Most of us are familiar with the obvious symptoms of gallbladder problems, such as stabbing pain in the upper right abdomen or behind the right shoulder blade – both of which commonly “attack” us late at night.
But there are other, lesser known symptoms of gallbladder problems, and getting familiar with them can help you make the dietary and lifestyle changes that will ward off a full blown attack. Here are three common but surprising symptoms you need to watch out for!
Gas & Bloating
If you start to notice yourself frequently loosening your belt or changing into your soft pants after a meal, or if you’re suddenly making more urps and toots than you usually do, this could be an early symptom of gallbladder problems.
For one thing, bile helps us to digest fats. When our bile becomes thick and sluggish it becomes less functional at this core job, resulting in poorly digested fats – which will make us gassy.
Also, healthy bile flow keeps the food we consume moving down through our digestive system, but when bile isn’t flowing properly, digestion usually slows and more gas than usual will be released in our intestines from foods we haven’t yet excreted.
Nausea After Eating
Many people with gallbladder problems report feeling nauseous after a meal. This is essentially caused by the same two factors above: poorly digested fats, and slower overall digestion.
If nausea is becoming a frequent occurrence and you cannot attribute it to other causes, then take note of whether rich or fatty foods in particular are more likely to trigger nausea. If so, this is possibly a sign of a gallbladder problem arising.
Itchy Skin
This might be the strangest symptom of gallbladder problems – the skin becoming itchy and irritated all over your body! Why would your skin be related to the gallbladder like this?
The answer is that when you begin to develop gallbladder problems, bile salts can build up in the blood, which irritates the nerves in your peripheral nervous system, creating an itching sensation all over the body. This is especially common among pregnant people who are developing gallbladder problems.
Check out our post about itching & cholestasis during pregnancy for more info.
Take the Gallbladder Symptoms Quiz
These three issues are just the beginning of a long list of symptoms you may be experiencing. If you want to learn more about the early warning signs of gallbladder problems and what you can do about them, take our Gallbladder Symptoms Quiz, then check your email for results!
