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The gallbladder is a small pear-shaped organ that stores and concentrates bile. The gallbladder is connected to the liver by the hepatic duct. It is approximately 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10.2 cm) long and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide.
The function of the gallbladder is to store bile and concentrate. Bile is a digestive liquid continually secreted by the liver. The bile emulsifies fats and neutralizes acids in partly digested food. A muscular valve in the common bile duct opens, and the bile flows from the gallbladder into the cystic duct, along the common bile duct, and into the duodenum (part of the small intestine).
The most common symptoms of gallbladder include:
Abdominal discomfort
Gas
Belching
Bloating
Abdominal pain
Diarrhea
Nausea
Stools may become lighter in color. You may also experience constipation. The pain in your abdominal area can start right after having a meal. This pain can last for fifteen minutes, but in some cases, it can last for several hours. The pain is located under the ribcage, on the right side. If the pain is severe and accompanied by vomiting, you should contact your doctor, because these are signs of a gallbladder attack.
The pain of gallbladder disease almost always has one of two causes - gallstones or cholecystitis. Gallstones are stones that form in the gallbladder (often misspelled gall bladder). They vary in size from a millimeter or two to several centimeters and are made up of cholesterol or pigment. Cholecystitis means inflammation of the gallbladder. Although, cholecystitis is most commonly caused by gallstones, there are other less common causes as well.
Gallstones have a tendency to become lodged in the bile ducts leading from the gallbladder or liver, and into the intestines. When gallstones lodge in the ducts, they give rise to a specific type of pain called biliary colic. The characteristics of biliary colic are very consistent, and it is important to recognize its characteristics because they direct the physician to the most appropriate test to diagnose gallstones, primarily abdominal ultrasonography. In approximately 5% of cases, ultrasonography will fail to show gallstones. In such situations, if the characteristics of biliary colic are typical, physicians will go on to other more advanced tests for diagnosing gallstones, specifically endoscopic ultrasound. Finally, most gallstones do not cause pain, and are frequently found incidentally during abdominal ultrasonography. If the symptoms for which the ultrasonography is being done are not typical of biliary colic, it is unlikely that the symptoms are caused by gallstones. The gallstones can be truly silent. This is important to recognize because surgery to remove the gallstones is unlikely to relieve the symptoms.
When gallstones lodge suddenly in the duct leading from the gallbladder (cystic duct), the duct leading from the liver to the cystic duct (common hepatic duct), or the duct leading from the cystic duct to the intestine (common bile duct), the normal flow of bile from the liver is interrupted. With obstruction of the common hepatic or common bile duct, the backup of bile causes the ducts (and the gallbladder in the latter case) to distend. This distention (stretching) is the cause of the biliary colic. When obstruction of the cystic duct occurs, fluid is secreted into the gallbladder causing it to distend. Again, the distention causes biliary colic. Biliary colic stops when the gallstone unlodges from the duct.
Gallbladder treatment for gallstones can take days or weeks depending upon the severity of the disease. The treatment of gallstones can sometimes be difficult and painful as well. You may experience fever, nausea, and pain on the right upper quadrant of your abdomen.
Sometimes the liver is also affected resulting in jaundice, which is the yellow discoloration of your eyes, skin and the mucus membranes. Early detection of the condition can help a lot for a good prognosis. Here are common treatments for gallstones.
Doctors perform surgery as a gall bladder treatment when they want to remove the entire gallbladder because of various stones, which block the veins or arteries of the organ. This invasive procedure however, is the last resort when everything else has failed. You should exhaust alternative gall bladder treatments first before resorting to surgery.
Dissolution, as the term implies, concerns dissolving the stones through therapeutic drugs. There are alternative treatments that are non-invasive and that you can use as well to dissolve the stones in your gall bladder.
The purpose of this method is to flush the stones from your gallbladder. It will not be easy, but with the correct procedure and substance, you can do this. For successful gallbladder treatment, you need lots of water in your system to help flush these unwanted stones. Grape juice is one natural substance you could use for a gallstone cleanse.
If you feel sharp stabbing pains in you right upper quadrant, and you have fever, then you have to consult your doctor.
You can use this as a prevention and treatment for stone formation in your gallbladder. You have to be sure that you do not have allergies related to the substance before initiating therapy.
Aside from grape juice, berry juice is also a possible gall bladder treatment option. You can mix it with a little sugar to taste. Taken in regularly, berry juice will enhance the elimination of gallstones and therefore reduce your risk of surgery.
When choosing an appropriate gall bladder treatment, it is wise to consult a doctor and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each treatment. Your doctor will know your medical history so he can correlate everything to come up with the best treatment for you. The success of the treatment will depend upon how your body will respond physiologically.