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How I Unf*cked Myself (a digestive health story)

TLDR (yes a very long TLDR, but this post is proportionally long)

Chronically fatigued and sick as a kid

Repeated courses of antibiotics (probably 20+) and 2x Epstein-barr infection between age 8 and 17

Around age 18 started noticing really weird food intolerances

Couldn’t drink alcohol without insane hangovers lasting 2 weeks+

Couldn’t consume foods high in refined sugar without going into days-to-weeks long episodes of hyperactivity, insomnia & extreme stress

Felt relatively shit eating most carbs

Tried fixing with diet change and vitamin / mineral supplements. Helped some symptoms but didn’t fix the issue.

Tried fixing with various probiotics. Incredibly mixed results - eventually found a regimen that worked for a period of time but, again, didn’t fix the issue.

After a hellish reaction to prebiotic fibre supplements, consulted a gastroenterologist and was diagnosed with Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, Gut Dysbiosis and an active H. Pylori Infection. Significant Improvement of symptoms following:

10x 14 days Rifaximin (550 mg 3x daily)

H. Pylori Eradication Regimen (one week amoxicillin, clarythromycin, metrodinazole and omeprazole)

2 years of:

Keto / SCD Diet

Either Candibactin AR&BR, FC-Cidal, Dysbiocide & ADP supplements, or Allimed Neem & Cinnamon, alternating every 2 months between them (two caps of each product 3x daily).

Occasional use of natural motility agents depending on symptoms (ginger / artichoke formulations and iberogast). 

This whole process sucked beyond description, if you have gut / digestive issues it is probably affecting your general health & wellbeing more than you realize. 

Intro

I don’t really have anything left to say other than that it was a more painful experience than I think I could ever accurately describe. Gut health seems to be one of the last remaining big frontiers of human health, and I hope they figure it out so no one has to experience this again. I am still moderately lost in the issue but it has at least gotten a lot better recently.

Story

The Descent

February 4th 2012 is a day that I will likely never forget for the rest of my life. I woke up from a relatively short and disrupted sleep around 10am. A close friend of mine who had slept over the night before was sitting on the living room couch watching The Social Network with my dad. It seemed a sensible, logical thing to join them. So I sat down on the couch, and all of a sudden, I couldn’t.  It's hard to explain exactly why I couldn't, but I just felt this immense inability to relax and settle down. Every bone in my body was vibrating, like this immense persistent energy rush. 

I had also had a fair amount of red bull and other sugary soft drinks as mixer the night before, so I chalked this feeling up to a sugar / caffeine spike and decided to try and get on with the day. I had some breakfast, got showered etc., attempted to do some school work and participated in a family Sunday dinner. By about 10pm it began to become clear that this feeling of immense overpowering stress was not dissipating; if anything, it had gotten worse.

The next two weeks were an incredibly disorienting, painful and confusing experience. Rather than alleviate, the symptoms more or less persisted, although they would ebb and flow throughout the day. I started to notice that I felt the best first thing in the morning (important to note that "best" is a very relative term here) and worst from the late afternoon into evening, with a notable spike directly after dinner hour. I was living in a complete fog. I lost all emotional contact with the world around me. All I felt all day was this persistent restlessness and stress and a complete inability to get rid of it no matter what I did (showering, watching movies, lying down in bed etc.). I just felt like someone had mainlined adrenaline into one of my veins and wouldn’t turn off the tap. It is the most excruciatingly painful thing I have ever experienced, or think I am ever likely to experience. In some way, it is almost impossible to explain in normal words. 

It was at the end of these two weeks that I finally decided to consult a doctor. Everyone here will likely be unsurprised to hear that he suggested I was suffering from a temporary bout of anxiety. Although I have certainly been anxious about my fair share of things in the past (studies, personal relationships etc.), I could feel that this was something quite different. On top of that, there was just nothing in my life bothering me at that time. I had great friends, had already been accepted to the University of my choice and was staring down the barrel of four months of school where my academic results didn’t matter anymore and then a three month summer break. I was offered some tranquilizers or anti-anxiety meds for my symptoms, but I wasn’t really interested in trying them as I wanted to get to the root of whatever the issue was. 

The only other suggestion he had for me was to maybe take a look at my diet. He noticed I was twitching a lot and I offered that I had recently suffered some bad muscle cramps as well, so he suggested that after a bout of mononucleosis earlier in the year and a long winter with little sun, I may be deficient in a few things. He prescribed me a short course of magnesium and vitamin b-12 supplements and sent me on my way.

Over the next month, with the supplements only sort of helping and with me still watching my life essentially completely fall apart around me (barely able to attend school, permanently unwell, chronically stressed, insomniac etc., almost complete loss of social life) I consulted a few more doctors. They more or less all had the same response: you can try antidepressants and/or tranquilizers, but otherwise, sorry, we can't help you. A few also questioned the nutritional supplement prescription.

It was at this point that I started to feel I was more or less on my own in whatever this was.

Part II: Ascent #1

The three months following the initial onset of my symptoms were probably some of the worst of my life, which, considering everything I’ve experienced over the last decade+, is really saying something. I was in a completely emotionally disconnected state, basically felt only stress on a daily basis, and had no idea what was going on.

The only real nuggets of information I had that I trusted were that (i) it might be nutrition-related and (ii) caffeine and/or alcohol were clearly bad for me. I started doing a load of research into what causes nutritional deficiencies and imbalances, how to correct them, and what a healthy diet looks like. Prior to this I had been more or less unconcerned about what I ate or drank in a day, although my diet was reasonably healthy mostly just due to my mother's cooking.

My readings on diet led me to make a few changes. First, I changed from a magnesium oxide supplement to magnesium bisglycinate, for better absorption. Then, I switched to an entirely refined-sugar free, whole grain diet high in unprocessed meats and vegetables. Lastly, I started taking almost nightly electrolyte salt baths (either epsom salt or dead-sea salt).

Although none of these changes cured me by any means, very slowly, I started to feel somewhat better. I could feel moderate improvements on a daily basis. Some days were better than others, but overall things were on an upwards trend. From this point onwards I became almost completely convinced that my symptoms were the result of a nutritional imbalance and that I would cure them through diet and supplementation.

Then, something very strange happened, which, in retrospect, should have pointed me in the direction of my ultimate diagnosis. I went into hospital to have my tonsils removed (as mentioned I had been very sick as a kid), and when I came out later the next day I had a very strange level of emotional clarity. Somehow everything was less painful, and although the crazy stress symptoms weren't totally gone, the improvement in just 36 hours felt drastic. At the time I thought maybe it was painkillers I had been given, perhaps the IV drip they put me on post-op? In retrospect, it was most definitely the high-dose amoxicillin I had been taking since the operation for reasons I can explain later on.

Part III: Stasis #1

That summer things more or less stabilized. Nothing was ever quite as good as the days and week following the tonsillectomy, but the insane debilitating stress didn't come back either, so overall I couldn't complain. From a mental point-of-view I was sort of able to return to normal life other than having to watch my diet and avoid substance. I started university in the fall and was successful despite the obvious social constraints that came along with my new health regimen.

The years following this were pretty up and down. I was able to get through my university courses, have some semblance of a social life, and never returned to the manic stress state of my initial descent. That being said, I never felt "quite right" again. It is hard to place, but my health just still felt very poor. I had low energy, slept a lot, often felt quite irritable, and had very poor performance in sporting activities despite previously being a strong athlete.

The main salient point that came out of this period was that I started to notice that high-sugar foods could bring on shorter-term episodes that mimicked the time period of the original onset of my symptoms. In one instance, I almost failed a university exam after consuming a jelly-filled donut the day before and becoming almost literally incapable of processing information for a few days afterwards. Suffice to say, I completely cut sugar from my diet from this point onwards.

I also tried a few Myers' cocktail IV drips (basically a mix of magnesium, calcium and b-vitamins) during this time period as part of my thinking on the issue being caused by nutritional deficiency. I would feel pretty great for a few days following them (improved sleep, able to focus while studying, good energy for exercise) but then go back to my same poor-health state afterwards. This only compounded my belief that the issue was purely nutritional in nature. Alongside this I consulted some nutritionists and diet specialists, and they recommended me some further supplements and dietary changes, but none of it made that overwhelming of a difference compared to the changes I’d already made. 

Part IV: Descent #2

For four years life went on in the position described above, at least from a health point-of-view. I had found a regimen that kept me functional and stable, and for the most part stuck to it and tried to forget about it all and get on with life. It was great to find some stability, but at the same time as an early twenty-something in University, having to stick to a pretty strict diet and lifestyle just wasn’t all that much fun.

So somehow I got the idea in my head that having found this stability, I must actually be cured of whatever it was and could go back to eating & drinking whatever I wanted. I got an 8-month research placement in France in 2016 and decided that I would just let loose and enjoy myself during that time. Upon arriving I quite quickly returned to being totally free with what I consumed, although perhaps still went light on very sugary foods. For the first few weeks, I felt great. I mean maybe not totally physical well, but it was just so mentally liberating to not think about this stuff anymore. I had a lot of fun going out with my new roommate, going on dates and just living life in a more free way. 

