What is a gastrointestinal disorder?
A gastrointestinal disorder is a disease, condition, or illness that develops inside your gastrointestinal (digestive) tract. This includes your mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anus. There are a very large number of gastrointestinal disorders, with some common ones including:
- Celiac disease
- Constipation
- Crohn's disease
- IBS
- Diverticular disease
- Gallstones
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Hemorrhoids
- Lactose intolerance
- Peptic ulcer disease
- Ulcerative colitis
Gastrointestinal disorders can range from fairly mild to extremely serious, so it's important to get help if you start having digestive tract symptoms.
What are the symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders?
The most common symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders include:
- Abdominal bloating
- Abdominal pain
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Heartburn
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Unexpected weight changes
- Difficulty swallowing
Often, gastrointestinal disorders cause sporadic symptoms. You may initially attribute the symptoms to another condition, like the flu. If your symptoms don't go away in the expected time period, however, it's important to talk to your Borum Family Health Clinic team about a gastrointestinal disorder evaluation.
How do you treat gastrointestinal disorders?
First, the Borum Family Health Clinic team asks about your symptoms, lifestyle, and typical habits to aid in a specific diagnosis. You may need specific testing such as blood tests, stool culture, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or colonoscopy to verify which gastrointestinal disorder you have and which treatment is ideal.
The Borum Family Health Clinic team may recommend medication to manage specific individual symptoms, such as constipation or diarrhea. Medication can also control acid secretion, neutralize acid, speed up the digestive process, or work in some other way to reduce or eliminate your gastrointestinal disorder symptoms and help you feel better.
Dietary changes are often a key part of gastrointestinal disorder management. High-fiber, low-residue, gluten-free, or other types of specific diets can effectively minimize your gastrointestinal disorder symptoms. A common example is the low FODMAP diet.
This diet has low amounts of fermentable carbohydrates (oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols), otherwise known as FODMAPS. Because you don't completely absorb FODMAPS, they're prime culprits for bowel irritation when you suffer from a gastrointestinal disorder like Crohn's disease or IBS. A low FODMAP diet generally means avoiding some specific fruits, dairy products with lactose, certain types of grains, and other foods.
By combining medication and dietary changes, you can often eliminate your gastrointestinal symptoms completely.
The Borum Family Health Clinic team can help you find permanent relief from constipation, diarrhea, belly pain, and other gastrointestinal disorder symptoms. Call the office or click online scheduling to get started now.
