Gallstones: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise
Symptomless stones usually need no treatment, while the complications they cause can be serious and are time-critical.
Key takeaways
- Most gallstones: cause no symptoms and need no treatment
- Biliary colic: severe upper right abdominal pain, often after fatty food
- Most useful single change: Seek assessment for recurrent upper abdominal pain after meals.
- Commonest mistake: Very rapid weight loss, which increases stone formation.
- See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.
What it is
Stones forming in the gallbladder, most of which never cause symptoms. It sits within Liver Health. The table below gives the figures guidance actually works from.
The numbers, in one place
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Most gallstones | cause no symptoms and need no treatment |
| Biliary colic | severe upper right abdominal pain, often after fatty food |
| Treatment when symptomatic | usually laparoscopic gallbladder removal |
| Complications | cholecystitis, bile duct obstruction, pancreatitis |
What helps
You do not have to do all of it, and you do not have to start today.
- Seek assessment for recurrent upper abdominal pain after meals
- Discuss surgery if attacks are recurrent; they usually continue
- Maintain a healthy weight, avoiding rapid weight loss
- Note whether pain radiates to the back or right shoulder blade
What to avoid
These come up often, and several of them sound like good ideas.
- Very rapid weight loss, which increases stone formation
- Ignoring recurrent attacks, which tend to escalate
- Assuming indigestion remedies will address the cause
Where to go next
- Gallstones: Common Myths and What Guidelines Say
- Gallstones: A Beginner-Friendly Start
- Gallstones — the reference entry
- Paracetamol Safety: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise
- What the Guidance Really Says About Supplements and the Liver
When to speak to a doctor
Seek urgent medical help for severe abdominal pain lasting more than a few hours, pain with fever and shivering, jaundice, or pain with persistent vomiting — these suggest cholecystitis, bile duct obstruction or pancreatitis. Call 999 for severe upper abdominal pain radiating to the back with vomiting and collapse.
Where this comes from
How this page was put together
Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.
Medical disclaimer
This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.
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