Most people aren’t aware that they are having a gallbladder attack. Rather, they assume that they are either suffering from appendicitis, kidney stones, heartburn caused by GERD, or another type of medical condition. And that’s mostly because people don’t really know where their gallbladder is located in the body, nor is there much talk about this particular organ.
Similar to the appendix, the gallbladder is yet another body organ that people can actually live without. Located under your liver on the right side of the body, Johns Hopkins Medicine describes the gallbladder as ‘a storage pouch for bile, a liquid that aids digestion. The liver continually makes bile, which is stored in the gallbladder until you eat. When you consume food, the stomach releases a hormone that causes the muscles around the gallbladder to contract and release the bile.’
Although you can survive without your gallbladder, it doesn’t mean that its function isn’t important. Moreover, if you have a gallbladder attack, you won’t only know where your gallbladder is, you’ll soon learn to understand how important it is to your overall health.
What Exactly are Gallstones?
A gallstone attack will not happen without the issue of gallstones. Mayo Clinic describes gallstones as ‘hardened deposits of digestive fluid that can form in your gallbladder.’ They are mostly made of fats, minerals and proteins within the body that range from a tiny speck of sand in size to sometimes as large as a golf ball. More surprising is the fact that in the United States alone, almost 10 to 20 precent of adults will eventually develop gallstones at one point during their lifetime.
What Is a Gallbladder Attack?
Otherwise known as Acute Cholecystitis, a gallbladder attack occurs when the gallstones cause blockages to the ducts as the organ attempts to release all its stored up bile. So as the gallbladder attempts to release them, but the gallstones get stuck within the ducts that lead to the small intestine, the pain is considered quite intense. Plus the fact that gallbladder attacks can happen at any time or in any place, without truly understanding the cause behind it at first, it makes figuring it out even harder. But the faster you figure it out, the quicker you can receive the treatment that you need.
Here are 15 common symptoms of a gall bladder attack:
1. Having A Bad Taste In Your Mouth
One of the most common symptoms of a gallbladder attack is having a bad taste in one’s mouth. As strange as it sounds, it’s a strange taste that just won’t go away either. Some patients have described it as being ‘extremely bitter, almost like the taste of a dissolving aspirin in your mouth,’ which if you’ve had any experience with that, then you’ll know how icky it is. If you notice a bad taste that just won’t go away, while being accompanied by abdominal pain, nausea, headaches, and possibly other symptoms on this list, you may just be having a gallbladder attack. Make sure to seek medical attention immediately.