Around the second month of being there I started to notice some chronic unwelness creeping back in. My sleep was starting to become quite poor, I had terrible focus at work and wasn’t accomplishing much, and would feel really unwell after most meals. I ignored it for a while.

By the third month, it was almost panic stations again. I don’t know why I didn’t react to this sooner, probably I was just trying to deny how bad it was getting again, but by mid-March (I had started worked in January), I was bordering on being physically non-functional again. I couldn’t do much other than spend most days in bed when I wasn’t at work, felt constantly agitated, was achieving essentially nothing on a daily basis (thankfully I was working in a French R&D centre where very little was happening at the best of times), and just felt constantly ill. It was not quite the return to the extreme stress of the first episode but I was still really unwell and uncomfortable most of the time. 

I wasn’t really sure what to do, but I knew I really didn’t want to do another 6-months of diet control just to get back to a sort-of sufferable health state, so I started coming up with ideas for a quick fix. The only thing I really had was that those IV cocktails had made me feel pretty great, and since I was still in this mode of thinking it was all due to nutritional deficiency, I hoped that might be an easy solution (the logic being that alcohol and poor diet had lowered my micronutrient levels and I could just reverse it). It seemed this wasn’t available privately in Paris, so I went to London for the weekend just to get one. 

What happened after that infusion is one part of this story that I still do not understand whatsoever. Within hours of getting the Myers drip, rather than feeling great, I felt catastrophically unwell. I did not sleep that whole night and for most of the rest of the weekend, and returned to Paris in a complete fog. The feeling persisted for some weeks. I have a few ideas of what it could have been - too much B-complex which can give you energy rushes, some kind of micronutrient overdose / toxicity since I was still taking lots of supplements on top of the IV at that time, or some kind of immune reaction - but really I don’t know. Suffice to say I never took one again.

Part V: Ascent #2

The terrible reaction to that IV drip started to put the idea in my head that maybe this whole thing wasn’t just related to nutrition and / or a micronutrient deficiency. So I started doing a lot of searching online about what else can affect digestion, intolerance to certain foods, and associated unexplained chronic health symptoms. The thing that kept on coming up was the gut microbiome. I had heard of probiotics before, and knew that yoghurt was supposed to help your digestion, but outside of that I was pretty uneducated. All I could really tell was that it might be worth a shot trying a probiotic supplement to see if it would help.

So, being me, I went online and found the strongest, highest-dose probiotic supplement I could find, or at least on amazon.fr . It was the Renew Life Ultimate Care probiotic with a dose of 200 Billion live cultures (I didn’t know about vivomixx and other 400Bn+ clinical products at the time). The night it arrived, I popped a dose and went to bed, and then another first thing in the morning. By the time I had eaten breakfast and arrived at work around 9am, I felt violently ill. I was sweating, had a pounding headache and felt like I was going to vomit at any moment. I managed to hold it together for the morning, barely managed to stomach lunch and then went home as soon as people started to leave (around 4pm). 

I immediately went to google and started searching for what could cause this, and the main thing that came up was something called the Jarrisch-Herxheimmer reaction. I’m not sure what the clinical validation for this is, but the general understanding is that when something starts killing off pathogens in your body (which probiotics will do when they enter a pathogenic environment), they release toxins and inflammatory cytokines (can do a search yourself) into the body / bloodstream and you feel really unwell. Basically you are starting a fight between good & bad bacteria in your body and you feel the effects of it.

In some sense I was kind of excited that this had happened. The fact that I felt so violently unwell from taking probiotics perhaps pointed to the fact that I did have some kind of gut issue, which was a potentially useful revelation, although in the meantime I still felt horrendously ill. Most advice indicated that the reaction was temporary until you got “over the hump” but by day 7 I was still sick and things were only getting worse, so I stopped taking the pills altogether. 

After looking into how I could manage this better, it seemed like low-dose pills or small amounts of probiotic foods could be a way to manage the reaction while still improving, and as there was a health food store on my street, I decided to start experimenting with Kefir. The first night just to see I drank 2 cups of the stuff and of course felt violently ill again. I then embarked on a months-long journey of upping my dose from just tea-spoons to being able to tolerate about 1/2 to 1 cup per night. 

Within about six months I was able to dose freely with Kefir, and was eating other probiotic foods like sauerkraut and kimchi, all to positive effect. I managed to return to school following the end of my research placement, and although I still didn’t feel great, I would say I had made it back to another “stasis period”. 

My next hypothesis for improvement was to switch from probiotic foods to a supplement again, although just because it was simpler to take than cups of kefir and / or plates of sauerkraut every night. I experimented with quite a few that I found online. I tolerated most of them that had a dose of 100Bn bacteria or less, although somehow still felt better eating the fermented food. Eventually, I tried the Renew Life Mood & Stress probiotic (no longer in production) because it had some strains that were clinically proven to reduce stress levels, which had been one of my main symptoms in bad periods, and it seems to work quite well. I wouldn’t say it completely changed how I felt on a daily basis but it kept me stable to the point that I could stop having to drink Kefir all the time and things felt mostly alright. I felt as if I had found the answer at least for a little while.

Part VI: Stasis #2

This period was the longest in this whole mess. For six years from 2016 to 2022 I just took my daily probiotic supplement, kept a fairly clean diet, and once again got on with life. In this time I graduated from University, moved cities within Canada, and then moved to London to found a start-up which I am still a director of (it has nothing to do with gut health). Until 2018 I would occasionally drink when social engagements came up, but I still always felt somewhat sick after. After feeling ill for almost two weeks after drinking heavily at a company Christmas party, I gave up alcohol entirely. I also never really returned to high-sugar foods for how unwell they had made me feel in the past and also just lack of need (I always found not drinking much more socially inhibiting that not eating deserts and the like). 

It was in the spring of 2022 that, after 5-6 years of stasis, I once again became fed up with the whole thing. I was a young professional in my late twenties at this point and just didn’t understand why I had to take a probiotic supplement (of which I could only tolerate doses on the lower end) and eat a strict diet just to feel somewhat normal. I had considered longer-term solutions like getting a Fecal Microbiota Transplant to try and solve the issue once and for all, but most things like that were only offered privately, were expensive and the providers that did exist seemed a bit suspect (most FMT-type treatments are only available in clinical trials or for C-dificile infections at the moment). 

Somewhere in here a nurse I spoke to at an FMT clinic I had called told me to try going keto and see if it helped. I did it and felt pretty awesome for four months but lost a ton of weight (I was already very skinny) and found it very hard to maintain (especially socially). I eventually gave it up returned to a whole-grain high-protein diet. 

Part VII: Descent #3

After considering various options of how I reasonably could take action to improve my health and general life condition, I came up with the solution of finding a Nutritionist experienced in gut health issues. I had spent a lot of time avoiding medical professionals after my initial bad experiences with doctors and nutritionists either not being able to help or actually being actively unhelpful by questioning all of the symptoms and whether my reactions to foods were just psychosomatic, but I decided it was time to try again. I found a registered dietician in London who also had a PhD in gut microbiome research, which seemed like a great fit.

I shared my whole story with all of my symptoms and current condition, and although she had some questions about my sugar reaction and some of the weirder extended stress symptoms, she mostly accepted the story and that I clearly had some kind of untreated gut health issue. Her recommendation was that my diet was already positive (although could try introducing a few more carbs) and that the probiotic I was taking was as good as could be recommended by current knowledge in the field (noted that it is generally quite personal which ones work for some people and others not, and they don’t really know why). 

In terms of path forward, she recommended that I try introducing some more prebiotic foods and potentially a prebiotic supplement. Going down the list of my daily diet, it was already quite prebiotic / fibre-heavy, so we decided to try a supplement. The idea is that the prebiotic fibre helps feed and grow more of the probiotics you are taking in the supplement, and will improve your gut health. 

I started taking a daily dose (12g) of inulin, the best-validated prebiotic supplement available. The first few days I didn’t feel great and had pretty upset digestion, but nothing crazy. After about 3-4 days, I started having a reaction similar to the first time I ever tried high-dose probiotics. I felt pretty spaced out, generally ill, and hadn’t much appetite or desire for food. I interpreted this as being another Herxheimer reaction, so decided to stick with the supplementation. After about 1 month I still felt really unwell. Most days were a struggle to get through, I was in a total fog, and felt a lot of the extreme stress sensitivity of my initial low-points creeping back in. I spoke to the nutritionist and we decided that I would reduce my inulin dose or stop taking it all together. I reduced my dose by 1/2 and then by 1/3 but still felt increasingly unwell, so two weeks later stopped taking it all together. 

The next month was very uncomfortable. I felt quite ill most days, had general nausea / feelings of disorientation, wasn’t really tolerating most foods, and wasn’t sure what was going on again. In a last ditch, I decided to stop taking all supplements (at this point just my daily probiotic). For about two weeks after stopping the probiotics I didn’t feel all that different, but then somewhere around 12-14 days in, things started to go seriously south. Day by day, or even hour by hour at one point, I started to feel things degrading at first back to the all-day stress symptoms I had in the very beginning of this whole journey, and then to a version like 100x worse than that.

