Why might my dull upper right abdomen pain be related to the gallbladder?

[Mark.G]

I’ve been dealing with this persistent, dull ache in my upper right abdomen for a few months now, and my doctor mentioned it could be related to my gallbladder. The pain seems to come and go, often after I eat something fatty, but I’m not having the classic intense attacks I read about. I’m just wondering if anyone else has experienced this kind of ongoing discomfort instead of sharp, sudden pain.

[Ryan.D]

I had a similar thing a while back, a steady dull ache up top after big meals. It would come and go and never felt like the sharp right away you read about. It was easy to tell it was linked to what I ate though.

[Abigail_T]

This resonated with me because mine actually led to tests. An ultrasound showed stones in my gallbladder and a bit of inflammation. The ache eased a bit with time but when I ate fatty stuff it would flare up again. I ended up making diet changes and talking to a surgeon, but I am not sure any one thing fixed it completely.

[Aria.M]

Do you think the issue is the gallbladder or could it be something else like reflux or an ulcer?

[Avery.J]

One time I got pulled into a whole other project and briefly forgot about the ache. When I came back to it I started tracking meals and pain timing. It helped me see a pattern even if it did not solve the issue.