Upper abdominal pain below the ribs. Loss of apetite. Tiny polyps on gallbladder. What could it be?
Patient: Hi I am having upper abdomenal pain which extends down my right side mainly at the base of my right rib area. My appendix area isnt sore at all. I cant eat or drink and when i do i get sharp pains and want to vomit - i have no appetit at all. It started 3 weeks ago with contraction like feelings in the first week then pain and discomfort constantly since. I have had a ultrasound done and all that showed was some tiny pollups on my gall blader. I have also had bloods and a urine test which all came clear. My poo test was fine as well. Though I did notice some stone like items in it and was told they werent stones. What could it be? Doctor: Hello, Symptoms of gallbladder polyps are usually very mild or nonexistent. The main symptom is usually pain and tenderness in the upper right abdomen. The pain can be steady or intermittent. If the pain is severe, it is usually caused by gallstones, not polyps.  If there is no other problem with the gallbladder other than the polyps, no treatment will probably be performed unless the polyps are extremely numerous or over 1 cm in size, which could indicate cancer. In that instance, the gallbladder will most likely be surgically removed.  Theoretically, if the polyps were large and/or located near the opening of the gallbladder, they could interfere with the normal drainage of bile out of the gallbladder and cause symptoms similar to those potentially caused by gall stones.   If all other possible causes of your symptoms of pain are ruled out, then it is worth reconsidering the gallbladder polyps as a cause of your pain.   Thanks.