At one point I didn’t sleep for almost five days. My heart was permanently bounding out of my chest, and I was just in excruciating pain every single minute of the waking hours. I had to quit my job for a period of time, and my life was otherwise completely turned upside down. Without going into too many specifics, as I have tried to focus at first on the health aspect here, this is also the closest I came to thinking that perhaps life had just not really worked out for me and it was time to consider giving up on it. For whatever reason I still don’t completely understand, I stuck with it and suffered through the worst.

The greatest intensity of these symptoms lasted for about a month. I went back on the keto diet just because I had felt well on it in the past and didn’t really know what else to do, and after 5-6 weeks I was able to return to work, although only part-time, and somewhat get a handle on my life. I still felt pretty unwell most of the time, and had become quite isolated personally and socially because of it, but at least it felt like the adrenaline tap had lowered a bit and I could mostly suffer through each day. 

From a health-hypothesis point of view, I was a bit at wits end. I had contacted the nutritionist again and although she agreed the prebiotics can cause an adverse health reaction in some individuals for reasons not well understood, she didn’t really accept most of what I was saying around the extreme stress symptoms returning, and seemed a bit doubtful of me and what I was presenting. I decided that was about as far as we could continue together. Although I don’t deny I was in a terrible mental state at that time (which would be the case for anyone given the circumstances), I was completely convinced, and am unwavering to this day about the fact that the principal source of my issue was a serious, unadressed physical condition.

Part VIII: Ascent #3

All I felt I really had left was to go to a hospital and just accept whatever treatment they proposed (whether tranquilizers, sedation, some other drug or therapy I wasn’t aware of) or lay it all out for an experienced gastroenterologist / digestive specialist and just see what happened. I had often thought of seeking a specialist doctor, but was wary as pretty much all GPs and other doctors had been quite dismissive of my symptoms and assumed condition in the past. Here, however, we were quite literally in the “nothing to lose” position. With how things had gone the last months and my current life situation, I felt that if I didn’t fix this once and for all there was quite little point in continuing to live. 

Luckily, I am at least somewhat a person of means, and in the UK there is quite an availability of private medical specialists who will see you for a cash fee. I went to one I had found from a private doctor review website who seemed to have some experience in chronic digestive and gut health issues. I explained to him this entire story, perhaps not quite in such detail and with such emotional weight around specifics of how bad it felt, but largely my reaction to certain foods, how I had tried to manage it over the years, and my current situation. 

Firstly, he broadly accepted most of what I was saying, which was quite relieving in the first instance. His answer, although inconcrete, was that digestive health is, even for him and other experts, a very poorly understood area. He couldn’t say exactly why this was happening to me, but if I had the time and money he was willing to start looking into it with me and see if there were any potential solutions. For the first time, I felt as if an established member of the medical community was accepting their own blind spots in whatever this issue was , and willing to try and help.

His first suggestion was to run some tests to rule out more common and well-understood digestive disorders like Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. These all came back negative. Upon these results, he suggested that given my reaction to the prebiotic fibre and previous reaction to carbs and high-sugar foods, the most likely explanation was a chronic case of Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth or SIBO.  The way to diagnose would be a sugar or lactulose (another prebiotic) breath-test, and the treatment being a course of a choice of antibiotics to wipe out the overgrowth and try to correct the dysbiosis (gut microbiota imbalance). 

I was quite open that I didn’t really feel comfortable trying a sugar or prebiotic-fuelled test at that time, given how precarious my health and life position was and my previous reaction to both of those substances. He suggested that since the point of the test is to see if either the sugar or lactulose cook up any bad bacteria and produce gas, and I had already shown a very negative anecdotal reaction to both with associated gas production, he was happy to just prescribe an empirical dose of the antibiotics. 

This is now going back a bit, but as a child I was given a tremendous amount of antibiotics. I am fairly convinced that that is what caused all these issues for me, or was at least the main contributor. So naturally I was a bit wary of another doctor giving me more antibiotics, although I trusted this new one quite a lot. I eventually found online that there is some validation of natural antimicrobial and anti fungal substances being helpful in treating overgrowths and gut dysbiosis, so I decided to explore those options first. They are mostly all formulations of herbal oils and concentrates. It’s the sort of thing I would have been quite skeptical of before all of this started, but at this point I had had so many unexpected negative and positive reactions to different foods, supplements and treatments that I was more or less willing to try anything.

The best validated one is called Candibactin. It’s a combined treatment of mostly Oregano Oil and a Chinese Herb called berberine. I ordered some online and decided to give it a whirl. By my third dose, I was having an extremely intense version of what I experienced when I first took probiotics. Persistent headaches, sweating, lack of appetite, general unwellness and pain. It felt like an extremely intense flu and at some point I felt like I was spiking a fever. I chalked this up to the Herxheimmer reaction again and stuck with it. Once again, by about day 7, the symptoms were still extremely intense and I had to give up on the treatment. Interestingly, although I was in extreme discomfort, my digestion had normalized in this time (I will spare you the description). I didn’t really know what to make of this but it is interesting that the supplements had at least done something. 

Following the experience on the herbal supplement which I had no desire to repeat for the moment, my symptoms somewhat stabilized although didn’t return to what they were prior to starting them. I wouldn’t say I felt notably better or worse but just “different”. I decided it was time to give the pharmaceuticals a go and see if I could tolerate them or if they were helpful in some other way, so I took a two week course of Rifaximin (the drug they give for SIBO). Being on Rifaximin was an extremely painful experience, but not quite as bad as the herbal supplements so I managed to push through it and by the end it had had quite a positive effect on me. I still didn’t feel great after the Rifaximin, and continued to work only part-time, but it had definitely done something. 

Somewhere in here I also commissioned a microbiome stool test, which showed I had a quite significant dysbiosis (low levels of lactobacilli with almost undetectable levels of bifidobacterium, and a strong overgrowth of H2S-producing pathogens). It also showed I had an active H-Pylori infection and extremely poor absorption of fat and other macronutrients. Off the back of it the gastro prescribed me a triple-course of antibiotics to clear the H-Pylori and attributed the poor absorption to persistent SIBO. The triple-therapy for H. Pylori was a horrible experience and I actually ended up in hospital and was told to stop taking one of the drugs (Flagyl / Metronidazole) because it was giving me tinnitus, insomnia and general disorientation, which apparently can be a side effect, but the treatment otherwise worked. 

After this latest course of antibiotics, I was, as before, not in a life-ending position, but my health was still quite bad. I was not accomplishing much at work, and I had essentially no social life. I decided something had to change, so I told my work I would take two months off after Christmas and do whatever I needed to do to solve this thing. The two remaining options I had before me were to try the herbal formulations again, or eat a completely liquid diet for 2-3 weeks to try and starve the pathogenic overgrowth (actually a clinically validated method of treating SIBO).

I first tried a fat-based version of the elemental diet first (most are sugar-based and I didn’t want to test that again), but it caused extremely painful stomach-burning feelings, which apparently can be caused by caprylic acid in the MCT oil it is primarily composed of, and I stopped after two days. After meditating on it for about five days I decided to just re-start the herbal formulations and endure whatever pain it caused me until this thing was hopefully cured. 

So began two years of varied supplementation and antibiotics. I switched off the Candibactin formulation at one point to another called FC-cidal & Dysbiocide, as is recommended to avoid building resistance, although this is less common with the natural products, and also took multiple further courses of Rifaximin as things weren’t progressing as quickly as I’d hoped. The experience was painful but in different ways than it had been the first time around, and also took a lot longer than I expected, although I suppose after 10 years at it that shouldn’t have been surprising. I am not entirely sure why being on the herbals the second time around was less extreme than the first. I don’t know if they were less effective than at the first exposure, or that something about my situation had changed, but it was different in some way. It’s also worth noting that pretty much the whole time I was taking the herbal supplements & Rifaximin I stayed on a Keto or SCD diet (specific carbohydrate diet, basically no starches and reduced carb), although I’ve moved off this in recent months as I’ve started to feel better.

Part IX: Today

Something seems to have worked. I can’t point to it concretely or specifically, I am not a microbiologist or a gastroenterologist, but my life feels so much better now than it did when all this kicked off, and I feel very positive about the future. I am actually back on a 3-month course of Rifaximin that my gastro has prescribed me at the moment to see if we can totally kick the issue, and will probably follow-up with some kind of diet / supplement regimen for some time after that, but either way my symptoms are so much improved by what I've done in the last two years that that feels like a success. I can't say that the problem is gone forever or would never come back but I definitely understand it a lot better and have a lot of tools to make sure that my life doesn't fall apart again like it did those last three times.

I still don’t really know what this all means to me personally. The process of getting better (trying the prebiotic, having my health collapse, taking the various pharmaceutical & herbal antibiotics) almost destroyed me as a person. At some point I had distanced myself almost completely from my job, my girlfriend at the time, most friends and pretty much any semblance of a normal social life or any life at all. For the better part of a year life was really just an existence of suffering every day and hoping to make it to the next one. Despite that, and that of course things always can or could have gone differently, I unfortunately feel as if at a high level I had no other choice. I was completely unwilling to spend the rest of my life living below my full potential of enjoyment, and was always going to do whatever it took to get there. I am sometimes shocked that I managed to survive all of this, but I am here, still living and will try to deal with whatever the experience has done to me in the same way I dealt with the issue itself: by living it, experiencing it day by day, not turning away from it, and knowing that no matter how dark the world can become, so long as you are still here, it is not really over. 

