Don’t ignore the warning signs when it comes to your gut health

People love to talk about that great meal they’ve eaten or fancy cocktail they’ve tried.

But they don’t always want to talk about where that food and drink goes in their bodies – until it’s too late.

There are three major gastrointestinal issues that Vamshidhar Vootla, M.D., says he notices in patients: fatty liver disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease and irritable bowel syndrome.

The culprit behind these conditions, often, has to do with the patient’s lifestyle including diet and exercise, said Dr. Vootla, who recently started seeing patients in Hagerstown and Hancock.

“Processed foods have a big role in your health in this area,” he said. “I tell patients they need to be careful with the diet they choose.”

With fatty liver, the reason it’s so prevalent is because it often goes undiagnosed until it is too late.

“We call this a silent disease,” he said. “This is the most common chronic liver condition and it’s generally asymptomatic. People have no clue until it becomes cirrhosis of the liver.”

The condition can be hereditary, but can also be caused by poor diet and lack of exercise, as well as consumption of alcohol or by certain viral infections, such as hepatitis C. However in recent years, obesity, diabetes and elevated cholesterol have become the primary reasons for development of fatty liver, Dr. Vootla said.

Studies suggest that approximately one-third of the population has gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD and often referred to as reflux, according to the American Gastroenterological Association, Dr. Vootla said.

But it’s when the situation becomes chronic that the trouble starts. By chronic, we’re talking over 10 years. The reflux can start to impact the lining of the food pipe and that can lead to esophageal cancer resulting in symptoms like trouble swallowing, weight loss, vomiting and anemia.

“Pay attention to the alarm symptoms,” Dr. Vootla said.

“Using over-the-counter treatments to manage reflux is so common,” he said, “but there are side effects over the long haul. You should be screened if the problems persist.”

Irritable bowel syndrome, commonly known by its initials IBS, is the most common condition that Dr. Vootla sees in his patients. The trouble is that it can’t be self-diagnosed.

“It’s a diagnosis of exclusion,” he said. “There is no single test to diagnose it. So you have to rule out other conditions to arrive at this diagnosis.”

The time to sound the alarm for doctors is when symptoms worsen or new symptoms crop up, including bleeding, vomiting and weight loss.

“It is a chronic condition but can be managed,” he said of the disease.

The bottom line for Dr. Vootla is that patients shouldn’t dismiss the warning signs of a potential problem, no matter the condition. Contact your healthcare provider at the first sign of symptoms.

“They’re a tell-tale sign that there’s something going on,” he said.

To learn more about issues that could impact your GI tract, go to Meritus Hagerstown Gastroenterology online at www.meritushealth.com/gastroenterology.