Table of Contents
- Contracted Gallbladder:
- Feeling under the weather? Let’s explore the symptoms of contracted gallbladder:
- Causative factors of contracted gallbladder:
- Who’s more prone to the contracted gallbladder risk factors:
- Diagnosis of contracted gallbladder:
- Possible treatment methods:
- Lifestyle adjustment for managing contracted gallbladder
If you are experiencing pain in your upper and lower abdomen, have a yellow skin color, and feel like you have jaundice, nausea, and vomiting, often with the symptoms of mild or acute fever. There are higher chances that you have a contracted gallbladder.
Different solutions or treatment methods are available that doctors would adopt based on your medical history, like ERCP, cholecystography, antibiotics, and gallbladder removal surgery. If you have the symptoms, then the ball will be in your doctor’s court, which procedure would be suited to your medical background. Let’s explore the symptoms, causative factors of the contracted gallbladder, its diagnosis methods, treatment methods, and how we can adjust lifestyle to manage contracted gallbladder.
Contracted Gallbladder:
The gallbladder is an oval-shaped organ necessary for the fission of fatty compounds by passing bile released or secreted by the liver into the intestine, where the complex compound digestion occurs. The whole digestion would be supported by the bile acid in the intestine that a gallbladder passed in the intestine through a bile or cystic duct. A contracted gallbladder, or a shrinking or inflamed gallbladder, can become complex if it is not treated for long.
The gallbladder also stores bile, helps in digestion and prevents your body from becoming the victim of jaundice while maintaining the secretion of bilirubin by the pancreas. This bilirubin with calcium can cause the development of gallstones.
Feeling under the weather? Let’s explore the symptoms of contracted gallbladder:
American research on hepatitis patients revealed that a portion of hepatitis patients have a contracted gallbladder. It is considered that hepatic dysfunction can hinder the bile flow into the intestine via the bile duct and may result in the contracted gallbladder. The symptoms of contracted or shrinker gallbladder include;
- A high temperature makes me feel like I’m suffering from a fever.
- Nausea, along with vomiting multiple times a day.
- Severe pain in the tummy or abdomen region (bloating).
- The condition (jaundice) of pale-yellow skin due to bilirubin excessiveness.
Causative factors of contracted gallbladder:
As you heard from most medical professionals, everything in excess would cause harm to your health. Here, we found this saying practically true, as studies reported that excessive fatty compounds would be the leading cause of contracted gallbladder following gallstones. Let’s explore the causes of contracted gallbladder;
- Gallstone is considered the primary causative factor of contracted gallbladder. These stones would hinder the bile flow from the gallbladder to the intestine. It would ultimately lead to the contraction of the gallbladder. These gallstones are caused by consuming high fats.
- The second reason that causes gallbladder contraction is a tumor, which blocks the bile duct and will not pass the bile to the intestine. It would cause inflammation and shrinkage of the gallbladder.
- In excess, bilirubin causes the pale-yellow skin color resulting from the blockage of the bile duct. It is because of a contracted gallbladder.
- Viral infections, in some cases, cause the contraction of the gallbladder, as we have given reference above to the American research on hepatic dysfunction.
Who’s more prone to the contracted gallbladder risk factors:
Individuals with higher usage of hormone-balancing medicines or who have a weaker immune system and follow no healthy diet plan are at greater risk of having contracted gallbladder. Uncover the details below;
- Women are basically at higher risk of getting contracted gallbladder because they use different hormone-balancing medicines during pregnancy or, to avoid pregnancy, take birth control tablets for a specific duration.
- Obese people have a more significant imbalance of hormones. It can lead to contracted or shrinker gallbladder. The bile in obese people produces higher concentration. They take more fatty foods, so more bile is secreted by the liver to digest the high-calorie fare. The extra calories will be stored as glucagon in their body.
- When these obese people want to lose weight, they don’t maintain their calories and do not take enough vitamins and protein to lose weight. The sudden weight loss in this way can cause an infection of the gallbladder, and there is a higher chance that they can be prone to contracting the gallbladder.
Diagnosis of contracted gallbladder:
The question that will arise in your mind after discussing the symptoms and causing factors is, “How did your doctor diagnose you have contracted?” what should be the possible treatment for contracted gallbladder, whether they have to go for gallbladder removal surgery or they have to take just medicines for their condition. The treatment would be carried out based on previous medical history or the results of tests that their doctor will recommend. To diagnose contracted gallbladder, every physician will use a different approach via medical tests or ask further questions regarding a person’s health to check his history. Other tests for diagnosis of contracted gallbladder are;
- ERCP and MRCP
- Ultrasound
- CT Scan
- Chole scintigraphy
From the above, the best approach to date is ERCP, MRCP, and CT scan, as they depict the whole scenario of the gallbladder from different angles. Some medical professionals like Chole scintigraphy inject a particular chemical in the patient’s body to detect where the blockage is by seeing the inserted chemical via Medi-camera.
Possible treatment methods:
After diagnosis, the next step is to treat the contracted gallbladder condition. You would have to swallow a bitter pill to go for contracted gallbladder treatment.
If you are experiencing severe pain in the abdomen or a fever with a pale yellow skin color, then there are greater chances you will get medicinal treatment, or your doctor will prescribe some medicines to eliminate the conditions. You can recover from mild symptoms in about 3-7 days and will be discharged from the hospital.
If you are the reported patient of gallstones, then your doctor would advise you to go for gallbladder removal surgery. But there is nothing to worry about as you are not alone; there are a lot more who are in the same boat and have had gallbladder removal surgery. When you have surgery, there are certain conditions where you will be treated for a day to weeks, depending on your current health conditions.
There is another way in which laser beams are bombarded on the gallbladder stones. This method doesn’t need any stitching because no incision is involved, and this procedure is called lithotripsy.
Lifestyle adjustment for managing contracted gallbladder
As a Dutch philosopher said, “prevention is better than cure.”. One can avoid the cause of disease. It is better to live a healthy life than to eat all the unhealthy food, despite knowing the outcome. So, in the same way, if you feel like you are suffering from a contracted gallbladder issue, then it is better to avoid the foods that are causing it. Things to do for managing contracted gallbladders
- Avoid fat-rich products in your daily routine.
- Exercise for an hour or more if you feel energetic.
- Take enough vitamins and nutrients in everyday meals.
- Avoid alcohol and other beverages.
- Take fiber-rich food to support your bowel movement.
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References:
Harvard Health. (2023, July 28). Cholecystitis.
Jewell, T. (2018, August 1). What does a contracted gallbladder mean? Healthline.
Mallari, J. (2023, September 20). Contracted gallbladder: symptoms, risks, complications, and treatment. Hello Doctor.
