What on earth is gallstone? How did the stone get to me? Did
I get it from the food I ate or the water I drank? Where did I go wrong? and
what did I do differently? All these questions and many more, is what go
through the mind once one is diagnosed with gallstone. Sometimes is not your fault that you have
gallstone it just happens.
In this blog I hope to help answers some of the
questions that will be going through your mind when you are diagnosed with gallstone. Let’s start by knowing what on
earth is gallstone.
Overview of Gallstone and Gallbladder
Gallstone is the formation of bile product (fat, bilirubin,
digestive juice) in the gallbladder. This bile product is formed from fats that
come from the food we eat and cholesterol which is also a product of fat. Gall
bladder is a green organ under the liver at the right hand side of the body. The
main function of the gallbladder is to store bile which is used by the liver to
emulsify fat from food. Gall bladder supply of bile to the liver helps in the
part of our fat digestive system. Gallbladder only function when we consume
food that has fat. Outside of fat digestion gallbladder does not play a big role
in our body.
How does this stone form
There are different kinds of crystals that form stones in
our gallbladder. The most common one among people of all ages are cholesterol
stones. Cholesterol gallstones are formed from fats that are not completely
digested or broken down by the liver. These fat because they are not completely
broken down they cannot be able to pass through the bile duct and they form
crystals or stones. These crystals vary in sizes and shapes ranging from grain
of sand to large stone. Regardless of the sizes they all pose some health
problems if they block the liver and they all cause a great pain. As the
gallbladder squeeze bile juice during digestion the presence of the stone
causes pain that radiates and causes flank pain. The upper right sided pain is
what leads to physician to the diagnoses of gallstones. Gallstone is a painful condition, even though the pain goes away for a while it usually returns and if not treated will lead to liver damage.
Work Cited
Image: Health and wellness magazine. http://sflhealthandwellness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Gallstones-300x267.jpg
American Gastroentrological Association https://www.gastro.org/patient-center/digestive-conditions/gallstones
