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Symptoms of possible internal hernia
Hi WesternWilson,
For full disclosure, I am not a doctor and I am only a patient who has battled some GI issues and abdominal pain, so take this info with a grain of salt. With that said, there are a lot of opportunities for investigation:
– You should work with a Gastroenterologist, find one who is open to investigating things a bit and is perhaps recommended by peers, colleagues, the community, etc
– Contrast CT, possibly dual contrast of oral solution plus an injection for maximum visibility of potential pathology
– Stool guaiac test can be informative
– Stool culture can turn up unusual pathogens, bacteria, etc
– Upper endoscopy is a good idea (Anecdotal, but I have a friend who had all sorts of upper GI issues, vomiting, etc, turned out he had a hiatal hernia)
– Colonsocopy is something a GI doc will likely recommend
Turning up to the ER for that type of problem can be hit or miss for diagnosis, but if it gets acute or severe you should absolutely do it. With that said, generally speaking it’s better to work with a good physician on an outpatient clinical basis.
Some general tips for managing nausea and GI issues, from personal experience:
– Keep a general food diary and try different types of food to see what makes symptoms better or worse (slow motility diet can be helpful to some, bad for others, high fiber, certain vegetables, etc)
– Avoid complex foods and garbage foods (spicey foods, excess sugar, fast food, highly processed junk, junk food, etc)
– Ginger tea can be amazing for GI upset, get true ginger tea where the bags are filled with dried ginger flakes
– Similar, a high quality Ginger Ale like Reeds Extra Ginger Brew can be great for GI upset and nausea too – again make sure it has real ginger in it, not the corn syrup junk
– Sometimes probiotics can be helpful, high quality probiotics like Kefir are generally recommended, some swear by kombucha, avoid the high sugar yogurt candy type products
Most importantly, work with a good GI doctor. Depending on where you are in the country that can be easy or difficult, but if you’re in a tiny town it may be a good idea to look for a bigger city.
Good luck, and stay positive!