Although the physical symptoms were and have been excruciatingly painful, one of the most difficult things about this whole experience has been the level of misunderstanding and invalidation, both from the medical community and from some friends, family, other personal acquaintances and the general public, around what happened to me. I understand that it is a difficult story to follow, but unfortunately it was all very real and somehow I managed to find a route out of it for now. One day the medical community will figure this out and understand what happened to me and others like me (because they are also out there in very sad corners of the internet - links below), and share it with the world to build our collective understanding and compassion. Until then it is strange to be one of the few people to know all of this and what this experience feels like and has felt like, but I am trying day by day to come closer to people and understand why we aren’t yet equipped as a society to address these kinds issues on multiple fronts. I don’t blame anyone for not understanding what was happening to me, but the few who did and were willing to listen at the time are angels and I’m not sure I would have gotten through it without them.

Eventually I hope I will fully recover from all of this. Physically, mentally, emotionally, because it has touched every aspect of my life over the last twelve years. Until then I am just here living every day in this strange situation of being a survivor of such a horrible, confusing and largely misunderstood problem. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/ibs/comments/jpkol3/how_probiotics_destroyed_my_health_long_storyrant/

[chronicbeans]

1000 Follower Special! Checking into the Iolite Hospital!

I didn't know what to do and someone mentioned liking my story, so here you go! It has a little twist at the end, tying into one of my other stories. Yippee!

TW: Hospital Setting/Doctors, Chronic Illness, Mentions of Death/Nihilism, Derealization, Escapism

You open your eyes, feeling a wave of dizziness and vertigo hit you. The world seems to be moving and spinning as you sit up. Looking beneath you, you realize that the grass, which used to be an unnatural green tone, is now a crimson red. Before you sits a large mansion or manor, that says "Iolite Hospital" on the front. You can even see what looks to be the edge of a large playground in the backyard...

Since it seems to be the only place nearby, you decide to approach and enter it, intending to ask for help. You don't know how to got here, but you were not in the... Best situation beforehand. You want directions to get home. To be free.

Entering, you see a large waiting room, filled with the strangest of people. People with floating eyes for heads, people with no eyes, and even people with animal features. The person at the front desk has a red, rotary phone for a head, which they are currently using to talk to someone.

"No, Jessie! I am NOT free this Saturday! I am, in fact, very busy-!" They cut themselves off, their phone head turning a bit more towards you. "Jessie... I need to call you later... Something has happened." They place the handset on the place where it rests, asking "Are you... A human...?"

You look around, seeing that everyone is staring at you. You slowly say "Umm... yes?" The phone headed person stands up, saying "Oh... oh my stars... I need to call someone. Sit right over there! Dr. Cogsworth will come get you!" They then dial something on their head, speaking on the phone with someone.

Sitting down in the waiting room, a large portrait catches your eye. A person, almost human looking, stares at you. They look completely white, with long white hair that reaches their knees, paper white skin and eyebrows... even their clothes are white. The only color seems to be their eyes, which are a glittering purple, and a crack in their face, revealing iolite inside of them. Almost like a human geode. The plaque at the bottom reads "Our Founder, Dr. Pierce Iolite".

This place seems like a dream. Everything... looks fuzzy in a sense. Like a foggy television screen, or trying to remember a dream, but failing. It all just seems fake. From the strange creatures around you, to the strange aura the hospital gives off.

The sounds of robotic clicks and the chiming of a music box approach, before a door opens. A most peculiar man enters the room, asking "I heard there is a human? I am here to help you. Where are you?" He looks around, before his glowing green eyes spot you. "Human."

You swallow thickly, staring at the large, winding key on his back, subconsciously saying "Yes... I am a human." Then, you stand and follow him. There isn't much else to do and he seems like a doctor. He can help, maybe. Doctors are smart!

As the both of you walk down the hallway, you hear the sounds of singing from down one of the halls, followed by a loud "Nothing matters, so who cares if your life is a waste!" then, the crashing of a bunch of items to the floor. As if reading your mind, the music box man says "That is the mortuary ward. Baxter, to be specific. He is... eccentric."

Ascending through an elevator, you finally ask "Where are you taking me? Can you help me?" He is silent, looking down at you. He then speaks, in the most monotonous voice ever "You wish to get away from the neighborhood, don't you?"

You let out a soft gasp from shock. Looking around, you see that you have made it to a floor called "C-Floor". The man continues "I am Dr. Cogsworth. I have been created to replicate humans. You are a human. I am meant to replicate you. There is no need to be afraid. I am, specifically, the head gastroenterologist of this hospital. I am helping you, simply because I have the most knowledge of humans."

Then, his cold, cold hand takes your own. Leading you into a room labeled "Playroom", you see a place right out of a nostalgic, eerie, and childish dream. There are those colorful play place tubes, slides, and even a ball pit. At the edge of the room, you see a man with curly bright orange hair staring at a television set. His patient gown has numerous eyes scribbled on with black marker. A pair of white wings flutter about his head.

He turns, his pale, eyeless face covered in blue freckles and a pink pacifier in his mouth. He takes it out, chirping in a childish tone of voice, despite the fact that his voice not sounding like a child's, at all. "New friend! Come on! The show is about to start! I haven't had a watch buddy in a while! I can share my chikin nuggies with you! They are dino nuggies!!"

Looking up to Dr. Cogsworth, he nods, gesturing for you to apporach. "You will know how I know your situation. Just watch." With no other choice, you approach the TV. The man hands you a plate of dino nuggets, alongside a carton of strawberry milk.

The show starts. The words "WELCOME HOME" flash onscreen.

Then, HE shows up. Wally Darling.

He quickly begins pounding his fist against the screen, crying out "(Y/N)!!! MY PUPPETEER!!! COME BACK!!! I LOVE YOU!!!"

The eyeless man laughs, pointing at you "He thinks you're (Y/N)! How cute! I love this show! Wally is so strange! Hehehe!"

The clicking of Dr. Cogsworth's gears approaches, before he says "Come with me to my office. We must speak of your care plan. You will be staying here for a long, long time." "I want to go home..." "There is no way home. The hospital has chosen you as a patient." "I want to go home..." "This place is better than being with him, right?"

You look back to the screen, seeing Wally looking at you with desperation in his eyes. His permanent smile seems to be straining, as if trying to frown but not being able to. He has caused you such misery... when the show stopped airing, and you weren't able to see Henry or Angela again, it became so much worse. To think, the show actually survived in this little... world? Dimension? Reality?

You look back up to the doctor, tears flowing down your face. "I guess so..."

"Then I am proud to welcome you to the Iolite Hospital, where you shall stay for as long as you are sick. In your case, I guess, you are staying here for a sense of escapism from your reality. I hope our services can provide that for you."

[darthhope999]

OC intro pt four!

Feel free to send me story or headcannon asks!

Check out the rest right here

William Stephens

Will is a gastroenterologist working at a hospital. He is caring and very competent, one of the best in his department. Although, he can be blunt and slightly ignorant to the feelings of those around him, especially those he is close to, he can be very empathetic. Will has pale blue eyes and light blonde hair, he wears black rimmed glasses and normally a white lab coat at work. He tends to get very nervous when he cannot control something, maybe one of the reasons he became a doctor.

Mason Stephens

Mason is a freelance artist specializing in fantasy-realism. They are introverted and very slow to open up, but once they do they are very protective and caring. Mason loves learning about and talking about art history and a multitude of different movies. Otherwise, they are very professional and to the point. They own a rabbit name Raven and a puppy named Scout. They have blue-green eyes and very light blonde hair, and, like their brother, wear glasses. They have some form of IBS (or just a chronic pain illness) but can’t afford much to help it.

Moodboard

Picrew

Nathan Scarlett

Nate works as a police detective with his partner Natalie. He is enthusiastic and friendly, making him a good communicator, and logical when he needs to be, making him good at working under pressure. Nate is extremely extroverted and loves partying, he is also amazing at annoying the heck out of Will. He has hazel eyes and dark brown hair, and his face is almost always set in a smile. He normally wears shorts and a leather jacket when not a work.

Alex & Rosie Scarlett

The sisters of Nathan, they were separated from him at a very young age. The two live in an orphanage (not a good one either) and only get to see Nate once every six months. Alex is snarky and rebellious, luckily being very smart to back up her snide comments. She has green eyes and red hair with freckles spotting her cheeks. Rosie is about two years old and very obnoxious, she absolutely loves monkeys and the color blue. Like her sister, she has red hair, and like her brother, hazel eyes.

