Dr. Christian Diaz Stone, MD

Too many possible causes. I would need more information to provide more specific information. Cramping could come from any part of the abdomen: stomach, small intestine or colon. Each of those organs might cause cramping for different reasons. If the cramping is in the lower abdomen below the belly button, then it is usually colonic in origin and irritable bowel syndrome is the most common cause of lower cramping, if it is chronic.

Heatburn is caused when stomach acid travels up into the esophagus where it shouldn't be. The acid in the esophagus causes a painful burning which is felt as heartburn.

Bloating is a different problem altogether. It is not well understood but bloating can be experienced when someone has a sensitive stomach, such that eating food causes discomfort, which GI docs call dyspepsia. Another cause may be that the bloating sensation actually originates in the small intestine and not the stomach itself. The bloating from the small intestine can happen after eating certain foods (especially carbohydrates) that pull fluid into the intestinal lumen, causing stretching of the intestines and hence a bloated feeling or actual abdominal distension.

These symptoms are best evaluated by a primary care doctor or gastroenterologist to determine if any testing is needed or if treatment can be offered. Anti-acid medications often help heartburn but don't typically help bloating.

Hope this helps.
Dr. Christian Stone

Hello. Thanks for your question. Unfortunately, findatopdoc.com mistakenly sent your question to a gastroenterologist. I don't have expertise in sleep disorder. Sorry that I cannot help you.

I suggest that you inform findatopdoc.com that they have made a mistake and hopefully they can get your question to the appropriate type of doctor.

Good luck!

In general, reflux can be reduced by doing the following:

- eating smaller meals.
- eating less fatty foods and high calorie meals, which empty the stomach slowly.
- losing weight if you are overweight or obese.
- allowing at least 4 hours after a meal before lying down flat in bed.
- angling the entire bed by placing bricks under the posts at the head of the bed.

The body's way of clearing acid from the esophagus is by swallowing saliva repeatedly. This physically pushes the acid back into the stomach and also buffers the acid.

There are no "natural" therapies for heartburn. An old method is to swallow calcium carbonate to buffer the acid, and this is what Tums and other over-the-counter remedies contain. Otherwise Pepcid, Zantac, Pilosec, etc., will do the trick.

For truly refractory heartburn, a GI workup is necessary to look for other problems such as hiatal hernia, delayed gastric emptying, esophageal disorder, and others.

The stress of moving can certainly alter a person's bowel habits, for example causing constipation. But there is a lot more that I would need to know to help with this ongoing problem. I would need to know how many stools you have per week or if there is difficult defecation. I need to know your medications, your age and prior history of bowel habits, prior surgeries, etc.

In short, I would encourage you to see a primary care doctor or GI doctor for a complete history and physical evaluation, prior to being able to provide specific advice. As a general rule, the first line treatment for adults with constipation is Miralax 1 capful mixed in water or juice twice daily, then titrate to effect.

Not sure that I follow that history competely but I have noted many patients advised to do gluten free diet (GFD) without evidence of celiac disease. Some patients go gluten free also without evidence for celiac disease. It is not advisable to follow a GFD without a formal diagnosis of celiac disease, and yes it is possible to be misdiagnosed with celiac disease since there are many conditions that can make the villi look blunted (though C diff is not one of them). Important to make sure you are
seeing physicians who are up to date and have extensive knowledge of the proper work-up for celiac disease. Second opinions are encouraged.

I suspect that your grandfather had what is called sporadic colon cancer, which is the cancer that develops from polyps and is more common at older age. This is the type of cancer that we screen people for beginning at age 50. Since a grandfather is a second-degree relative to you, that family history actually does not increase your risk for sporadic cancer, as long as there is no one else in the family (i.e., first-degree relatives) that developed colon cancer.

Crohn's disease however can increase your risk of colon cancer but only if you have significant colonic involvement. If only the small intersine, such as the ileum, is involved with inflammation, then your colon cancer risk would be considered average and screening starts at age 50. For significant Crohn's colitis inflammation, then more frequent screening by colonoscopy may be needed as the risk for colon cancer is related to the underlying inflammation and not to sporadic polyps.

Hope that helps.

I think your question is more along the lines of can a colostomy ever be surgically removed or taken down to reconnect the intestinal tract? The bag is an appliance that can be easily removed and replaced over an ostomy site.

Yes a colostomy can be taken down but it depends highly on the circumstances of why it was needed in the first place. Sometimes a colostomy is placed as a permanent feature with no possibility of it ever being taken down. Other times it can be temporary. I would need to know the details of the specific case to comment further.

There are a few ways to diagnose an ulcer. In the old days when only radiology was available, a barium study called upper GI series would be done and this is still available today. That X-ray test can show an ulcer.

But typically, an upper endoscopy or EGD is done nowadays. This is a very routine procedure with low risk as long as the patient does not have a lot of cardiac or pulmonary problems. A work-up for ulcer should not create too much concern and many times. an ulcer is not found.

The simple answer is "No".
As with many over the counter supplements, herbs, etc, many claims can be
made on the label or in advertising but there is essentially no support of
efficacy because these products are not tested in a controlled way.
The gold standard for demonstrating that something works is the randomized
controlled clinical trial. Of the thousands of products out there that
claim to help lose weight, strengthen your immune response or other
vagaries, few if any have ever been studied rigorously. So in the absence
of any evidence, I would caution anyone about spending their money on
completely unsubstantiated products.

For weight loss, stick with portion control, avoiding high calorie fatty
foods/drinks, and regular exercise. That is natural enough.

There is not a simple answer for this. The primary problem is probably the
stomach pain and this could be from many causes such as gastritis (e.g.
acute H. pylori infection), ulcer or what we call nonulcer dyspepsia which
is a hypersensitivity of the stomach. A full evaluation - history,
physical, testing - would be needed to determine the cause. The burping
tends to be an attempt to release air from the stomach or esophagus to
relieve pain or discomfort. In many instances, air is swallowed first then
immediately burped. By releasing air then the stomach is not as distended
and sometimes that helps relieve pain. Bottom line: figure out what the
pain is from first.

There are many possible causes for the symptom you are describing - too many causes for me to provide any specific advice. To narrow down the possibilities and figure out what testing might reveal the cause, you should have a formal visit with a GI doctor so that he/she can obtain a full history and do a physical exam. I would encourage you to make an appointment to see a gastroenterologist, who can then advise you on what should be done.

Sorry, I cannot be more specific, but I hope that this helps.