Blog Archive

You envy those people who can set a clock to their bowel movements, as they don’t have to deal with the irregularity, bloating, and discomfort that plagues you. About 4 million people in the United States report frequent constipation, which accounts for the 2.5 million visits that are made to...

The appearance of blood in places where it isn’t normally found is typically cause for some concern, and this applies to blood in your stool or rectal bleeding. While a one-off occurrence of rectal bleeding due to an unusually large or hard stool may not qualify as particularly concerning, if...

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered dramatic changes throughout everyday life — and in the medical community as well. Not only are providers across the country postponing elective procedures, but many are also encouraging people to avoid in-office appointments to reduce their risk of exposure to this highly contagious coronavirus.But what...

You watch as your friends dig into a special meal with gusto, raving about how good it is. Instead, you’re left pushing food around your plate because you know this is one meal you’ll regret later thanks to Crohn’s disease. It’s estimated that at least a half a million people...

When a condition enters our vernacular — “This is giving me an ulcer!” — you know it’s fairly common. Such is definitely the case with stomach (or peptic) ulcers, which affect about 1 out of every 10 people at some point in their lives. Closer to home, stomach ulcers develop...

No matter the holiday — Hanukkah, Christmnas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve — the one constant across the board is that there’s generally some food and drink involved as you get together to celebrate with friends and family. For the 60-70 million people in the United States who have a digestive...

Passing gas is part of the human condition, no matter how inconvenient you may find it. In fact, the average human passes gas about 10-20 times per day, which is a sign of a healthy digestive tract that’s busily processing the foods you eat. If your farting consistently exceeds this...

You eat something that doesn’t agree with you and your body promptly expels it in the form of liquidy stool, or diarrhea. Or, perhaps you get a stomach virus that leaves you with diarrhea for a few days. These are perfectly normal circumstances in which diarrhea isn’t necessarily a cause...

A key player in your digestive process is your pancreas, a large gland that produces both digestive juices and insulin. Under normal circumstances, this gland functions quietly and rarely makes itself known, unless there’s a problem like pancreatitis, which can lead to some hard-to-ignore symptoms. There are two types of...

Blood is one of those things that we can’t live without, but we’d rather it did its job inside our bodies and not make an appearance outside. Unfortunately, blood routinely finds its way outside, sometimes as rectal bleeding. There are dozens of different drivers of rectal bleeding — many are...

We know that surgery isn’t exactly an enticing thought, but there are times when surgery can provide you with much-needed relief. Just ask the 300,000 people in the United States who undergo a cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) each year to relieve the symptoms of gallbladder disease. At our practice, board-certified gastroenterologist Dr. Sam Weissman and...

Summer is a great time to get out of the city and go traveling, but you feel you need to stick closer to home thanks to your irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Between 5% and 10% of the world’s population has IBS, and many still hit the road with confidence thanks to some great...

For the more than half a million people in the United States who are living with Crohn’s disease, managing the discomfort and avoiding complications are keys to living with the condition. One of the most effective ways you can accomplish both is through your diet. As experts in inflammatory bowel diseases, including Crohn’s...

Under ideal circumstances, your body grabs what it needs from your diet and then ejects the rest through regular and easy bowel movements. Unfortunately, things don’t run so smoothly for up to 20% of the adult population in the United states who have chronic constipation. As a symptom, chronic constipation...

It’s time for your first colonoscopy and you’re a little nervous considering the lore that surrounds this simple, yet very important, colorectal cancer screening. Our team, led by board-certified gastroenterologist Dr. Sam Weissman, wants to put your mind at ease if you’re facing your first colonoscopy. We assure you, the hype is...

After eating a giant plate of ghost pepper wings, it’s not unusual to feel heartburn. And it’s probably nothing to worry about — until heartburn becomes a regular occurrence.  When the burning in your stomach and chest becomes more frequent, even without the hot sauce, you might have a condition...

If drinking milk, snacking on yogurt, eating cheese, or treating yourself to ice cream leaves you with uncomfortable gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, you probably can’t digest lactose.  Lactose is a naturally occurring sugar found in milk and milk-based products. When you’re intolerant to lactose, your body doesn’t make enough lactase, the...

Many people have difficulty discerning which foods provide the best fuel and nutritional support for their bodies. But when you have an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) like Chron’s or colitis, making the right dietary choices can be even more challenging.  While health and nutrition are still top of mind when you’re...

The average person may easily pass stools as often as three times a day or as infrequently as three times a week. Being constipated typically means you have hard, dry, or lumpy stools that you pass fewer than three times a week, often with pain or difficulty.  Constipation is a frequent...

Virtually everyone experiences diarrhea from time to time: Loose, watery stools are a normal immune system response to food poisoning and many common infections; they’re also a routine side effect of antibiotics and gastrointestinal system food intolerances.  In most cases, diarrhea is acute, meaning it only lasts for a few days and...

If you’ve been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you’re not alone. As many as 45 million people in the United States — or up to 15% of Americans — live with this disruptive disorder and its wide-ranging symptoms at any given time. A persistent problem with unpredictable effects, IBS...

Excluding certain types of skin cancer, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosis — and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths — among men and women in the United States. In 2022, experts estimate that close to 150,000 Americans will develop this “silent” disease, and more than...

Your liver is a vital organ that performs many life-supporting functions, like removing toxins from your blood and converting food into energy. There are many conditions that affect the function of the liver, including hepatitis, cirrhosis, and fatty liver disease.  Most types of liver disease cause similar symptoms, such as...