510-Gastrointestinal Motility Disorders of the Esophagus and Stomach
This article reviews disorders caused by abnormal motility in the gastrointestinal tract (including GERD, dysphagia, functional chest pain, gastroparesis, and dyspepsia) and their characteristic symptoms, such as food sticking, pain, heartburn, nausea, and vomiting.
Also available offline as a glossy color brochure (3.5″ x 8.5″). Contact IFFGD for details.
534-Introduction to Gastroparesis
Gastroparesis is a disorder in which the stomach empties very slowly. The delay in stomach emptying can result in bothersome symptoms that interfere with a patient’s life. This article reviews symptoms, tests, and treatments for gastroparesis.
537-Dietary and Nutritional Recommendations for Patients with Gastroparesis
The treatment of patients with gastroparesis generally relies on dietary modifications, medications that enhance gastric emptying, and medications that reduce nausea and vominting. This article offers tips for overcoming nausea, vomiting, and stomach fullness using dietary measures.
552-Traveling with Gastroparesis
Gastroparesis is a gastrointestinal motility disorder in which the stomach empties too slowly, causing nausea, vomiting, pain, bloating, fullness, and/or reflux. There are very few effective treatments for the condition, so most patients rely on careful adherence to dietary and lifestyle modifications to minimize symptoms. While managing gastroparesis at home can be difficult, traveling poses an even greater challenge. With the right preparation, however, it is possible to enjoy time away with family and friends without compromising symptom management.
556-Brochure: Gastroparesis (Delayed Gastric Emptying)
This publication addresses frequently asked questions and provides an overview intended to help patients and family members understand gastroparesis; what it is, and how it is treated and managed.
559-Common Questions About Gastroparesis (Delayed Gastric Emptying)
This publication addresses commonly asked questions about gastroparesis, a condition where symptoms occur and the stomach empties too slowly. No blockage is evident. The delayed emptying is confirmed by a test.
524 – Confusing or Ambiguous Upper Gut Symptoms
By choosing the appropriate test, a doctor can make a precise diagnosis of a structural upper gut disorder, such as esophagitis or peptic ulcer, by recognizing the diseased area through testing. The patient’s history provides the information that permits the doctor to choose the right test. In the case of the disorders of gastrointestinal function, such as dyspepsia or non-cardiac chest pain, there is no structural abnormality and no diagnostic test. Hence diagnosis of these disorders depends even more upon how the patient describes his or her symptoms. But many people use words to describe symptoms that are vague or misliading to a doctor. Examples are explained – such as indigestion, gas, nausea, chest pain, or vomiting.
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?
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.
206 -Health Reporting in the Media: What to Believe?
Most people learn of medical progress through the media. Yet this news is often unhelpful. Exaggerated cures, contradictions, and plainly misleading information can do harm. The problem is not science, but how journalists report it, and how the public interprets it. This essay aims to help readers make sense of health news. Reviewed 2009.
Choosing Apps for Managing Chronic GI Illness
In this episode of Exploring Gut Topics, we speak with William Chey, MD, Satish Rao, MD, and Amanda Lynett, RDN, to discuss apps designed to help patients manage chronic gastrointestinal illnesses and monitor GI motility. IFFGD does not endorse any of the apps listed below; however, we want patients to know what apps are available […]