Raven

Scout

[drnishargpatel]

Early Signs of Colon Cancer: When to Consult the Best Colorectal Surgeon in Surat

Introduction

Colon cancer, a disease affecting the large intestine or colon, can develop silently over the years. Recognizing the early signs can significantly impact the effectiveness of treatment and recovery. While colon cancer often begins as small, benign clumps of cells called polyps, these can turn cancerous over time. This article explores “Top Early Indicators of Colon Cancer: How to Take Timely Action,” helping you understand when to consult a medical professional, including the best colorectal surgeon or gastroenterologist in Surat, for a proactive approach to colon health. By identifying and responding to early signs, individuals can make timely decisions that might lead to more successful treatment outcomes.

Understanding Colon Cancer and Its Risk Factors

Colon cancer typically develops from polyps, which are abnormal growths in the inner lining of the colon or rectum. Most polyps are harmless, but some can develop into cancer if left untreated. Although this cancer can affect anyone, certain factors increase the risk:

Age: Individuals aged 50 and above are at higher risk, although younger cases have been on the rise in recent years.

Family History: Those with a family history of colorectal cancer or polyps may have an increased risk.

Diet and Lifestyle: Diets high in processed foods, red meats, and low in fiber may contribute to colon cancer.

Medical Conditions: Conditions like inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and diabetes also increase the risk.

Smoking and Alcohol Consumption: Both habits have been linked to a higher risk of colon cancer.

Recognizing early symptoms, along with periodic screenings and lifestyle changes, can play a key role in prevention and early detection.

Early Signs of Colon Cancer

Spotting early signs can be challenging, as symptoms often overlap with other digestive conditions. However, certain symptoms warrant immediate attention:

1. Persistent Changes in Bowel Habits

Constipation or Diarrhea: Long-term or unusual bowel habit changes, especially when coupled with other symptoms, may signal a problem.

Narrow or Ribbon-Like Stools: Stools that are consistently thin can be an early indicator of an obstruction, possibly caused by a tumor in the colon.

Urgency and Incomplete Bowel Movements: Feeling like you need to go, but with incomplete bowel movements, could indicate a blockage.

2. Blood in the Stool

Bright Red or Dark Stools: Blood can appear either as bright red streaks or make stools appear dark or black.

Occult (Hidden) Blood: Sometimes, blood in the stool isn’t visible but can be detected through stool tests. This is why screening is essential, especially for those over 50 or with a family history of colon cancer.

3. Unexplained Weight Loss

Sudden Weight Loss: If you’re losing weight unexpectedly and rapidly, it could indicate cancer. The body may start using energy to fight cancerous cells, resulting in rapid weight loss.

Loss of Appetite: Colon cancer may reduce the body’s ability to process food normally, causing appetite changes.

4. Persistent Abdominal Pain or Discomfort

Cramps or Pain: Persistent abdominal pain or cramps, especially those that feel different from typical digestive discomfort, should be taken seriously.

Gas and Bloating: These symptoms, if lasting or unusual, may point to an underlying issue in the colon.

5. Fatigue and Weakness

Constant Fatigue: Colon cancer can cause anemia due to blood loss in the stool, leading to tiredness and lack of energy.

Shortness of Breath: This could result from anemia, which lowers oxygen levels in the body.

Screening and Diagnostic Procedures for Colon Cancer

Early screening is the most effective tool for preventing and diagnosing colon cancer. It’s recommended that individuals aged 50 and above undergo regular screenings, though those with a family history may need to start earlier. Some common diagnostic methods include:

Colonoscopy: This procedure allows a doctor to view the entire colon and remove polyps if found.

Stool Tests: These tests can detect blood or abnormal DNA in the stool.

CT Colonography: Also called a virtual colonoscopy, this imaging test creates a detailed view of the colon.

Flexible Sigmoidoscopy: This test examines the lower part of the colon and rectum for abnormalities.

Getting screened as advised by your healthcare provider can help detect polyps or abnormal growths early, potentially preventing cancer from developing.

When to Consult a Colorectal Surgeon

If you or a loved one notices the early signs listed above, it may be time to consult a colorectal surgeon or specialist. Immediate medical attention may be necessary if symptoms are persistent, especially for blood in the stool, unusual abdominal pain, or unexplained weight loss. Early intervention is critical; it enables more treatment options and may result in less invasive procedures.

Treatment Options for Colon Cancer

If diagnosed early, colon cancer is often treatable with a range of options:

1. Surgery

Polypectomy: Early-stage cancer contained in polyps may be removed during a colonoscopy.

Partial Colectomy: For more advanced cases, the surgeon may remove part of the colon.

Colostomy: In some cases, an artificial opening is created to reroute waste from the digestive tract.

2. Chemotherapy

Purpose: Chemotherapy is often used after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells.

Common Side Effects: Side effects may include fatigue, nausea, and loss of appetite.

3. Radiation Therapy

Combination with Chemotherapy: Often used along with chemotherapy, especially for rectal cancer, radiation therapy can shrink tumors and alleviate pain.

4. Targeted Therapy and Immunotherapy

Targeted Therapy: This treatment targets specific molecules to kill cancer cells.

Immunotherapy: Immunotherapy helps the body’s immune system recognize and fight cancer cells, an option for advanced cases with specific genetic markers.

A consultation with a specialist helps determine which treatment path is best, depending on the stage and specific characteristics of the cancer.

Recovery and Lifestyle Adjustments

Following treatment, lifestyle changes are essential for promoting recovery and reducing the risk of recurrence:

Healthy Diet: A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein supports healing and boosts the immune system.

Regular Exercise: Moderate physical activity helps maintain weight and boosts overall health.

Routine Screenings: Regular follow-up screenings are crucial to monitor your recovery and detect any recurrence.

Avoid Smoking and Limit Alcohol: Both habits increase the risk of recurrence and should be minimized.

Conclusion

Recognizing the early signs of colon cancer and acting quickly can make a significant difference in outcomes. If you’re experiencing any persistent symptoms, it’s wise to consult a healthcare provider or colorectal specialist to discuss your concerns. For those seeking expert advice, a gastroenterologist in Surat can provide a thorough evaluation and recommend appropriate screenings.

Remember, early intervention can save lives. By understanding the signs, taking preventive steps, and seeking timely care, you can take proactive control over your health and reduce the risk of advanced colon cancer.

[drmanishkumargupta]

Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) Bleeding: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment

Upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a serious condition that can lead to significant health complications if not treated promptly. It refers to any form of bleeding that originates from the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract, which includes the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum (the first part of the small intestine). If you are experiencing any symptoms of upper GI bleeding, it's crucial to seek medical attention immediately.

At Gastro, Liver & Endoscopy Center, under the expert care of Dr. Manish Gupta, one of the Best Gastro Specialists in Ghaziabad, we offer comprehensive diagnostic and treatment services for GI-related conditions, including upper GI bleeding. This blog will help you understand the symptoms, causes, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of upper GI bleeding, so you can make informed decisions about your health.

Symptoms of Upper GI Bleeding:

The symptoms of upper GI bleeding can vary depending on the severity of the bleeding, but common signs include:

Hematemesis (Vomiting Blood): Vomiting blood, which may appear red or look like coffee grounds, is one of the most noticeable signs of upper GI bleeding. The darker appearance occurs when blood is partially digested.

Melena (Black, Tarry Stools): Black, sticky stools that have a foul odor are a sign of digested blood. This occurs when blood from the upper GI tract mixes with digestive enzymes and acids before being excreted.

Hematochesia (Bright Red Blood in Stool): In some cases, blood may pass through the stool in a bright red form, indicating that the bleeding is more recent.

Abdominal Pain: Patients may experience discomfort or pain in the upper abdomen, particularly after eating.

Weakness and Fatigue: Chronic or severe bleeding can lead to anemia, causing symptoms like fatigue, dizziness, and weakness.

Paleness: A pale appearance, especially when associated with other symptoms, can signal a drop in red blood cells due to blood loss.

If you notice any of these signs, it is essential to consult a Top Gastroenterologist in Noida, such as Dr. Manish Gupta, as soon as possible for an accurate diagnosis and timely treatment.

Causes of Upper GI Bleeding:

Several factors can lead to upper GI bleeding. Some of the most common causes include:

Peptic Ulcers: Peptic ulcers are sores that develop in the lining of the stomach or duodenum. These ulcers can erode blood vessels, leading to bleeding. Helicobacter pylori infection and prolonged use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are common causes of peptic ulcers.

Gastritis: Inflammation of the stomach lining, often caused by infection, alcohol consumption, or prolonged use of painkillers, can lead to bleeding.

Esophageal Varices: Swollen veins in the lower part of the esophagus can rupture and cause significant bleeding. Esophageal varices are commonly associated with liver disease, particularly cirrhosis.

Mallory-Weiss Tear: A tear in the lining of the esophagus, often caused by severe vomiting or retching, can result in upper GI bleeding.

Gastrointestinal Cancer: Tumors in the stomach or esophagus can cause bleeding, often in the later stages.

Angiodysplasia: Abnormal blood vessels in the gastrointestinal tract can rupture and cause bleeding.

A comprehensive evaluation by an experienced gastroenterologist, such as Dr. Manish Gupta, can help identify the exact cause of the bleeding and tailor the treatment accordingly.

