5 Questions to Ask Your Gastroenterologist

A GI doctor (a gastroenterologist) can diagnose and treat health conditions that occur in the gastrointestinal system. This includes conditions with the esophagus, stomach, intestines, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, etc. For example, a gastroenterologist can diagnose and treat irritable bowel syndrome, hepatitis, gastrointestinal cancer, and more. A gastroenterologist may also be able to help diagnose and treat related conditions, like food allergies. Most patients are unaware of everything a gastroenterologist can help with, but by asking about this, you’ll get a better idea of what the professional can do for you.

To diagnose a health condition in the gastrointestinal system, a gastroenterologist can perform certain tests, like an endoscopic ultrasound, colonoscopy, liver biopsy, or another test. Most of these tests are only minimally invasive. You’ll want to know which test or tests you’ll need and what to expect, so you should ask about tests. With a test like an endoscopy, a long, flexible tube is inserted down the patient’s throat and into the esophagus, and sometimes a biopsy is performed at the same time. If you need an endoscopy, you might want to ask if you need a biopsy too.

When a gastroenterologist performs tests, the professional will look for signs of complications, like polyps and signs of cancer. If the gastroenterologist sees anything, the professional will tell you about it, but you’ll want to be clear about whether the signs could indicate something serious. You’ll also want to know whether a complication could become worse.

If the gastroenterologist sees signs of an issue, you’ll definitely want to know what could be causing the issue. In many patient cases, the culprit is the patient’s diet or medication. For instance, a condition like eosinophilic esophagitis may be caused or complicated by a diet with wheat, milk, egg, nuts, soy, fish, or shellfish in it. For this condition, a gastroenterologist may suggest an elimination diet, and the professional may also suggest avoiding aspirin or adjusting a different medication. For a different condition, the professional may suggest something similar.

Diet and medication changes can help many patients, but they may not be enough to treat a patient. It might also be necessary for a patient to do a weight management program or get a treatment like infusion therapy. With infusion therapy, a patient can receive drugs or medicine via a catheter or needle, and this can help treat a severe or chronic condition that may not respond to oral antibiotics. For example, certain types of cancers, some gastrointestinal tract infections, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and inflammatory bowel disease may be treated with infusion therapy.

We hope you find those five questions helpful! If you’d like to ask us these questions, you can call us here at our clinic. We may be able to answer some questions over the phone, or we can answer all of your questions during a consultation at our clinic. During your consultation, we’ll also ask you about your needs and tell you exactly how we can help you here at Digestive Disease Care. We have convenient locations to serve you in Jamaica NY, Melville NY, New Hyde Park NY, Forest Hills NY, Jericho NY, Mineola NY, Lake Success NY, Babylon NY, East Setauket NY, Massapequa NY, and BEYOND.

We hope to hear from you soon!