Jill Duggar undergoes gallbladder surgery after 'horrible' postpartum pain — who's at risk?

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Jill Duggar reveals gallbladder surgery after postpartum pain: The fast five

1. Jill Duggar revealed she had surgery to remove her gallbladder, a common procedure that's associated with gallstones, one month after giving birth to her third child.

2. Common symptoms of gallbladder problems are abdominal pain, fever, chills and digestive discomfort.

3. If you are experiencing a gallbladder problems, treatment options include pain medicine and surgery to remove the organ.

4. There are a variety of factors that increase your risk of gallbladder issues, including being female, pregnancy, if you're over the age of 55, or if you have a family history of gallbladder problems.

5. Although there are no known ways to prevent gallbladder problems, eating regular and balanced meals, drinking water, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight can help.

So, what's the scoop?

Jill Duggar knows all about the struggles associated with parenting. Heck, she helped raise some of her 18 siblings on the hit show "19 Kids and Counting," and even has three boys of her own.

However, over the weekend the 31-year-old took to Instagram to open up about her recent and unexpected postpartum health scare, something she's never experienced before. The "Counting On" alum revealed she had gallbladder surgery after welcoming her third son, Frederick Michael, last month.

"Well…I almost made it to my six week postpartum well-check without incident, but ended up with a horrible bout of pain earlier this week that culminated yesterday in having to have gallbladder surgery!" she wrote alongside a photo of her stretched out on a recliner with a water bottle and an empty cup of applesauce.

The reality star also explained that although she's not looking forward to the healing process, she's thankful for the medical care she's received.

Duggar continued: "If you’re like me and have been dealing with what you think are just 'gut issues' (e.g. gas, bloating, nausea, etc.) episodes occasionally but are frustrated that you can’t pinpoint exactly what is causing them, (even if it hasn’t been accompanied with a ton of “pain” yet) maybe think again! Or…as my surgeon said, 'the storm might be brewing' but just hasn’t hit/you haven’t had a big gallbladder attack yet!"

At the end of her post, Duggar shared tips with her 1.7 million followers about dealing with gallbladder problems.

"Women are 2-4x more likely than men to have gallbladder problems," she stated. "Some risk factors for gallbladder probs include: pregnancy, rapid weight gain/loss, hormone fluctuations/therapy, people with food allergies/sensitivities, family history of gallbladder probs, etc."

"If you don't have gallstones yet, make sure to eat enough healthy fats every day to help the gallbladder contract and be able to keep stones from building," Duggar added with the hope of helping her fans to prevent the condition. "However, once you have stones, then fatty foods (and other things) can trigger a gallbladder attack. Some "trigger foods" include: Fatty foods, fried foods, dairy products, sugary foods, eggs, acidic foods, caffeine, carbonated drinks and alcohol."

What is a gallbladder and why is surgery sometimes required?

According to HealthLink British Columbia, the gallbladder "is a small sac located just under the liver. It stores bile released by the liver," which is necessary to help digest food.

Sometimes bile can harden into small lumps, also known as gallstones. If the gallstones are too large to pass through the gallbladder, they can block it. Surgery is required to remove the blockage associated with the gallstones, which is exactly what happened to Duggar.

The Canadian Liver Foundation explains that gallstones occur in approximately 20 per cent of Canadian women and 10 per cent of men by the age of 60.

What are the symptoms associated with gallbladder problems?

If your gallbladder is blocked, it can result in excruciating pain usually in the upper right abdomen. HealthLink BC further explains that pain can spread to your upper right back or upper back area. The pain may be steady or come and go, or it may get worse when you eat.

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, patients with gallbladder problems may also experience fever and chills, digestive discomfort, and the yellowing of the skin and eyes.

If you or a loved one are experiencing any of the above symptoms, it's important you speak with your doctor about next steps as soon as possible to relieve further complications.

How do you treat gallbladder pain?

A common treatment for severe gallbladder attacks is to remove the gallbladder altogether. This type of surgery is called a cholecystectomy, which is the procedure Duggar referred to when she asked her followers: "Have you had your gallbladder removed? What helped you most during your recovery?"

This procedure is completely safe, as the body can function normally without the gallbladder.

However, if you are only experiencing mild or infrequent pain, your doctor may prescribe you pain medicine and ask you to monitor your symptoms.

Who is at risk of gallbladder problems?

Your chances of developing gallbladder issues increases if you are female. Women are two to four times more likely to develop gallstones than males.

Like Duggar mentioned in her post, other risk factors include pregnancy, not exercising, hormone fluctuations, family history of gallbladder problems, people over the age of 55, and those who take estrogen or birth control.

How can I prevent gallbladder problems?

While there is no tried-and-true method of preventing gallstones or gallbladder problems, there are ways to reduce your risk of developing symptoms.

The Canadian Liver Foundation recommends eating regular and balanced meals, drinking lots of water, exercising regularly, managing stress and maintaining a healthy weight.

If you are experiencing gallbladder pain, it's important to speak with your doctor about how you can prevent the condition moving forward, as if your gallbladder is not removed, it can be a recurring problem.

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