Diagnosis of Upper GI Bleeding:

To diagnose upper GI bleeding, your gastroenterologist will perform a thorough physical examination and review your medical history. The following diagnostic tests may be used:

Endoscopy (EGD): The most common procedure for diagnosing upper GI bleeding is an upper endoscopy (also called esophagogastroduodenoscopy or EGD). During this procedure, a flexible tube with a camera is inserted through the mouth to examine the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum.

Blood Tests: Blood tests, including complete blood count (CBC), liver function tests, and coagulation tests, help assess the severity of the bleeding, anemia, and liver function.

Stool Test: A stool sample may be collected to check for the presence of blood, especially when melena is suspected.

CT Scan or Angiography: In certain cases, imaging studies like a CT scan or angiography may be used to locate the source of bleeding, particularly in cases of active or recurrent bleeding.

At Gastro, Liver & Endoscopy Center, we offer state-of-the-art diagnostic tools to ensure accurate and timely diagnosis. As one of the Best Gastroenterologists in Ghaziabad, Dr. Manish Gupta provides expert care and uses the latest technology to identify the root cause of your symptoms.

Prevention of Upper GI Bleeding:

While some causes of upper GI bleeding cannot be prevented, there are several lifestyle changes and precautions that can reduce the risk:

Avoid Excessive Alcohol Consumption: Excessive alcohol use is a major risk factor for both gastritis and esophageal varices. Limiting alcohol intake can significantly lower your risk.

Use NSAIDs Wisely: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen and aspirin, can irritate the stomach lining and increase the risk of ulcers and bleeding. If you must take them, do so under the guidance of a doctor.

Treat Helicobacter pylori Infection: If you have been diagnosed with an H. pylori infection, it is essential to undergo appropriate treatment to eradicate the bacteria and reduce the risk of developing ulcers.

Manage Chronic Conditions: Conditions such as cirrhosis, liver disease, and clotting disorders can increase the risk of bleeding. Regular monitoring and treatment can help manage these conditions.

Eat a Balanced Diet: A healthy diet, rich in fiber and low in processed foods, helps maintain the health of your gastrointestinal system and can aid in preventing ulcers and other gastrointestinal issues.

Consulting with a Top Gastroenterologist in Noida, such as Dr. Manish Gupta, can provide valuable guidance on lifestyle changes and preventive measures based on your specific health profile.

Treatment of Upper GI Bleeding:

The treatment for upper GI bleeding depends on the cause and the severity of the bleeding. The primary treatment options include:

Endoscopic Therapy: If the bleeding is from a source that can be directly visualized, such as an ulcer or varices, endoscopic treatments like cauterization, injection therapy, or banding can be used to stop the bleeding.

Medications: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may be prescribed to reduce stomach acid and promote healing of ulcers. If bleeding is due to an H. pylori infection, antibiotics will be used to treat the infection.

Blood Transfusion: In cases of severe blood loss, blood transfusions may be necessary to stabilize the patient and replenish lost red blood cells.

Surgery: In rare cases, when other treatments fail or if the bleeding is from a large tumor, surgery may be required to remove the affected area of the gastrointestinal tract.

At Gastro, Liver & Endoscopy Center, Dr. Manish Gupta, as one of the Best Gastroenterologists in Ghaziabad, offers personalized treatment plans for upper GI bleeding to ensure the best possible outcomes.

[healthlifeindubai]

✨ Your Guide to Finding an Amazing Gastroenterologist in Dubai! 🌟

Hey there! 👋 If you're on the hunt for a gastroenterologist in Dubai, you're not alone! Whether you're dealing with tummy troubles or just need a check-up, Dubai's got some seriously impressive healthcare options that'll make your stomach (and you) much happier!

Real Talk: Success Stories 💫

Picture this: A 25-year-old digital nomad (let's call her Maya) who couldn't enjoy Dubai's amazing food scene because of constant bloating and discomfort. After finding the right specialist, she discovered she had IBS and got the help she needed. Now she's living her best life, trying out every cuisine Dubai has to offer! 🍜

Another win? A gaming streamer (we'll call him Alex) who ignored his acid reflux for months (sound familiar?). One quick consultation later, and he got the treatment he needed. Now he can stream without worrying about those uncomfortable symptoms! 🎮

Why Dubai Though? 🌆

Super modern facilities (seriously, they're like something from the future!)

Evening appointments (perfect for night owls!)

Multiple language options (no awkward translation apps needed!)

Quick appointment scheduling (bye-bye waiting lists!)

Insurance-friendly options available

The Tea on What to Look For ☕

Check their credentials (those letters after their name? They matter!)

Read reviews (real talk from real patients)

Location matters (Dubai traffic is no joke!)

Insurance coverage (keep that wallet happy!)

Red Flags to Watch Out For 🚩

Can't get follow-up appointments

Won't answer your questions

Rushing through consultations

No clear treatment plans

Pro Tips! 💁‍♀️

Want to make the most of your visit?

Write down your symptoms

Take photos of any medications you're using

Note down your questions

Track your triggers

Finding the right gastroenterologist in Dubai doesn't have to be stressful! With so many amazing healthcare providers available, you're bound to find someone who gets you and your gut!

Got questions? Drop them below! And don't forget to reblog if this helped you! 💕

[reddinggastroocare]

How to Choose the Right Gastroenterologist in Redding

Our digestive system is a complex network that plays a vital role in overall health. When digestive issues arise, seeking the expertise of a qualified gastroenterologist is crucial. If you're in Redding, CA, and looking for a gastroenterologist, Redding GastroCare can be your trusted partner.

Why Choose a Gastroenterologist?

Gastroenterologists specialize in diagnosing and treating disorders of the digestive system, including:

Acid reflux and heartburn

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

Celiac disease

Liver diseases

Pancreatic diseases

How to Choose the Right Gastroenterologist

1.      Experience and Reputation:

a.       Consider the gastroenterologist's experience and reputation.

b.      Look for reviews and testimonials from past patients to gauge their satisfaction.

2.      Hospital Affiliations:

a.       Check if the gastroenterologist is affiliated with reputable hospitals in the area.

b.      Hospital affiliations often indicate a high level of care and access to advanced diagnostic tools.

3.      Communication Skills:

a.       A good doctor-patient relationship is essential for effective treatment.

b.      Look for a gastroenterologist who is patient, listens attentively, and explains medical conditions clearly.

4.      Accessibility and Convenience:

a.       Consider the gastroenterologist's office location and availability.

b.      Choose a provider who is conveniently located and has flexible appointment times.

Redding GastroCare: Your Trusted Partner in Digestive Health

At Redding GastroCare, we are committed to providing exceptional care for your digestive health. Our experienced gastroenterologists in Redding, CA, offer a comprehensive range of services, including:

Colonoscopy

Endoscopy

Biopsy

Nutritional counseling

Medication management

Minimally invasive procedures

Schedule Your Appointment Today

If you're experiencing digestive issues, don't hesitate to seek professional help. Contact Redding GastroCare to schedule an appointment with one of our expert gastroenterologists. Your gut health deserves the best care.

[tremendouspersonarbiter]

10 Warning Signs of Gastrointestinal Diseases: When to See a Doctor

Our digestive system plays a critical part in maintaining overall health, and when something goes wrong, it’s important to act quickly. In India, gastrointestinal( GI) conditions are more common than many realize, affecting 7 out of every 10 people at some point. Recognizing early warning signs can result in significant differences in receiving timely and effective treatment. Consulting an expert like Dr. N Subrahmaneswara Babu, widely regarded as the best gastroenterologist in Hyderabad, ensures you get the best possible care for your digestive health.

What Is a Gastroenterologist?

A gastroenterologist is a doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating conditions related to the digestive system. This includes your esophagus, stomach, intestines, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, and rectum. These specialists are trained to treat conditions like acid reflux( GERD), gallstones, irritable bowel syndrome( IBS), Crohn’s complaints, and many others.

What Does a Gastroenterologist Do?

A gastroenterologist provides care for patients witnessing digestive troubles. They achieve tests like endoscopies, colonoscopies, and biopsies to check for effects such as ulcers, polyps, or inflammation. They can also suggest lifestyle changes, prescribe drugs, or recommend surgery for more serious conditions.

Now, let’s take a look at,

10 Signs You Need to See a Gastroenterologist:

 Persistent Abdominal Pain: If you have been experiencing constant or recurring pain in your stomach, it might be a sign of an underlying digestive problem. Conditions like ulcers, gallstones, or IBS can affect abdominal pain. However, it’s time to seek expert guidance from the Digestive health specialist in Hyderabad, similar to Dr. N Subrahmaneswara Babu if the pain lasts for days and may worsen.

Frequent Heartburn or Acid Reflux: Occasional heartburn is common, but if you are feeling that burning sensation in your chest constantly, it could be GERD( Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease). Left untreated, GERD can cause damage to the esophagus. A gastroenterologist can help diagnose and treat this condition.

Unexplained Weight Loss: Losing weight without any changes in your diet or physical activity can be a red flag. Unintentional weight loss could be linked to serious conditions like Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, or even cancer. Consulting a specialist like Dr. N Subrahmaneswara Babu can assist in identifying the cause.

