Thank you for your question. What you described is very serious! Your father needs to see a gastroenterologist immediately for urgent endoscopy to stop the internal bleeding that is causing him to vomit blood. It is a serious complication of liver cirrhosis.
After that he will need meticulous care to treat his cirrhosis which is causing him to feel weak and swollen.
Thank you for your question. Your stool color suggests that you might have obstructive jaundice, which means blockage in your biliary system in or around your liver. Patients with this condition often have dark coloured urine and yellow eyes and skin colour.
I would recommend that you do these tests: liver panel (including bilirubin, alkaline phosphate, SGPT and SGOT), INR and CT scan of your hepatobiliary system.
Doctor, I am 58 years old. Almost a year ago, I had abdominal pain on the lower right side of my waist. During that time I was treated by a doctor and my diagnosis was gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). During treatment, an ultrasound was done, as well as a laboratory blood test. I also took medication. However, until now, there is no change and I still experience the pain. What should I do? Thank you.
Thank you for your query. Apart from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), other organs such as the kidney, pancreas or large intestine may also cause pain in that area.
Ultrasound (USG) does not see these organs well. You should consider having a check such as a CT or MRI scan and colonoscopy to make sure these organs are not the reason for your pain.
Thank you for the question. From what you have described, your mother could have one of these few possible conditions:
1) a gallstone causing blockage in the liver/pancreas/biliary system which can lead to infection and inflammation of these organs. For this condition the stone usually has to be removed or the blockage bypass by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Surgery at a later date may be necessary depending on the exact diagnosis and timing;
2) advanced liver disease. For this condition the treatment is targeted at the liver depending what is the cause and severity;
3) other problems affecting the liver/pancreas/biliary system.
From a western medicine perspective, herbal medicine generally would not solve these conditions and I would not recommend herbal treatment.
Thank you for the question. There are a few possibilities for your symptoms:
1) H.pylori infection in your stomach
2) Stomach ulcer
3) Acid reflux
4) Sensitive stomach due to food or stress
5)
You should consider getting your stomach checked for the above conditions especially if it is so painful that you black out.
Thank you for your question. Gastric reflux is not related to the gallbladder or appendix so removing these two organs will not make gastric reflux go away. Gastric reflux is generally due to the inlet of stomach becoming “loose” or if we overeat so the food content or stomach acid goes back up into our food pipe. So in order to reduce gastric reflux, he can try to avoid overeating, avoid lying down within 3-4 hours after food, avoid gassy drinks and avoid tight clothing.
Your dad might find sleeping with his head and upper body in higher position does help to reduce gastric reflux at night. If he still has gastric reflux, then he might need regular anti-reflux medication to control the reflux.
Thank you for the question. This type of pain could be due to pancreas or stomach issues. Please go for a check if you have not had a check on these two organs. Treatment depends on what is the condition discovered.
Thank you for the question. Liver cirrhosis can be caused by excessive alcohol intake over a long time. There are also other causes such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, fatty liver and other liver diseases. Liver cirrhosis can result in liver cancer. There are treatment for liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
We often use a combination of medications, endoscopy and radiology procedures to manage cirrhosis and liver cancer. For some cases, liver transplant is necessary to cure the cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Thank you for the question. Your weight is below the normal range for your height and so you should do a check up to make sure there is no disease/condition resulting in your low weight.
I would recommend that you do some blood tests checking your blood count, liver panel, kidney panel, thyroid panel, glucose and CRP as a start. Urine and stool test may be necessary as well. F
or your poor digestion, you should check for H.pylori infection in your stomach and also get a scope done. You should visit a dietician to optimise your nutrition intake as well.
Thank you for the question. The medication for bloating depends on the reason or diagnosis for the bloating. Sometimes I use medicine to speed up the digestive tract movement, or medicine to cleanse the large intestine. If the bloating is just due to gas and the organs are normal, then avoiding certain food that cause bloating might help.
Food that commonly cause bloating include onion, garlic, cabbage, beans, milk, cheese, etc. Some bloating might be due to water retention in the belly which will require more investigations and different treatment approaches.