If you’ve spent any time around doctors, you’ll know that we find no greater pleasure in life than to give confusing and technical names to otherwise simple conditions. Take for example, cholelithiasis a condition more commonly known as a gallstone. Gallstones are usually made primarily of cholesterol, and in some cases calcium, which has clumped together in to a hard mass. Using the Latin roots for the name, instead of the more easily remembered common nomenclature, adds at least ten IQ points to a doctor when he gives you the diagnosis.
Gallstones are extremely common in America, with approximately 10% of men and 20% of women having at least a small stone in the gallbladder by age 65. Gallstones are not spread evenly about the population however. Some risk factors are not so easily controlled, such as being female or Native American. But before you despair and resign yourself to having a clumpy ball of hardened fat plugging up the plumbing, there are certain things you can do to lower your risk.
There is a good correlation between obesity and the formation of gallstones. Ironically, there is also increased risk to people who loose weight rapidly. So if you are overweight, dropping some pounds will help, just don’t loose weight too fast. Of course, there are about a dozen other reasons why loosing weight in a controlled manner is a good idea, notwithstanding gallstone formation. Also in the area of nutrition, a high fiber diet can decease gallstone risk. So don’t skip those soybeans and broccoli at dinner. Another key risk factor is pregnancy. Obviously this is more of an issue for women, at least until someone figures out a way to transplant a uterus in to a man.
How can you tell if you have cholelithiasis, oops, I mean a “Gallstone”? Most people who get them have no symptoms at all. Because of this, many gallstones are found when a patient is being tested for another potential condition.
However, between 10 – 25% of people with gallstones will experience a very characteristic pain. Using another suitably cryptic phrase, this pain is called “biliary colic” by doctors. Biliary colic will feel like a vague cramping in the upper right part of the stomach area. The pain will typically come and go and often gets worse after eating. Each episode of pain can last several hours, and can include nausea and vomiting. Unfortunately, these symptoms can also have about a dozen other causes, so be careful not to assume you have gallstones every time you
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