#gastroenterology

[justabunny]

I hate that somedays I can eat a pretty normal amount of food and other days I smell something and get super nauseous

[fleshwizard]

wish me luck for my presentation /exam

[willowreader]

I had gut issues when I had Covid. Long Covid can cause many serious gastric issues. An informative very readable article.

[heardatmedschool]

“Adult mammals don’t drink milk, with the exception of some greedy felines, and some mutants in this room.”

[mandana-the-service-pup]

I had my GI appointment today.

He doesn’t think the throbbing aching chest/upper abdominal pain that flares up with activity is GI related. Neither do I but doctors love to make gastroparesis the scapegoat.

He also doesn’t think my nausea is GI related which really surprised me. He said you would expect GI related nausea to be more episodic and flare up with food related events. Not the constant state of nausea that I’m in that flares up with even the slightest movement or activity. He wasn’t willing to say what could be causing it if not GI but there are plenty of things like severe pain, cardiac problems, dysautonomia, medication side effects etc that could cause nausea. So idk but it’s new info to work with so that’s good.

He thinks my handfuls of ibuprofen three times a day is probably causing my stomach aches. Which…like…duh. I already know that but that’s why we’re going the methotrexate route instead. I’m scheduled for an endoscopy to check for ulcers the day after I’m scheduled for my chest CT + calcium score. If there’s damage he’s going to give me a Rx that’s supposed to help protect against the damage associated with NSAIDs

TMI warning. He thinks my lack of appetite is being exacerbated by my chronic pain and constipation but he agrees that most laxatives would make me more sick. He wants me to try a specific OTC medication called Docusate.

He was kind and understanding. He accepted that I have bad brain fog and gave me as much time as I needed to work through the conversation. He acknowledged that I probably knew a lot of this stuff already and that my medical issues are complicated. He understood how frustrating it was that everyone keeps pushing the GI route when it’s so obviously not the cause. He answered all my questions, sometimes multiple times and never labeled me as an anxious patient for being concerned about my health. I really appreciated having a good experience with a doctor. It’s been a while.

[dinodaydreams]

Do you think shaggy and scooby would still eat with me even tho I have several stomach conditions that mean I can't eat very much and being able to eat outside food is rare?

[littleirontablet]

Bruh I had my dietitian appointment that I’ve been waiting 6 months for just to get told to go back to the gp bc it’s “not a food issue”

YEAH NO SHIT LADY

Literally everything I eat makes me feel sick / throw up and or other really fun bodily functions that I don’t want to even think about

I had to fill out so many forms of invasive and incredibly personal information about my body and the reactions it had, for this lady to NOT EVEN LOOK AT THEM

She saw I filled out the food diary (everything I ate made me sick / ill / uncomfortable) but told me that I will still getting the nutrients I need despite it making me so sick so I should continue doing that

The only reason that food log was filled out our properly was because I was told to, otherwise it wouldn’t be

She said that because I have nice skin (I have hEDS my skin will always look a certain way because of this condition) and the fact that I’m not malnourished (and am not underweight) that there’s nothing wrong with me

So great. I’m back to the start, triggered (she told me my weight even after I asked her not to) and told me she sees sicker people then me and therefore it’s not a food issue and I’m fine.

So yay. I’m completely fucked.

If anyone has any advice or suggestions I would love to hear them because I’m desperate at this point.

[peterdoesart]

Y'all the funniest thing at the gastroenterologist the other day

It's like, that's the day I learned I apparently medically count as "healthy". Y'all I am practically a walking mound of assorted symptoms in a trenchcoat. I am over six kilos underweight for my height and age despite being on a pretty solid diet and on that note, I was there for only one facet of my poorly functioning digestive system. They literally got my upcoming procedure scheduled for NEXT WEEK despite the original wait for the consult being several months, and I was told my relevant symptoms are typically only seen in elderly folks.

Like do I count as healthy because I'm 20 and not actively dying??? I am so curious?????

[teachingrounds]

This week on Teaching Rounds, we're going to talk about proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs). How do they work?

PPIs block the gastric hydrogen/potassium-ATPase "proton pumps" on the luminal side of parietal cells in the gastric mucosa, thereby preventing the production of hydrochloric acid. They don't stop the reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus, but they do increase the pH and lower the "ouch factor."

[watercolor-wings]

Holy. Actual. Shit.

I just had a colonoscopy/upper endoscopy (the prep SUCKS btw for my fellow gastro girlies out there) and good lord y'all they actually found stuff.

Like, the last 8 years aren't just my anxiety in my head and needing to "expand my diet" and "introduce diversity". No. There's a reason I have the symptoms I do and there's a reason my methods for managing it work!!!