Difficulty Swallowing: If you’re having trouble swallowing food or liquids (known as dysphagia), it may be a sign of an issue in your esophagus. Problems like achalasia or esophageal strictures could be the reason behind it, and timely treatment is essential.

Persistent Diarrhea or Constipation: Everyone experiences digestive problems from time to time, but if you are having persistent diarrhea or constipation, it may point to conditions like IBS, colitis, or colon cancer. These symptoms should never be ignored if they last for more than a few weeks.

Blood in Your Stool: Seeing blood in your coprolite, whether it’s bright red or darkish, can be alarming. This could be a signal of hemorrhoids, ulcers, or colon cancer. A gastroenterologist will assist to determine the cause and give the right treatment.

Bloating and Gas: Frequent bloating, gas, or a feeling of fullness can indicate conditions like lactose intolerance, IBS, or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth( SIBO). These symptoms may look minor but can significantly affect your quality of life if left untreated.

Unexplained Fatigue: Feeling constantly tired or weak, even after a full night’s sleep, could be a signal of malabsorption. Conditions like celiac disease or chronic liver disease can affect how your body absorbs nutrients, leading to fatigue.

Jaundice (Yellowing of the Skin or Eyes): If you notice yellowing of your skin or eyes, it could be a sign of liver disease or bile duct problems. These conditions require immediate medical attention, and a gastroenterologist like Dr. N. Subrahmaneswara Babu can help diagnose and treat them.

Change in Bowel Habits: Any significant change in your bowel habits, whether it’s in the frequency, consistency, or color of your coprolite, should be watched. These changes can occasionally indicate conditions like IBD( Inflammatory Bowel complaint), colon polyps, or cancer.

When Should You See a Gastroenterologist?

If you’re experiencing any of the above symptoms, it’s essential to consult a gastroenterologist to get a proper diagnosis and treatment plan. Dr. N. Subrahmaneswara Babu, one of the best GI specialists in Hyderabad, has years of experience treating a wide range of gastrointestinal diseases. Early detection and treatment can prevent complications and enhance your quality of life.

Taking care of your digestive health is important, and knowing when to seek help can make all the difference. If you are looking for expert guidance and treatment from a leading gastroenterologist in Hyderabad. Dr. N. Subrahmaneswara Babu is here to support you. Book an appointment today to ensure you receive the best care for your digestive health.

[gastroenterologistingurgaon]

Signs You Might Have a Serious Gastro Problem

Digestive issues are common, but how do you know when your stomach troubles require medical attention? While occasional bloating, indigestion, or discomfort may be harmless, persistent or severe symptoms could signal a more serious gastrointestinal problem. Early detection and intervention are crucial for managing these conditions effectively. If you're experiencing any of the following signs, it may be time to consult a Gastroenterologist in Gurgaon.

1. Persistent Abdominal Pain

Occasional stomach cramps are normal, but persistent or intense abdominal pain should not be ignored. This can indicate underlying conditions such as ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or even inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. If the pain is sharp, severe, or localized to one area of your abdomen, especially if accompanied by nausea or vomiting, it's best to consult a stomach doctor in Gurgaon for a thorough evaluation.

2. Unexplained Weight Loss

Losing weight without making changes to your diet or exercise routine could be a red flag for gastrointestinal issues. Conditions such as celiac disease, peptic ulcers, or even more serious concerns like stomach cancer could be behind this unexplained weight loss. A Gastroenterologist in Gurgaon will be able to run the necessary tests to determine the cause and provide appropriate treatment options.

3. Frequent Heartburn or Acid Reflux

Experiencing heartburn occasionally is normal, especially after eating spicy or fatty foods. However, if heartburn or acid reflux becomes a regular occurrence, it could indicate a more severe condition, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Chronic GERD can damage the esophagus and lead to complications if not managed correctly.

4. Changes in Bowel Habits

Frequent diarrhea, constipation, or noticeable changes in the consistency of your stool could signal a serious gastrointestinal problem. Conditions like IBS, diverticulitis, or even colon cancer can present through abnormal bowel habits.

5. Bloating and Excessive Gas

While occasional bloating or gas is common after eating certain foods, excessive or persistent bloating can indicate a more serious issue like food intolerances (such as lactose intolerance) or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). If bloating and gas are accompanied by other symptoms like pain or changes in bowel habits, it's wise to consult a Gastroenterologist to rule out more severe conditions.

6. Difficulty Swallowing

Difficulty swallowing, also known as dysphagia, could be a symptom of a gastrointestinal problem such as GERD or esophageal motility disorders. In some cases, it could be a sign of something more concerning, like esophageal cancer. If you frequently experience pain or difficulty when swallowing, it’s important to see a stomach doctor in Gurgaon for further evaluation.

7. Nausea and Vomiting

Nausea and vomiting that persist for days or weeks without an apparent cause may indicate a serious digestive problem. This could be related to stomach ulcers, infections, or even conditions affecting other parts of the digestive system, like the liver or pancreas.

[reddinggastrocare]

Finding the Best GI Doctor in Redding: What You Need to Know

Finding the right gastroenterologist (GI doctor) is important for anyone experiencing digestive issues. After all, your GI doctor will be responsible for diagnosing and treating a wide range of conditions, from heartburn and constipation to more serious problems like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

If you’re looking for the best GI doctor in Redding, California, then look no further than Redding Gastrocare. Here’s why:

Experienced team: Redding Gastrocare has a team of experienced doctors and specialists who are all board-certified in gastroenterology. This means that they have the knowledge and expertise to diagnose and treat even the most complex digestive conditions.

Advanced diagnostic tools: The practice uses the latest diagnostic tools and technologies, which allows them to get to the root of your digestive problems quickly and accurately.

Patient-centered care: At Redding Gastrocare, they prioritize patient comfort and satisfaction. They take the time to listen to your concerns and develop a treatment plan that is right for you.

Additional Tips for Finding the Best GI Doctor

In addition to the factors mentioned above, there are a few other things to keep in mind when searching for the best GI doctor for you:

Insurance coverage: Make sure that the GI doctor you choose is in-network with your insurance plan.

Location: Consider how convenient the GI doctor’s office location is for you.

Bedside manner: It’s important to find a GI doctor who you feel comfortable talking to about your digestive problems.

By considering these factors, you can be sure to find the best GI doctor in Redding to meet your needs.

[reddinggastroenterology]

Dr. Paramvir Singh, the Best Gastroenterologist in Redding, is renowned for expert care in digestive health. With years of experience and cutting-edge techniques, Dr. Singh offers personalized treatments, compassionate care, and exceptional outcomes, making him the top choice for gastrointestinal concerns in Redding. Trust your digestive health to the best.

[cornerstoneclinic]

Comprehensive Guide to Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening in Dubai: Early Detection & Prevention

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide, affecting organs like the stomach, intestines, liver, and pancreas. Early detection plays a crucial role in improving survival rates and overall treatment outcomes. In Dubai, advancements in medical technologies have made gastrointestinal cancer screening more effective and accessible. This article explores the importance of GI cancer screening in Dubai and how early detection can prevent the onset of severe complications.

Why is Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening Important?

Screening for gastrointestinal cancer is essential because many GI cancers are asymptomatic in their early stages. By the time symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, or weight loss appear, the cancer may have already advanced. Screening helps detect cancerous or precancerous conditions early, when treatment options are more effective and less invasive.

In Dubai, seeking regular cancer screenings from the Best Gastroenterologist Dubai has to offer can dramatically reduce the risk of GI cancers progressing undetected. These specialists utilize cutting-edge diagnostic tools like endoscopies, colonoscopies, and imaging techniques to detect abnormal growths or signs of cancer early on.

Types of Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening

Gastrointestinal cancer screening varies depending on the individual’s risk factors, including age, family history, and lifestyle. Some of the common screening methods include:

Colonoscopy: A procedure that allows the doctor to inspect the colon for polyps or abnormal growths that could indicate colorectal cancer.

Endoscopy: This method involves using a thin, flexible tube equipped with a camera to examine the digestive tract and detect early signs of stomach or esophageal cancer.

Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT): A non-invasive test used to check for hidden blood in the stool, which can be a sign of colon cancer.

Imaging Tests: Techniques such as CT scans or MRIs can help identify abnormalities in the liver, pancreas, or other GI organs.

Getting screened at the Best Gastroenterologist Dubai has will ensure that you receive the highest quality care, especially with personalized screening plans based on your unique risk profile.

Who Should Consider Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening?

Anyone with a higher risk of GI cancer should consider regular screening. Risk factors include:

Age (50 years and older)

Family history of GI cancers

Chronic conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption

Poor diet and sedentary lifestyle

Even without any apparent risk factors, routine screenings can benefit the general population by identifying precancerous conditions before they develop into more serious stages. Consulting the Best Gastroenterologist Dubai boasts will help you understand the right screening schedule based on your personal health history.

Prevention of Gastrointestinal Cancers

While not all cancers are preventable, there are several lifestyle changes that can lower the risk of developing gastrointestinal cancers:

Maintain a Healthy Diet: A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, while limiting red meat and processed foods, is linked to a lower risk of colorectal cancer.

