And her gallbladder decides it’s time to make its presence known

Who’d have thought that my 19-year-old daughter could get knocked flat on her back with a gallstone. but she did. And from the pain I saw she had, I never imagined that gallstones were that painful.

My kids like to bug me, saying that I ignore them or don’t take them seriously when they complain of pain. What they don’t realize is that I take them very seriously and I watch them like a hawk when they complain – they just don’t see it. When my daughter showed me where the pain was, I suspected gallbladder right away, but it’s not something you usually associate with someone who is only 19, eats a better diet than anyone you know, isn’t overweight, hasn’t lost a lot of weight, doesn’t eat junk food, isn’t on oral hormones, and isn’t too skinny. So, I waited a bit and then, when it was obvious she was in too much pain and she insisted, off to the ER we went.

Luckily, for her, the stone passed and her pain level dropped. She was also told that if she feels the pain again, to go straight to the emergency. I’m glad they told her because it’s hard to tell what type of abdominal pain is serious enough to warrant a middle-of-the-night ER visit and what isn’t.

What are gallstones?

Gallstones are made of  cholesterol or calcium salts that have formed in your gallbladder or nearby bile ducts and have become solid. You can have silent gallstones, ones you have no idea are there and cause no symptoms.

What are the symptoms of gallstones?

• Chronic indigestion: Signs and symptoms of indigestion may include nausea, gas, bloating and sometimes abdominal pain.
• Upper abdominal pain: Intense pain in your upper middle or upper right abdomen. Gallbladder pain usually starts in your upper middle or upper right abdomen and may shift to your back or right shoulder blade.
• Nausea and vomiting
• Fever

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