Do I have stones in my gall bladder?

Q: I have been feeling mild pain in the gall bladder since the past two years. Day before yesterday, I felt shooting pain which subsided after a while. So far, I have not taken any medicine. My boss who was a pharmacist checked me and said that there is inflammation in the gall bladder and have an infected canal too. He has advised me not to eat fatty food. What should I do? Is there any medicine for this? Is there any chance of gall stones?

A:Your symptoms are suggestive of a Gall Bladder disease. The episode of shooting pain that you had could be due to gall bladder stones. Firstly your diagnosis needs to be confirmed. The best and easiest way to confirm the diagnosis would be by doing an Ultrasound of upper abdomen. This can pick up gall bladder stones and any inflammation of its walls with great accuracy. Also sometimes a stone can slip in to its draining canal called bile duct and cause colicky pain called biliary colic. Have you noticed yellowness of your eyes and urine? In that case you should have liver function test (LFT) done from your blood sample.The treatment would depend upon the exact diagnosis, mainly whether you have gall bladder disease or not. For symptomatic relief you can take Spasmoproxyvon for unbearable pain. I suggest you see a Gastroenterologist for specific management.