The Doctor Is In

Dr Max Pemberton

Q: These symptoms haven’t felt bad enough to go to my doctor but I’m starting to worry that I could have gallbladder problems. I have a dull ache under my right ribs, am constantly gassy and I have a slight ache in my shoulder. There’s no severe pain so I am not sure whether to get checked out.

- Thomas

A: A simple answer to your question is, yes, you could be right, the ache under your ribs could be down to gall stones. The pain caused by gall stones is called biliary colic and the pain can sometimes spread to the shoulder blade or upper back. The pain happens when a gallstone blocks the bile duct, which is a tube that drains bile from the gall bladder to the small intestine. If it is gall stones causing this symptom and if it is not treated, the gall bladder can become very inflamed, a condition called cholecystitis. Gall stones are usually treated by removing the gallbladder through keyhole surgery. However, having said all this, there’s something else that I wanted to briefly mention. It’s really common for patients to think that they don’t want to bother their doctor with relatively minor complaints or concerns, especially things like dull aches which aren’t troublesome enough to really impinge on someone’s life but does cause niggling concern. Please listen to these niggles and go to see a doctor about them. While this is likely to be gallstones, some other, very serious, conditions have similar symptoms. Cancers often go undiagnosed because patients dismiss their symptoms because they “don’t want to trouble the doctor’.” Please, trouble us: it’s our job. I remember one patient who thought she had gallstones having diagnosed herself over Google and so dismissed the ache in her stomach and shoulder and it turned out to be pancreatic cancer. I don’t say this to alarm you but rather to urge you, and readers, to go to the doctor if they are worried about something. If something serious is going on, you’re likely to have it caught sooner and this means better outcomes. ■

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