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Gastroenterologist Dr. Richard Desi of The Melissa L. Posner Institute for Digestive Health and Liver Disease at Mercy

Mercy's Dr. Richard Desi, Institute For Digestive Health & Liver Disease, Addresses Women And Gallstones On WBAL-TV11's "Woman's Doctor"

Gallstones are one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders in the United States, and women are two to three times more likely to develop them than men.

Obesity and family history also play a big role.

Christin Shannon, 24, is a new mom who started having problems two weeks before her delivery.

"I had chest pain and pain between my shoulder blades. I went to the hospital, but they told me I wasn't in labor and sent me home," she said.

Shannon said she wasn't in labor but she kept having pain that would come and go until two weeks after her son James was born. The pain eventually sent her to the hospital.

According to Mercy Medical Center gastroenterologist Dr. Richard Desi, that is typical of gallstones, although not everyone has symptoms.

"People can be walking around not knowing they have gallstones. If you do have symptoms, they are usually manifested by pain under the ribcage and even to the center of the abdomen," he said.

"Gallstones can get formed (under the liver), and the stones can get stuck when the gallbladder squeezes. … That can lead to pain and other complications," Dr. Desi added.

The pain usually starts 30 minutes to an hour after a meal — usually incited by a fatty meal — and the pain may last an hour or two and then subside.

While treatment begins with diet and pain medication, gallbladder surgery resolved the problem for Shannon.

"The pain of surgery wasn't anywhere near the pain of passing a stone, so once I got it, I was fine," she said.

Back and shoulder blade chest pain like Shannon had is one of the most common yet little talked about symptoms of a gallbladder disorder.

For more information and to view Dr. Desi's interview online, go to http://www.wbaltv.com/womansdoctor/22910824/detail.html.