Symptoms of possible internal hernia

[westernWilson]

Symptoms of possible internal hernia

Thankyou all for your advice. We went in to begin her workup again with a new GP, and are on track to see a Gastroenterologist. One thing that did come up with the new doc was that her bilirubin is elevated, so one possibility is Gilbert’s Syndrome. We will continue the investigations!

[drtowfigh]

Symptoms of possible internal hernia

Nodiagnosis: Heed the advice of Chaunce123. Your story does not sound like a hernia. Find a good gastroenterologist or generalist and have the workup expedited.

[nodiagnosis]

Symptoms of possible internal hernia

I’m having, what i think has come down to a hernia. Doctors will not check it out and only check one symptom. I have not had a bowel movement for over 2 weeks other than one bout of diarreah 4 days ago. My lower stomach is bulging, fell nauseated when i eat so i’m barely eating, dizziness, and other symptoms. When i went to urgent care, doctor pushed on lower stomach and i had massive pain. All he said was that i’m constipated. Feels like theres a lump in my mid stomach. How do i get the doctor to look specifically for a hernia? This is all interfering with my daily routines, and i’ve had this several times in the past. Also Miralax and a Delcalax has not worked for a bowel movement. HELP!!

[Chaunce123]

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!

[westernWilson]

Symptoms of possible internal hernia

Thankyou for inquiring. Colonoscopy is clear and I think she also had a contrast CT done. But no endoscopy or small bowel inspection. We are considering presenting at Emerg as she cannot hold much food down and is getting weak, and asking for an investigation into the upper GI tract.

[pszotek]

Symptoms of possible internal hernia

WesternWilson,

Thanks for taking the time to write us and hopefully we will be able to provide you with some guidance. First, I was hoping you could provide us a little more information regarding what has already been done from a testing standpoint: Upper Endoscopy, Small Bowel Follow Through, CT scan with Oral Contrast, Colonoscopy, etc?

Thanks
Dr. Szotek