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Stool Tests and GI Health

I wanted to do a follow up on my recent blog post on “What Your Poop Says About You” by elaborating on some of the types of stool tests we as gastroenterologists in San Antonio TX may conduct on your stool.  We base these stool tests on the symptoms a patient presents with, their medical history and a description of the changes in their stool.  A stool analysis is a series of different stool tests done on your poop to diagnose certain conditions potentially affecting the digestive tract.

Why do I need Stool Tests in San Antonio TX

I realize that the idea of collecting

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By |2018-01-31T01:21:54-06:00May 6th, 2015|Bowel Movements, colon cancer, Colonoscopy|Comments Off on Stool Tests and GI Health
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What Your Poop Says About You

Let’s just start by saying we all poop.  For some people this is a topic that’s difficult to discuss with family, friends or even their physician in San Antonio, TX.  For others, like my grandpa or my 6 year old boy, they could talk about it all day.  However, a bowel movement can be an indicator of your overall digestive health.  I’m going to walk you through the basics of a “normal” bowel movement and give you the perspective of a gastroenterologist on the key indicators to look for and what they could mean.

BOWEL MOVEMENTS

bristol stool chartA poop – or referred to as a “bowel movement”- is defined

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By |2018-09-06T11:50:24-05:00April 14th, 2015|Bowel Movements, Nutrition|Comments Off on What Your Poop Says About You
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Colon Cancer Awareness Month 2015

With March quickly approaching, I wanted to provide a reminder that this is colon cancer awareness month.  The American Cancer Society estimates that 50,000 people in the United States alone will loose their life to colon cancer in 2015.  With that in mind, it’s important for us to promote that this cancer is very treatable to family, friends and co-workers in San Antonio TX.
The key is to get screened at the recommended age.  Here are a few key points to keep in mind regarding Colon Cancer and links to valuable resources:

By |2018-01-31T01:21:55-06:00February 28th, 2015|colon cancer, Colonoscopy|Comments Off on Colon Cancer Awareness Month 2015
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Should I try a Gluten Free Diet?

Gluten free.  Is it the new diet fad or is there a reason when it’s such a hot topic right now?  Gluten free diet is the number one diet change topic my patients in San Antonio TX come to me to discuss.  So what is it about gluten and does it deserve the bad rap it seems to be getting?  First, let’s explore what we know.

What is Gluten?

According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, gluten is defined as the name for the proteins found in wheat, rye, barley and triticale.  It helps nourish the plant as it grows and is used

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By |2018-09-06T11:51:07-05:00January 15th, 2015|Nutrition|Comments Off on Should I try a Gluten Free Diet?
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Colon Cancer – Why is it increasing in those under 50 in San Antonio TX?

One of the questions I frequently get from my younger patients here in San Antonio, Texas, is regarding the right age at which to first get screened for colorectal cancer.  I am a big advocate of prevention and I promote colon cancer screening with colonoscopy.  I had my first colonoscopy at age 40.  However, this awareness message typically references the recommended colon cancer screening ages established by the American College of Gastroenterology.  Following those guidelines you would typically start screening at age 50 unless other factors prevailed, such as family history.

The good news is we, as gastroenterologists, have done a great job with colorectal cancer in patients over the

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By |2018-01-31T01:21:55-06:00December 8th, 2014|colon cancer, Colonoscopy|Comments Off on Colon Cancer – Why is it increasing in those under 50 in San Antonio TX?
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What are Probiotics?

I think we as a society strive to be too clean.  We spend our lives washing everything, we throw food away if it touches the counter and every time we cough or sneeze we’re given antibiotics.  We hate germs.  But it may well be some of these same germs, or bacteria, that we need even more of.  As a gastroenterologist in San Antonio, Texas, I get a lot of questions about bacteria from my patient.  The questions tend to center around probiotics.  Which ones are the best, how many bacteria cultures do we need, what diseases do probiotics help with, how long should I take probiotics, why haven’t they worked for me?  These are all great questions; unfortunately we don’t

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By |2018-08-17T09:18:58-05:00August 24th, 2014|Nutrition|Comments Off on What are Probiotics?
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Colon Cancer Screening- Choosing The Right Test

There is a lot of information out there about colon cancer screening. Some of it is good information and some of it is not. One of my jobs as a physician is to help my patients decide which is which, and help guide them in their preventative health care choices. Colon cancer screening is something I take very serious. I have had colon cancer screening myself and I’ve made sure all my loved ones who are of the appropriate age have had a screening as well. There are different methods available out there for all types of health screening. I get questions all the time about the right way to screen for colon cancer. So how do we choose the

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By |2018-01-31T01:21:55-06:00July 7th, 2014|colon cancer, Colonoscopy|Comments Off on Colon Cancer Screening- Choosing The Right Test
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What are Quality Indicators for Colonoscopy?

A patient brought me an article last week from Reader’s Digest magazine that listed different questions you should ask your gastroenterologist prior to your colonoscopy.  I felt that two of them were important to comment on that relate to the quality indicators for colonoscopy.  In medicine, a lot of money and time is spent on what we call Quality Indicators – things that help us predict if our colleagues, or ourselves, are practicing the best medicine we can. That article prompted me to write this blog.

We track quality indicators closely in my group as we

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By |2018-01-31T01:21:55-06:00May 28th, 2014|colon cancer, Colonoscopy|Comments Off on What are Quality Indicators for Colonoscopy?
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How do I reduce my risk of Colon Cancer?

According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Colon Cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, right behind lung cancer.  I spend time every day helping people become aware of it, monitor for it, diagnose it and help prevent it.  Frequently, my patients ask me what they can do to help reduce their individual risk of getting colon cancer, so I decided to write a quick blog as a reference.

When I talk about colon cancer risk factors, I break them up into those you can do something about and those you

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By |2018-01-31T01:21:55-06:00April 22nd, 2014|colon cancer|Comments Off on How do I reduce my risk of Colon Cancer?
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What is Colonoscope Cleaning?

It’s a fact that colonoscopy can save lives.  I’ve written about this many times in my blogs and I am a firm believer in colon cancer screening.  However, in the course of trying to help people we must first make sure we don’t cause them any harm. “Primum non nocere” is one of the first things they teach you in medical school- “first do no harm”.  This is a golden rule we as physicians should live by.  However, one of the topics on the internet lately is the concern of the possibility of dirty scopes being used for endoscopic procedures.  At the READ THE ARTICLE

By |2018-01-31T01:21:55-06:00March 14th, 2014|Colonoscopy|Comments Off on What is Colonoscope Cleaning?
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