Gallstones are hardened deposits that form inside the gallbladder, an organ responsible for storing bile that helps digest fats. While some gallstones remain harmless throughout life, others can cause severe discomfort and complications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Common symptoms include pain in the upper right abdomen, nausea after eating fatty foods, bloating, indigestion, and occasional vomiting. The pain may come and go initially but can become severe if a stone blocks the bile duct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Certain individuals are at higher risk of developing gallstones, including women over 40, overweight individuals, diabetics, and people with a family history of gallbladder disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most common questions patients ask me is whether every gallstone requires surgery. The answer is no. Asymptomatic gallstones often require observation only. However, if recurrent pain, infection, or blockage occurs, surgical removal of the gallbladder may be recommended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To reduce the risk of gallstones, I advise maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding crash diets, exercising regularly, and consuming a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and fibre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early diagnosis and timely treatment can prevent serious complications such as gallbladder inflammation, jaundice, or pancreatitis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you frequently experience abdominal discomfort after meals, particularly fatty foods, it is worth consulting a gastroenterologist for evaluation.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gallstones are one of the most common digestive conditions I encounter in my practice. Many patients discover they have gallstones during a routine ultrasound, often before they experience any symptoms. Gallstones are hardened deposits...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[12,40],"class_list":["post-187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gallstones","tag-dr-sameer-gaggar","tag-gallstones"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.drsameergaggar.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/gallstones-dr-sameer-gaggar-1.png?fit=1825%2C862&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drsameergaggar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drsameergaggar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drsameergaggar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drsameergaggar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drsameergaggar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.drsameergaggar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190,"href":"https:\/\/www.drsameergaggar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions\/190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drsameergaggar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drsameergaggar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drsameergaggar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drsameergaggar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}