“Do I need to see a dr.?”
I am a 39 year old female, obese (5'6 232 lbs). I have previous use of copious amounts of NSAIDS, alcohol, cigarettes, phentermine, and Adderall. I have symptoms of constipation, severe heartburn, back spasms, upper left quadrant abdominal pain & tenderness (11 years ago was onset for pain and it's gotten worse since) recent black stools, frequent trapped gas, feeling full after only a small amount of food, belly full and distended. I don't usually visit the dr because they only say I'm constipated. Do I need to see a dr for a specific reason?
Female | 39 years old
Complaint duration: 11 years
Medications: Phentermine
Conditions: None
3 Answers
Worth a proper med check eg diabetes, cholesterol, thyroid, then management.
Yes. You definitely need to see a specialist after checking with your primary care physician. You have acid reflux due to smoking and overweight problems. Also, we have to make sure you don’t have any bleeding lesion in your stomach or gut causing dark stool after checking your blood count and stool for blood before doing the endoscopy. You also need to be checked for pancreatitis if you are still drinking alcohol or suffering from chronic pancreatitis if you have left upper flank pain and smoking will make it a more likely diagnosis. As you see you have many problems which need to be addressed by an expert.
It is reasonable to seek another opinion for the symptoms. Some relief might be achieved with a new diagnosis and treatment. Chances are that you have functional GI problems and maybe carbohydrate malabsorption.
