What is the gallbladder?

Your gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped organ that stores and releases bile.                    

Bile is the fluid your liver produces that helps digest fats in the food you eat.

Where is the gallbladder located?                                                                           

Your gallbladder is located in the upper right part of your abdomen (belly). It sits just under your liver.

What is the function of the gallbladder?

Your gallbladder is part of your digestive system. Its main function is to store bile. Bile helps your digestive system break down fats. Bile is a mixture of mainly cholesterol, bilirubin and bile salts.

How does the gallbladder help other organs?

Your gallbladder is connected to other parts of your digestive system through a series of bile ducts called the biliary tract. The biliary tract (sometimes called biliary system or biliary tree) is a pipe-like system that carries bile from your liver to your small intestine.

What does the gallbladder do?

Before you start eating, your gallbladder is full of bile. When you start eating, your gallbladder receives signals to contract and squeeze the stored bile through the biliary tract. The bile eventually finds its way to your largest bile duct, the common bile duct. Bile passes through the common bile duct into the duodenum, the first part of your small intestine, where it mixes with food waiting to be digested. After you eat, your gallbladder is empty and resembles a deflated balloon, waiting to be filled up again.

What are common issues that affect the gallbladder?

Gallbladder disease includes inflammation, infection, stones or blockage of the gallbladder.

Gallbladder issues include:

Gallstones: The most common condition. Gallstones are typically harmless but can sometimes lead to inflammation and infection. Gallstones are pebble-like objects made of bile material that develop in the gallbladder or bile ducts. There are several reasons why gallstones may form:

• Your liver may secrete more bile than it can dissolve.

• Your body may have excess pigment called bilirubin, which cannot be dissolved.

• The gallbladder might not empty completely or as frequently as it needs to.

Gallstones can be as tiny as grains of sand to as large as golf balls. They’re usually harmless but can cause pain, nausea or inflammation.

Cholecystitis: Cholecystitis is inflammation of your gallbladder. It can occur when a gallstone blocks bile from exiting your gallbladder. Cholecystitis causes fever and pain and usually requires surgery.

Gallstone pancreatitis: Gallstone pancreatitis is inflammation of your pancreas. It occurs when a gallstone travels down the common bile duct and blocks the pancreatic duct at a common point just before draining into the small intestine.

Gallbladder cancer: Gallbladder cancer is rare. You might feel pain in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. But, it is far more likely for this pain to occur due to another condition.

What are the signs or symptoms of gallbladder problems?

The symptoms of gallbladder problems vary. Some people don’t feel gallstones or even know they have them. But if gallstones block the flow of bile, they can affect your gallbladder or pancreas.

The mildest and most common symptom of gallbladder disease is intermittent pain called biliary colic.

Typically, a person experiences a steady gripping or gnawing pain in the upper right abdomen near the rib cage, which can be severe and can radiate to the upper back. Some patients with biliary colic experience the pain behind the breastbone. Nausea or vomiting may occur.

Between 1 percent and 3 percent of people with symptomatic gallstones develop inflammation in the gallbladder (acute cholecystitis), which occurs when stones or sludge block the duct. The symptoms are similar to those of biliary colic but are more persistent and severe. They include pain in the upper right abdomen that is severe and constant and may last for days. Pain frequently increases when drawing a breath. About a third of patients have fever and chills. Nausea and vomiting may occur.

Chronic gallbladder disease involves gallstones and mild inflammation. In such cases, the gallbladder may become scarred and stiff. Symptoms of chronic gallbladder disease include complaints of gas, nausea and abdominal discomfort after meals and chronic diarrhoea.

Stones lodged in the common bile duct can cause symptoms that are similar to those produced by stones that lodge in the gallbladder, but they may also cause:

• Jaundice

• Dark urine, lighter stools or both

• Rapid heartbeat and abrupt blood pressure drop

• Fever, chills, nausea and vomiting, with severe pain in the upper right abdomen

How are gallbladder issues treated?

Most cases of gallstones clear up without surgery. Some stones are tiny and would not cause long-term discomfort. It is possible to clear gallstones with medication or non-surgical treatments. Large stones, infections, or those that cause severe, chronic pain may require surgery.

If surgery is required to remove the gallbladder this is usually performed laparoscopically (through small incisions).

You can lead a perfectly normal life without a gallbladder. Your liver will still produce bile to digest food, but the bile will just drip continuously into the small intestine, rather than build up in the gallbladder.

Treating gallstones without surgery

Cleanse/flush

If you would prefer to treat your symptoms more naturally, some people have found that a gallbladder cleanse or flush can help break up the gallstones and clear the gallbladder.

The flush involves consuming a combination of apple juice or sour cherry juice, olive oil and Epsom salts, in a very controlled way, over several days.

The Liver and Gallbladder Flush Link to article has been shown to be effective in clearing gallstones and is well worth considering.

Acupuncture

Studies have shown that acupuncture may help relieve some of the pain from gallstones by reducing spasms, easing bile flow, and restoring proper function.

One small study was done to look at the effects of acupuncture on cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder) in 60 participants. Acupuncture was found to relieve symptoms and reduce the volume of the gallbladder.