Acid Reflux Caused by Gallbladder Stones: A Misconception

One of the symptoms of gallstones is an attack that is similar to acid reflux. These attacks are sudden and very painful and can often lead people to think that they have acid reflux caused by gallbladder stones. In fact there is no such thing as acid reflux caused by gallbladder stones.

However the similarity of the acid reflux and gallstone attacks will have you thinking that you have an extreme form of acid reflux. To make matters worse the causes and circumstances that gallstone attacks happen in can also lead to the conclusion that acid reflux is caused by gallbladder stones.

Symptoms

The symptoms that you will experience during a gallstone attack are intense pains in the upper part of your abdomen. This pain can last anywhere between a half hour and several hours. Pain is not limited to the upper abdomen and can sometimes be felt between the shoulder blades, near the right shoulder and sometimes near the pelvis. Pain is a symptom of acid reflux and so you might think that you are having very bad acid reflux caused by gallbladder stones.

These attacks usually occur late at night and may be accompanied by indigestion. Other symptoms that you may experience are gas, belching and an inability to digest fatty foods. In fact these attacks will usually happen after you have had a very fatty meal. These symptoms are similar to acid reflux symptoms and may again make you think that you have severe acid reflux. However acid reflux never lasts as long as gallstone attacks.

Some people have gallbladder stones with no symptoms at all. These are sometimes called silent stones and do not need to be treated. The existence of silent stones would seem to further prove that there is no such thing as acid reflux caused by gallbladder stones.

Treatment

Treatment of gallbladder stones is the way to get rid of gallstone attacks completely. There are several ways to treat gallbladder stones; first you can try the oral route whereby ursodeoxycholic acid is administered in an attempt to dissolve the gallstones. This treatment is not a 100% successful in completely eliminating the problem; once the medication is stopped gallstones have a possibility of forming again.

The other option is to have surgery that removes the gallbladder. This provides the patient with a 99% chance of gallbladder stones reoccurring. There are no real negative side effects to having your gallbladder removed.