Visiting A Gastro Doctor: What To Expect

Gastroenterologist is a physician who specializes in digestive system. The gastro doctor decides whether patient has to use colonoscopy, endoscopy or other diagnostic tests. The gastro doctor (gastro) checks the symptoms and performs physical examination if needed. You might be asked about bowel habits, diets, stress level and family history of digestive problems.

If the Best gastro doctor in lucknow thinks it might be the ulcer, you will need some tests. One of these is endoscopy. The gastro has to make sure that the symptoms and findings at physical examination match each other and he makes a diagnosis whether it's an ulcer or another problem like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Endoscopy is a procedure that allows your doctor to see inside the digestive tract. It involves inserting a flexible tube with a light and tiny camera onto your throat, down into the esophagus, stomach and duodenum. Usually it's done under sedation. The gastro doctor might also take a biopsy, remove some cells for examination under microscope or flush out the stomach to collect food particles for further testing.

After the procedure you will be advised to drink clear liquids. If no problems are found, patient can go home after two hours of observation in the recovery room. Some patients develop nausea and vomiting from anesthesia. This might last for a few hours. Nausea medication usually helps or you can also use natural remedies, such as peppermint tea or ginger ale. If the gastro doctor decides to refer you the surgery department, he might order several tests before scheduling your colonoscopy.

These can include: Colonoscopy is the most common test for diagnosing ulcers and other digestive disorders. It allows gastroenterologist to look inside your large intestine (colon) and remove any growths he might see, such as polyps or tumors.

This procedure can be done in three ways:

·        All of these procedures require sedation. You will be given drugs to make you sleepy. Some gastro doctors also use local anesthesia, which blocks particular areas of the body while allowing patient to remain awake.

·        After completion of the test, you will feel better in a few hours or after a full night's sleep. You might have minor problems with gas and bloating for 24-48 hours. You can resume your normal diet after that, but avoid raw fruits and vegetables.

·        After the procedure you might have some spotting or light bleeding from the rectum for a few days. This is very common with colonoscopy. If the bleeding gets worse, contact your gastro doctor immediately.

·        If everything is OK during the test but you still have problems with your digestive system, the gastro doctor might conduct some other tests on top of colonoscopy.

·        Ultrasound and MRI can show what is going on inside the abdominal cavity and how many cysts or tumors there are in ovaries or testicles. They can also find where exactly is the problem in small intestine or appendix.

·        If the blood tests show that you have celiac disease, your doctor might also test small intestine using capsule endoscopy to see whether villi are damaged. Sometimes capsule endoscopy is used by gastro doctors to check for ulcers in small intestine.

·        Biopsy can be done inside or outside of the body. It means removing some cells of the tissue to analyze them. If you have cancer, it can be done to find out if the tumor has spread to other parts of the body.

·        It's also used when there is a cyst or polyp in ovaries, testicles or colon that needs to be removed completely.

·        CT scan helps gastro doctors diagnose problems in bones or muscles. Patient lies on a flat table inside the scanner. CT scan can be done several times faster than MRI so it's also used more often. Some people experience claustrophobia during this procedure, but it doesn't cause any side effects for healthy people.

MRI works by using strong magnetic fields and radio waves. It produces very detailed images of the body so it's used for diagnosing problems in bones, muscles or blood vessels. Some patients are slightly claustrophobic during this procedure because they have to be inside the scanner for extended period of time. It takes about 45 minutes to complete MRI with contrast and without contrast. Afterward you might experience mild nausea and headache.

MRI is not used to diagnose digestive tract problems, but it has other uses in gastroenterology such as detecting tumors or liver disease.

Conclusion

In order to diagnose the problems with digestive system, gastroenterologists need imaging tests such as colonoscopy or CT scan. Colonoscopy is the most common procedure because it's done outside of the body and allows the Best gastro doctor in lucknow to remove any growths he sees during test. If there is a high risk that cancer has spread beyond initial tumor site, gastroenterologist might opt for MRI, which is done with the patient lying inside the scanner. If they suspect problems in bones or muscles, they will order CT scan. 

Original Source Content - 

https://blog.storymirror.com/read/vlw7ksxv/visiting-a-gastro-doctor-what-to-expect