Gallbladder sludge is a substance in your body that, by itself, doesn't appear to cause any harm or pain. It may, however, contribute to the growth of gallstones, which can definitely hurt.
To understand gallbladder sludge (also sometimes called biliary sludge), it helps to know a bit about how the gallbladder works.
The gallbladder gets bile from the liver. This bile becomes concentrated in the gallbladder. When you eat, the gallbladder delivers the concentrated bile into the digestive tract, which helps the body digest the food you've just eaten.
Gallbladder sludge a mixture of particles and mucus that combine in the gallbladder. The particles are usually composed of cholesterol crystals, pigment sodium, calcium, and possibly other particulate matter embedded in mucus which has been secreted by the gallbladder.
The particles are microscopic and can only be seen with ultrasonography (a diagnostic tool similar to the sonogram that's used when a woman is pregnant).
Medical science hasn't been able to determine yet just how much trouble sludge can cause, if any. Having sludge does not mean you're going to have gallstones, although in some cases where gallstones have been present, sludge has also been found.
Sludge has sometimes been suspected of causing symptoms that resemble cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder) and pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) in addition to gallstones. But it's also possible these conditions could also have been caused by gallstones so tiny they couldn't be diagnosed with ultrasonography.
Doctors generally agree that gallstones and sludge are two different things. They also seem to think that a build up of sludge may eventually contribute to gallbladder problems in the future. Therefore, someone who has a lot of sludge may be asked to consider gallbladder removal surgery as a precaution. Gallbladder removal surgery is known medically as a cholecystectomy.
Certain individuals seem more likely to develop sludge than others. These include people who have undertaken prolonged fasts or crash diets, women who are pregnant and those who are taking certain prescriptions. It has also been found in those who have undergone bone marrow or solid organ transplantation.
As mentioned, the presence of sludge doesn't always cause symptoms or pain. But sometimes it does. One possibility is abdomen pain in the upper right quadrant, which occurs because the particles partially block the ducts leading from the gallbladder to the intestine.
There could also be nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. These symptoms may be intermittent, but they could also intensify with time and they're more likely to occur after you've eaten rich, cholesterol-heavy meal.
Once you've been diagnosed with gallbladder sludge, you and your doctor can decide on a course of action. Gallbladder removal surgery is an option. But your doctor might also recommend changing your diet. In addition, there are certain types of medicines available that break down the sludge, making passage into the bile duct easier.
Most doctors like to take a "watch and wait" approach once gallbladder sludge is found. There could be many reasons for the symptoms mentioned previously, and your doctor will want to make sure he or she knows exactly what's happening before recommending a course of action.
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