and starts causing problems elsewhere, you can start to experience symptoms, such as pain, nausea, and jaundice.
3. How Can Gallstones Be Treated?
You doctor might want to try using medication to break down your gallstones, but this doesn’t work for most people. The best option for most people is gall bladder removal. The operation can usually be carried out using keyhole surgery, so you should be able to leave hospital fairly quickly.
4. How Long Does It Take to Recover?
You might be able to go home the same day, although some people do have to stay in overnight. You should be able to go about your usual routine within a fortnight and you will be able to exercise normally in about a month. Recovery times are longer of you need to have open surgery for gall bladder removal, but you will be back to normal in about six weeks.
5. Can You Live Without a Gall Bladder?
You should be able to live a perfectly normal life after gall bladder removal. Your liver can still produce bile so you will still be able to digest food normally. Some people find that very fatty or spicy foods are a bit harder to digest after the surgery, but as long as all the gallstones are gone you should feel the same as ever.