Digestive Health
How to prepare for esophageal manometry
To prepare for esophageal manometry, do not eat or drink for 6 hours before the test. Only use essential medications the morning of your procedure. Esophageal manometry is used to evaluate difficulty swallowing, non cardiac chest pain and acid reflux. A...
How to prepare for smart pill motility capsule
To prepare for Smart Pill capsule do not eat or drink for 8 hours before your test. The Smart Pill is used to diagnose gastroparesis and slow transit constipation. The study lasts about 3-5 days. What is a Smart Pill? A Smart Pill is a capsule that is swallowed to...
How to prepare for a Bravo PH acid reflux test
To prepare for a Bravo PH study, you need to stop medications that block stomach acid and have no food after midnight. The test lasts 48 or 96 hours depending on the doctor's preference. What is a Bravo PH? The Bravo PH study is a wireless way to assess and monitor...
How to prepare for upper endoscopy (EGD)
To prepare for an upper endoscopy, you need to stop solid food for eight hours or more. You may need to stop blood thinners up to 7 days before the test. You can take your essential medications like those for blood pressure the morning of your test. What is an upper...
Bland diet for digestive health problems
Bland diet is a soft, non-spicy, low fiber diet. It is recommended for people with certain digestive conditions such as diverticulitis, pancreatitis, bowel obstruction, and colitis. Types of bland diet Bland diets are clear liquid diet, low fiber diet and...
Are probiotics bad? Probiotics can cause brain fog
Are probiotics bad in any way? Millions of people use probiotics. They are everywhere. Drug stores and marts are filled with different brands of probiotics. Many assumed they are only beneficial and have no downside. In a recent study by Rao et al in Clinical...
High fiber diet for digestive issues and colon health
High fiber diet is good for colon health. Fiber improves health in many diseases such as constipation, diarrhea, obesity, irritable bowel syndrome, colorectal polyps, colorectal cancer, type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. People lose weight on fiber...
Distended. How to manage gas and bloating
Bloating is a sensation of increased abdominal pressure with or without visible abdominal distention. Feeling distended is common. It affects 16% to 19% of people. Only half the people that complain of bloating actually have abdominal distention when examined by a...
The gastroparesis diet for slow stomach
The gastroparesis diet is recommended for patients with gastroparesis (slow stomach). What is gastroparesis? Gastroparesis is a low stomach. It is delayed gastric emptying in the absence of a mechanical obstruction. What causes gastroparesis? Idiopathic-unknown cause....
How to use Golytely for severe chronic constipation
For some patients with chronic constipation, nothing helps. These patients have had constipation for years. They have done blood tests, CT scans, and colonoscopy. Many have done motility testing and anorectal manometry. Some can go for a week or more without a bowel...