I wanted to do a blog post on why gall stones form because in ninth grade I had a gall stone attack. I was waking up from a nap and all of a sudden I began to feel intense stomach pains. The pain began rushing down my back and up and down my stomach into what felt like my heart. The pain would not subside and I started to panic, losing my breath and my patience. I had my mom drive me to the emergency room, it turned out I was experiencing a severe gall stone attack and the gallstones would have to be removed through surgery as soon as possible. I had to have laparoscopic surgery and three incisions were made in my stomach. This was the absolute worst experience of my life in terms of pain. Due to this excruciating experience I wanted to write this blog post on why gallstones form. According to google “Gallstones may form if bile contains too much cholesterol, too much bilirubin, or not enough bile salts.” Scientists unfortunately do not entirely comprehend why such imbalances occur within the human body. Gallstones also may form if the gallbladder does not empty completely or often enough. Your chances of forming gallstones that cause symptoms are higher if you are female. Females are actually twice as likely as males to have gallstones. You are more at risk if you are older than age 55, if you are Native American or Mexican American, and if you have a history of gallstones in among your family. You may also be increasing your risk for gallstones if you are overweight, lose weight quickly or from dieting than gain it back, if you are pregnant or taking estrogen such a high-dose birth control pills, and if you get very little to no exercise. Although it is not absolutely certain why people develop gallstones most doctors believe that they form if the bile has too much cholesterol, if the liver creates more cholesterol than the bile is able to dissolve the addition cholesterol can develop into gallstones. Another reason is that your bile can contain an excess amount of bilirubin which is a chemical made when the body breaks down red blood cells. There are specific conditions, which lead to the liver making too much bilirubin. This year after spring break I had experienced problems with my liver and was hospitalized for the pain I was experiencing. My liver enzymes were off the charts, I had blood taken twice a week for many weeks and was rushed to the emergency room the night before prom and had to sleep there. They though that this may have something to do with a stone still being stuck in the bile duct but it turns out my liver was inflamed and everything is back to normal again.

“Gallstones-What Increases Your Risk.” WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.

“Gallstones.” Tests and Diagnosis. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.