What common GI disorders are associated with the disruption of GI motility?
Watch the first episode of: 5 Minutes in GI where Dr. Samm Dilmaghani answers the question- What common GI disorders are associated with the disruption of GI motility?
409- Working With Your Healthcare Provider
Working with your healthcare provider can help make managing your condition easier A partnership between a patient and healthcare provider is essential when managing all chronic illnesses. Because the time spent with your healthcare provider is both limited and valuable, you can maximize it by following some simple guidelines before and after the visit. Learn […]
421- Personal Daily Diary for All GI Disorders
Using a Personal Daily Symptom Diary for 2–4 weeks can help you learn more about how your body may be reacting to certain things in your life, such as diet, exercise, stress, and sleep. A Daily Diary aims to help you better understand your gastrointestinal (GI) illness. When you keep a detailed record of stool […]
411 How to Qualify for Social Security Benefits
Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders are more common than people think. Even though almost everyone has occasional bouts of GI issues, thousands of people have chronic and severe GI disorders that can make it impossible for them to work. If you have worked in the past but can’t work now because of a GI disorder that you expect to last a year or more, you can file a […]
Hirschsprung’s Disease
Hirschsprung’s disease, or congenital intestinal aganglionosis, is a lack of nerve cell bodies (ganglion cells) in a segment of the bowel. This interferes with the coordinated squeezing action called peristalsis, which normally moves intestinal contents forward. Symptoms of Hirschsprung’s Disease Hirschsprung’s disease is a rare condition that people are born with. Symptoms usually begin within a […]
828-Laxatives: A Parent’s Guide to the Successful Management of Constipation in Children
When a new baby is born, we assume that he or she will spend most of the first few months of life engaged in a small number of basic activities: sleeping, feeding, peeing, and pooping. The passage of waste is a basic function of all living organisms, which is so ingrained and routine that most of us do not even think twice about it. The inability to defecate in children is usually due either to a problem with formation of the anus or with the inability of the colon to push the stool from one end to the other (Hirschsprung’s disease and other motility disorders).
840-Bowel Problems in Adults After Surgical Treatment for Childhood Hirschsprung’s Disease
Hirschsprung’s disease is a rare illness that people are born with (congenital). It occurs annually in about 1 in 5,000 live births. In Hirschsprung’s disease there is a lack of nerve cells (ganglion cells) in segments of the intestinal tract located in the colon and/or rectum.
The treatment is surgery to remove the abnormal bowel segment and restore bowel continuity. Following surgical treatment, most children have a good outcome, but some have persistent bowel problems such as constipation, soiling, fecal incontinence, and inflammation in the colon (enterocolitis). These symptoms can impact the quality of life, which also needs to be addressed.
830-Defecation Disorders after Surgery for Hirschsprung’s Disease
Over 1,000 new cases of Hirschsprung’s disease are diagnosed in the USA every year. More than half the children treated appropriately with surgery for Hirschsprung’s disease suffer from chronic problems with constipation, incontinence, and/or abdominal pain. Even as adults, over half will experience occasional episodes of incontinence, and 10% will endure constipation unresponsive to medical management. Nonetheless, adjustment for teenagers and young adults with Hirschsprung’s disease is not different than for healthy children; successful adjustment depends largely on family support. Revised and updated 2009.
116 – Doctor – Patient Communication
Functional GI disorders present a special challenge to the doctor-patient interaction for several reasons. First, functional GI disorders are characterized, in most cases, by vague symptoms of variable intensity. Many times, these symptoms involve the most intimate anatomic areas of the body. The sensitivity of these issues can complicate the task for the patient who needs to express them in terms that the physician can interpret to formulate a diagnosis. Secondly, the physician is hampered by the absence of obvious structural lesions that often lessens the likelihood of devising a specific medical intervention that is successful. In some cases, the physician’s own anxiety can be increased by the lack of a symptom complex that leads to well-understood disease entity, such as parasites or lactose intolerance. This deficiency, in turn, often leads both physician and patient to over-investigate the symptoms. So what are the ingredients that comprise successful doctor-patient communication about the functional GI disorders?
215- Problems with Doctors That Interfere with Treatment
The placebo effect can enhance therapy, and promote a successful relationship between healer and patient. However, a treatment administered by a healer may also have a bad effect. Any treatment may have a predictable risk, but a nocebo effect denotes worsening beyond the known risk – the adverse effect of a failed therapeutic relationship. This can result in sub-optimal health care. An examination of its causes and ways to avoid it are discussed.
221- The Medical History: How to Help Your Doctor Help You
The most important interaction between patient and doctor is the medical history. Through listening to the story of the patient’s illness and asking relevant questions, a physician may often make a diagnosis, or at least begin to understand the nature and location of the complaint. A few easy steps can help make this process more efficient leading to prompt, more precise diagnosis and treatment. Revised January 2012.
231 – Can Intense Exercise Lead to GI Symptoms?
Can exercise be linked to GI symptoms such as diarrhea or heartburn? This article will help you understand how exercise and associated factors can influence the GI tract.
