There are many conditions that can lead to problems in digestion, and most of them are enough to send you to seek services of a gastroenterologist. One of the ways of knowing that you need to visit a gastroenterologist is when you have chronic pain in your belly. The other symptoms include bloating stomach and experiencing diarrhoea. If you begin to see these signs, worry no more as you will have your case sorted out by a highly trained doctor in gastroenterology. This article discusses some of the reasons why you will have to see a gastroenterologist.
Experiencing Burning Throat
If you experience common problems of heartburn or burning throat, then it is recommended that you see a gastroenterologist. Heartburn occurs when acid from the stomach moves through the oesophagus. As much as you may witness heartburn once in awhile, persistent cases where you experience them twice a week is an indicator that you need to see a gastroenterologist. However, when the condition becomes serious it develops to reflux disease. Those who smoke often experience the severe form of heartburn, and the gastroenterologists mostly recommend surgery as a form of treating them. If not attended to early enough, heartburn is likely to result in serious inflammation within the oesophagus even getting to a point where one suffers from breathing problems.
When You Have Gallstones
When you experience hard nuggets within your gallbladder, then you have a reason to visit a gastroenterologist. Those who have gallstones often experience sudden pain on their right side of abdomen. The main cause of gallstones is lack of balance in the substances that make up bile. Those who are obese or pregnant are highly advised to check their gallbladder as they are likely to suffer from gallstones. Gastroenterologists often advise the victims to have stone removed from the gallbladder during surgery, while in other instances patients are put under medications to dissolve the stones.
Intolerance of Lactose
If at any time you drink or eat food that has high lactose content and you feel pain later, then you need to visit a gastroenterologist. Some of the foodstuffs with high lactose content include milk or dairy products, as lactose is sugar that is found in milk. Individuals that have lactose intolerance do not make enough lactase to fully digest the small proportions of food that have lactose such as cheese and yoghurt. When you visit a gastroenterologist, they will test for lactose intolerance and then put you in dietary supplement or even advise for change in diet depending on the severity of the disease.