Exercise Regularly: Regular physical activity helps maintain a healthy weight, which can reduce the risk of GI cancers.

Quit Smoking and Limit Alcohol: Smoking and heavy alcohol consumption are significant risk factors for esophageal and stomach cancer.

Stay Informed and Get Screened: Regular screenings are vital for early detection. Discuss your risk factors with a gastroenterologist to determine the best preventive measures.

Gastrointestinal cancer screening is a powerful tool for early detection and prevention. With advancements in medical technology and highly qualified specialists, Dubai offers top-tier cancer screening services. Choosing the right gastroenterologist can significantly improve your chances of detecting GI cancers early, leading to more successful treatment outcomes. For expert care and personalized screening, consider the Cornerstone Clinic, where their experienced medical team prioritizes your health and well-being.

[iqbalnabi]

Newborn Jaundice: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment Options

Newborn jaundice is a common condition that affects many infants shortly after birth. It is characterized by a yellowing of the skin and eyes, caused by an excess of bilirubin—a yellow pigment produced during the normal breakdown of red blood cells. While newborn jaundice is usually harmless and resolves on its own, understanding its causes, symptoms, and treatment options is essential for parents.

Causes of Newborn Jaundice

The primary cause of newborn jaundice is the immature liver's inability to efficiently process and eliminate bilirubin from the bloodstream. Several factors can contribute to this condition, including:

1. Physiological Jaundice: This is the most common type, occurring in about 60% of full-term and 80% of preterm infants. It typically appears 2-3 days after birth and resolves within two weeks as the baby's liver matures.

2. Breastfeeding Jaundice: Inadequate intake of breast milk in the first few days can lead to dehydration and decreased bilirubin elimination.

3. Blood Group Incompatibility: When the mother's and baby's blood types are incompatible, it can lead to increased breakdown of red blood cells, raising bilirubin levels.

4. Other Conditions: Infections, enzyme deficiencies, or metabolic disorders can also cause jaundice.

For parents seeking jaundice treatment in Indore, it's important to understand that the condition often arises from the immature liver's inability to efficiently process and eliminate bilirubin from the bloodstream. Several factors can contribute to this condition, including:

Symptoms of Newborn Jaundice

The primary symptom of jaundice is a yellowish tint to the skin and eyes. It usually starts on the face and progresses downward. Other symptoms may include:

Poor feeding or difficulty waking

Dark urine (not typical for newborns)

Pale-colored stools

If jaundice appears within the first 24 hours of life, worsens rapidly, or is accompanied by other symptoms like lethargy or high-pitched crying, it may indicate a more serious condition requiring immediate medical attention.

Treatment Options

Treatment for newborn jaundice depends on the severity and underlying cause. In mild cases, no treatment may be necessary as the condition often resolves on its own. However, more severe cases may require medical intervention, including:

1. Phototherapy: This is the most common treatment, where the baby is placed under special blue lights that help break down bilirubin in the skin.

2. Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIg): Used in cases of blood group incompatibility, IVIg can reduce the levels of antibodies attacking the baby's red blood cells.

3. Exchange Transfusion: In extreme cases, a blood transfusion may be needed to replace the baby's blood with fresh blood, removing excess bilirubin.

For parents in Indore, it's crucial to seek advice from the best gastroenterologist in Indore for proper diagnosis and treatment. Early detection and management can prevent complications and ensure the health and well-being of your newborn. 

[drkumaragurubaran1]

Understanding Fistula: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment Options

A fistula is an abnormal passage that connects two organs or tissues within the body that wouldn't normally be connected. Fistulas can develop anywhere in the body, but some of the most common locations include:

Anus and rectum (anal fistula) Intestine (enteric fistula) Bladder (vesicovaginal fistula) Skin (cutaneous fistula) While some fistulas are intentionally created for medical purposes (dialysis fistula), most are abnormal and can cause a variety of problems.

What Causes Fistulas?

The root cause of a fistula can vary depending on the location. Here are some common causes:

Infection: This is the most frequent cause, particularly for anal fistulas. An infected anal gland can lead to an abscess that drains pus, creating a tunnel (fistula) to the skin. Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Chronic inflammation in the digestive tract caused by Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis can increase the risk of fistulas. Trauma or Injury: Physical injury or surgery can damage tissues and lead to a fistula developing. Radiation Therapy: Radiation treatment for pelvic cancers can damage tissues and increase the risk of fistulas. Symptoms of a Fistula

Symptoms of a fistula can vary depending on the location and severity. Some general signs include:

Pain: This is a common symptom, particularly around the opening of the fistula. Pain may worsen during bowel movements or certain activities. Drainage: Pus or other fluids may drain from the opening of the fistula. Redness and Swelling: The skin around the fistula may become inflamed and irritated. Fever: In some cases, a fever may indicate an infection. Treatment Options for Fistula

The best treatment for a fistula depends on the specific type and location. Common treatment options include:

Surgery: This is the most common treatment for fistulas, particularly anal fistulas. The type of surgery will vary depending on the complexity of the fistula. Antibiotics: If an infection is present, antibiotics may be prescribed to help clear it up before or after surgery. Seton placement: A seton is a small piece of suture placed in the fistula tract to help keep it open and allow drainage. Dr. Kumar Gurubaran: Your Trusted Chennai Gastrointestinal Specialist

If you are experiencing symptoms of a fistula, it's crucial to consult a gastroenterologist for proper diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Kumar Gurubaran is a leading gastroenterologist in Chennai, specializing in diagnosing and treating a wide range of digestive conditions, including fistulas. With his expertise and advanced treatment options, Dr. Gurubaran can help you find relief and improve your quality of life.

DrKumaragurubaran Best Gastroenterologist Surgeon in Chennai/Hernia/Gallbladder/Fistula/Laparoscopic Surgeon.

Address: Billroth Hospitals, B, block 43, Lakshmi Talkies Rd, Shenoy Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600030

Phone: 093603 91740

[drnishargpatel]

Different Types of Colon Polyps and Their Cancer Risk

Colon polyps are small growths that appear on the lining of your colon. Most of these polyps are harmless, but some can progress to colon cancer if left untreated. Understanding the many forms of colon polyps and their associated hazards is critical for your overall health. To avoid major health problems, abnormal growth must be detected early and managed effectively.

In this post, we'll look at the many types of colon polyps, their cancer risks, and the significance of regular screening in maintaining a healthy colon. We’ll also discuss practical tips on How to prevent colon polyps and reduce your cancer risk, and highlight how a gastroenterologist in Surat can help you manage your digestive health effectively.

1. Adenomatous Polyps (Adenomas)

Common and Risky: Most common type of polyp and has a high risk of turning into colon cancer.

Subtypes:

Tubular Adenomas: Least likely to become cancerous.

Villous Adenomas: Higher risk of cancer.

Tubulovillous Adenomas: Risk falls between tubular and villous types.

Action: Regular removal can prevent cancer.

2. Hyperplastic Polyps

Generally Non-Cancerous: Usually small and flat, found in the rectum or lower colon.

Potential Concerns: Large hyperplastic polyps in the right colon might require closer monitoring.

Action: Regular screening is important, but they typically do not lead to cancer.

3. Sessile Serrated Polyps (SSPs)

Flat and Hard to Detect: Often blend with the colon lining and are more difficult to spot.

Precancerous: Can develop into colon cancer if not removed.

Action: Detection and removal during colonoscopy are crucial.

4. Inflammatory Polyps

Associated with Bowel Diseases: Often linked to Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

Non-Cancerous but Risky: These polyps themselves aren’t cancerous but can increase overall cancer risk.

Action: Manage the underlying bowel disease to reduce cancer risk.

5. Hamartomatous Polyps

Rare and Genetic: Often found in individuals with genetic conditions like Peutz-Jeghers syndrome.

Potential for Cancer: Individuals with these conditions have a higher cancer risk.

Action: Regular screenings and polyp removal are recommended for those with genetic syndromes.

Cancer Risk and Colon Polyps

Not All Polyps Become Cancerous: Many remain benign if detected and removed early.

High-Risk Factors: Larger polyps, multiple polyps, and certain types like adenomatous have a higher risk.

Screening: Regular colonoscopies help in early detection and removal.

How to Prevent Colon Polyps and Reduce Your Cancer Risk

Regular Screenings: Crucial for detecting and removing polyps before they become cancerous.

Healthy Diet: Eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Limit red and processed meats.

Exercise: Helps maintain a healthy weight and lowers cancer risk.

Limit Alcohol and Quit Smoking: Both are linked to increased colon cancer risk.

Manage Health Conditions: Especially if you have inflammatory bowel disease or genetic conditions.

When to See a Doctor

Screening Age: If you’re over 50 or have a family history of colon cancer.

Symptoms: If you experience rectal bleeding or significant changes in bowel habits.

Consult a Specialist: A gastroenterologist in Surat can guide you on the best screening schedule and management plan.

By understanding these types of colon polyps and their risks, you can take proactive steps to maintain your colon health and reduce your risk of colon cancer. Regular screenings and a healthy lifestyle are key components in preventing colon polyps and managing your overall digestive health.