This small pouch is located just below your liver. It stores a fluid called bile, which your liver makes. Bile breaks down fats. When you eat, your gallbladder sends bile through the ducts to your small intestine to help you digest food. So what are the symptoms and causes of gallbladder attacks? Let's see together.

Gallbladder Attacks

When bile can't get in and out of your gallbladder, it causes the symptoms that make up the attack. Too much bile in your gallbladder irritates it and causes inflammation and pain.

Pain

A gallbladder attack often causes sudden pain that gets worse. You may feel it in the upper or middle of your abdomen, in your back, between your shoulder blades, or in your right shoulder. You may also vomit or have nausea.

Jaundice

Backed up bile can get into your bloodstream and cause yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes. You may have a fever or chills. Your urine may turn dark and your poop may be light in color.

Causes of Gallbladder Attacks

Gallstone

Too much cholesterol or bilirubin in your bile can cause crystals to form. Together they form the stones. These can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. They are not a problem unless they get stuck in your bile ducts and prevent the bile from coming out. This is the most common cause of gallbladder attacks.

Other Causes

Any other condition that prevents your gallbladder from working properly can cause an attack. These include cholecystitis, tumors, abscesses, sclerosing cholangitis, abnormal tissue growth, or chronic non-calcite gallbladder disease that prevents your gallbladder from functioning as it should.

Weight and Diet

If you eat foods high in calories and refined carbohydrates and don't get much fiber, you increase your risk of gallbladder attack. Also, being obese and losing weight quickly can trigger gallbladder attacks.

Gender

Women between the ages of 20 and 60 have a higher chance of getting gallstones than men. Extra estrogen in your body from pregnancy, hormone replacement therapy, or birth control pills can be the cause.