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What does a gallbladder attack feel like?

Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS

A steady, building pain under the right ribs or in the upper middle belly, often after a fatty meal, lasting from thirty minutes to a few hours, sometimes boring through to the back or right shoulder blade, with nausea for company.

It typically comes in episodes, fine between attacks.

Pain with fever, yellowing of the eyes, or attacks lasting beyond a few hours needs same-day care. Recurrent classic attacks with stones on ultrasound usually earn a surgical conversation, because attacks tend to keep returning.

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