Gastroenterologist Appointment - what to expect?

I have an appointment coming up with a gastroentogist nurse practitioner for lower abdominal pain.

The original complaint was pain in the lower left abdomen (just inside the point of the hip). Dull ache with occasional stabbing pain shooting down to the base of my pubic bone.

In the last week, I have also experienced a sharp pain in the middle of my gut, just above my pubic bone that just sits there.

Not asking for a diagnosis - I'll get that from her. My question is for those who may have some experience - what should I expect at the appointment?

Just guessing, based on my own experiences.

An order for bloodwork, especially your liver enzymes, if you haven't had that done recently.

A medical history with emphasis on your recent symptoms and any abdominal surgery you've ever had.

Questions about your eating and drinking habits, maybe. You might want to start a food journal noting what you ate and drank and any abdominal symptoms, including constipation or diarrhea. If you see any pattern emerging ("Every time I drink vodka tonics, I get this pain..."), report it.

An external physical exam, palpating the belly.

A colonoscopy in your near future.

Depending on the doctor, you may also be advised to lose weight, get more exercise, modify your eating habits, drink more water, etc. My GI doctor, who I disliked pretty intensely, never asked me about my eating habits but told me repeatedly to exercise twice as much as eat half as much. Like that was useful advice. I was glad when he retired.

You can expect an order for a CT scan. Also a referral to a urologist and possibly an ultrasound of your testes. They will look for inflamed pockets in the colon and varicose veins coming from the testicles.

You can expect an order for a CT scan. Also a referral to a urologist and possibly an ultrasound of your testes. They will look for inflamed pockets in the colon and varicose veins coming from the testicles.

Curious why a testicular ultrasound? Was not anticipating that. Would that be common for a gastro to order?

For what it is worth, I had a colonoscopy in April and an abdominal CT in March (kidney stone on the other side)

I had my appointment today. After the nurse took my vitals, she warned me that they were running a bit late. After about 15 minutes, the nurse practitioner came in and introduced herself.

Then a rather thorough interview of symptoms and eating habits. Then up onto the exam table. She listen to heart and lung sounds through my shirt. Had me lay back and listened to gut sounds through my shirt. Then palpitations of my abdomen. She then asked me to undo my belt and unbutton/unzip my pants, and she palpated my lower abdomen down to about the top of my pelvic bone.

Then it was up and off the table & buckle back up. CT and blood tests tomorrow.

We'll cross our fingers for everything to be fine.

We'll cross our fingers for everything to be fine.

Thanks @PinotNoir

They called with results - no active infection, but I have an appointment to go back next week and need to take a laxative for the 6 days preceding the appointment. So, yay.....

Anyway, I'll update once I know more.

So far, so good, then. May it continue. Thanks for getting back to us.

About 3 years ago I had something similar. Sharp pains just above my pubic bone, constipated for about 48 hours & things cleared up. Same thing repeated every 4 or 5 days. Belly was tender to the touch.

Similar to your experience i had a CT scan (with contrast) and a follow up appointment the following week. They had me take an ounce of Miralax daily for the week prior and a clearl liquid diet the day before.

The appointment consisted of a lot of explanations, two enemas, and about 10 minutes of laying on my left side with a small camera inserted in my rectum (can't remember what it was called, but it wasn't a colonoscopy).

Anyway, it wasn't a big deal. The whole appointment was maybe a little more than a half hour. They have me some antibiotics and a restricted diet for a while and assured me that it was nothing to be concerned about.

Well, here's a non-conclusive update.

Went back to the gastro this week and was basically told "we're not really sure what's going on."

So they put me on a clear liquid diet for a couple of days along with an anti-spasmodic medication.

If things don't clear up by then, they may proceed with a sigmoidoscopy.

Fingers crossed (and man, I could go for a cheeseburger!)