Gallstones (cont.)

Medical Author:

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Dr. Balentine received his undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating in1983. He completed his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and his Emergency Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, where he served as chief resident.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Most people with gallstones (60% to 80%) have no symptoms. In fact, they are usually unaware that they have gallstones unless symptoms occur. These "silent gallstones" usually require no treatment.

Symptoms usually occur as complications develop. The most common symptom is pain in the right upper part of the abdomen. Because the pain comes in episodes, it is often referred to as an "attack."

• Attacks may occur every few days, weeks, or months; they may even be separated by years.
  
  
• The pain usually starts within 30 minutes after a fatty or greasy meal.
  
  
• The pain is usually severe, dull, and constant, and can last from one to five hours.
  
  
• It may radiate to the right shoulder or back.
  
  
• It occurs frequently at night and may awaken the person from sleep.
  
  
• The pain may make the person want to move around to seek relief, but many patients prefer to lay still and wait for the attack to subside.

Other common symptoms of gallstones include the following:

• nausea and vomiting,
  
  
• fever,
  
  
• indigestion, belching, bloating,
  
  
• intolerance for fatty or greasy foods, and
  
  
• jaundice (yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes).

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