They found gastritis and internal hemorrhoids. I'm pretty convinced the gastritis is what I've had since I was 14 when my issues started and been attributing to acid reflux and IBS ever since. It is a generic name for any cause of stomach inflammation according to the googles but that's still like, hey!!! They confirmed it!! There's actual inflammation of my stomach lining!! And during a time where I'm like "yeah I mean my problems are pretty managed at this point and thanks to the prep, my entire digestive system is entirely clear and actually my stomach feels great even though I kinda want to pass out from hunger" and it's still inflamed!!!

And then the internal hemorrhoids I'm certain have come on over the years. The lower gut issues are the bigger ones for me these days, but they also slowly developed over time. Also! Their little pamphlet of information states that baths are helpful for relieving those and it's like ahaha I guess my little soaks to help my constipation be less painful weren't just wanting the comfort of a bath. That was instinct or something 😌

God. It's still not 100% the answer because these are a pretty generic diagnosis but also I know my mono started these issues and yeah the literature is still just getting to understanding how Epstein-Barr affects the digestive and nervous systems, but I've got a follow up with my PCP in March who is amazing to go over like, okay what can we do about this and like. 8 years of lab tests and "well. All your labs are completely fine and healthy. Clearly you've got some kinda IBS cause you report nausea and pain but idk maybe the mono just infected your vegal nerve system and caused gastroparesis that's taking a long time to come back? We can't really test for that though. Keep working on your diet and anxiety ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯". I am honestly like, 3 hours ago I was laying on the bed and talking to my dad about how I was pretty convinced I'm going to wake up and they're going to be like "oh there was nothing. Your digestive system is completely normal!"

Just the fact that they found anything and that the symptoms align with a lot of my issues and that their basic treatment pamphlet information validates everything I know about what makes my body feel worse and what helps reduce my symptoms. Do I want to have these issues? God not. Am I so fucking over the moon that we finally found something that other people can see??? Holy shit yes.

[seventhofcrows]

Example: NG Tube Placement in Humans

This is for a future project that I will not reveal just yet. In the Splatoon universe, though. The second option is probably the most painful, but may work for the horror setting. And add additional complications, of course. Which might work. Especially if the first option is chosen.

[justabunny]

finally saw gastroenterology, and they suspect I have Celiac 🙂 yippee/sar

[willowreader]

Yes, Covid can damage your gastric system.

[heardatmedschool]

“For me, an upper GI endoscopy is almost part of the physical exam… That’s an exageration, please don’t repeat that anywhere.”

Sorry, doc.

[mandana-the-service-pup]

I’m just going to ignore how physically grueling yesterday was and get to the point:

Rheumatologist wasn’t interested in ordering the abdominal ultrasound. I was hopeful but not surprised. I’ll have to wait until the end of October to meet with my GI doctor for the first time and go from there. She also thinks it might not be SLE/Lupus but she’s going to leave that as a possible dx bc it opens up more treatment options for me.

The Rheumatologist thinks I’m in too much pain and wants to put me on Methotrexate which is a low dose of chemo once a week. It could be revolutionary for my quality of life but it’s got a lot of side effect so I’m going to have to jump through a bunch of hoops before I can start it.

1) Skin biopsy is at the end of this month. Methotrexate is a risk factor for skin cancer so definitely need to be cleared by the Dermatologist before taking it.

2) GI doctor is at the end of October. Need to check on abdominal aorta stuff but also figure out the stomach pain, nausea and appetite issues I’m already having. Methotrexate mainly causes GI problems so I need to be as stable as possible going into it and have a game plan for dealing with the side effects with my GI Dr.

3) Try to get a handle on the oxygen stuff. I still haven’t received my sleep apnea test so hopefully that will show something. I really need to catch these episodes during a Pulmonologist apt so they can put me on supplemental oxygen to see if that will help. Methotrexate can cause really serious lung problems so I have to be completely cleared by the Pulmonologist before I can start it. She’s also the one who wanted me to look into the abdominal aorta inflammation stuff so idk if she thinks that is having an effect on my oxygen or if it’s just something she thinks I have that needs to be followed up on.

4) Wisdom teeth removal. I’ve been putting it off bc I wanted to get my oxygen more stable, in my situation it’s not super necessary and EDS can make dental procedures difficult due to less effective numbing. The problem now is that Methotrexate can cause mouth sores, makes you immunocompromised and can’t be used with some anasthesia due to increased toxicity. So I need to be stable enough for the surgery but it needs to be done and healed before I can start the medication.

My next Rheumatology apt is in December. I don’t think I can get all of this stuff done (and move!) before then but I guess it’s worth a shot

I also taught myself cross stitch last night and for a cheap sick-in-bed activity it’s not bad 🥲

[dinodaydreams]

"QUIT TELLIN EVERYONE I'M DEAD"

the ER last night was scary it was a scary situation a lot of blood however I am still alive

I feel absolutely awful

They sent me home and think I will be alright and I'm not dying and now we're just waiting for my doctor to call us back