Digestive Health Gallbladder Disease Gallstones Guide Gallstones Guide Overview Symptoms Causes Diagnosis Treatment Signs and Symptoms of Gallstones By Tracee Cornforth linkedin Tracee Cornforth is a freelance writer who covers menstruation, menstrual disorders, and other women's health issues. Learn about our editorial process Tracee Cornforth Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Andy Miller, MD on August 21, 2019 Andy Miller, MD, is board-certified in infectious disease and internal medicine. He is an associate professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, associate attending physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery and New York Presbyterian Hospital and a fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America. Learn about our Medical Review Board Andy Miller, MD on August 21, 2019 Print Table of Contents View All Frequent Symptoms Complications When to See a Doctor Next in Gallstones Guide Causes and Risk Factors of Gallstones When you think of gallstones, you may think of a painful attack. However, the truth is that more than 80 percent of people with gallstones will never experience a symptom in their lifetime. What's more, the likelihood of experiencing symptoms diminishes over time, although your chance of developing gallstones increases as you age. Symptoms of gallstones tend to be fairly noticeable and painful. Illustration by Joshua Seong. © Verywell, 2018. Frequent Symptoms When symptoms of gallstones do occur, they are often called an "attack" because they occur suddenly. Gallstone attacks often follow fatty meals and they may occur during the night. Only 1-4% of individuals with gallstones develop symptoms each year. The typical gallstone attack includes these symptoms: Steady, severe pain in your upper abdomen that increases rapidly and lasts from 30 minutes to several hoursPain in your back between your shoulder blades and/or under your right shoulderNausea or vomitingPain in the center of your abdomen Other symptoms of gallstones can include: Abdominal bloatingRecurring intolerance of fatty foodsColicBelchingGasIndigestionHeartburn Asymptomatic Gallstones Gallstones that cause no symptoms are called "silent stones." Silent stones do not interfere with your gallbladder, liver, or pancreas function and do not require treatment. Even though 10-15% of Americans have gallstones, the vast majority of them will never have symptoms (asymptomatic). Complications Complications can occur as a result of gallstones. In fact, many people have no symptoms that indicate that they have gallstones until they end up with complications. Potential complications include: Organ infection or damage: If gallstones block the ducts for an extended period of time, severe, possibly fatal damage or infections can occur in the gallbladder, the liver, or the pancreas.Inflammation: Gallstones can block other ducts. These include the hepatic ducts, which carry bile from the liver, and the common bile duct, which takes bile from the cystic and hepatic ducts to the small intestine. When bile becomes trapped in one of the ducts, inflammation can occur in the gallbladder or the ducts. In rare cases, if bile is trapped in the hepatic duct, inflammation of the liver can occur.Gallstone pancreatitis: A gallstone can also block the pancreatic duct, a duct that carries digestive enzymes from the pancreas. When the pancreatic duct is blocked, the digestive enzymes are trapped and a painful inflammation can occur. Gallbladder cancer: Though gallbladder cancer is extremely rare, your chances of getting it are higher if you have had gallstones. When to See a Doctor If you have any symptoms of gallstones, see your doctor. If untreated, gallstones can become fatal. If you experience any of these symptoms during or after you have a gallstone attack, you should seek immediate medical attention: Abdominal pain that doesn't go away after several hours or that's particularly severeSweatingChillsLow-grade feverYellowish color of the skin or whites of the eyes (jaundice)Clay-colored stoolsUrine that's the color of tea Gallstones Doctor Discussion Guide Get our printable guide for your next doctor's appointment to help you ask the right questions. Download PDF Email the Guide Send to yourself or a loved one. Sign Up This Doctor Discussion Guide has been sent to {{form.email}}. There was an error. Please try again. These symptoms can mean you're having serious complications such as blockage of your pancreatic duct, common bile duct, or hepatic duct, or even infection in your gallbladder, liver, or pancreas. Getting treatment as soon as possible is essential to your recovery. Causes and Risk Factors of Gallstones Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Gas pain? Stool issues? Sign up for the best tips to take care of your stomach. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Stinton LM, Shaffer EA. Epidemiology of gallbladder disease: cholelithiasis and cancer. Gut Liver. 2012;6(2):172–187. doi:10.5009/gnl.2012.6.2.172 Njeze GE. Gallstones. Niger J Surg. 2013;19(2):49–55. doi:10.4103/1117-6806.119236 Johnson CD. ABC of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Upper abdominal pain: Gall bladder. BMJ. 2001;323(7322):1170–1173. doi:10.1136/bmj.323.7322.1170 Baiu I, Hawn MT. Gallstones and Biliary Colic. JAMA. 2018;320(15):1612. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.11868 Complications of gallstones. InformedHealth.org. Updated February 8, 2017. Vitale GC. Early management of acute gallstone pancreatitis. Ann Surg. 2007;245(1):18–19. doi:10.1097/01.sla.0000250967.32581.c9 Recio-Boiles A, Waheed A, Babiker HM. Cancer, Gallbladder. StatPearls Publishing. Updated May 18, 2019. Additional Reading Lee JY, Keane MG, Pereira S. Diagnosis and Treatment of Gallstone Disease . Practitioner . June 2015;259(1783):15-9, 2. Mayo Clinic Staff. Gallstones . Mayo Clinic. November 17, 2017. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Gallstones . National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. November 2017.