Recognition of food components that induce functional gut symptoms in patient ’ s functional bowel disorders (FBD) has been challenging. Food directly or indirectly provides considerable afferent input into the enteric nervous system. There is an altered relationship between the afferent input and perception / efferent response in FBD. Defi ning the nature of food-related stimuli may provide a means…

SIBO – Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth Hydrogen breath test to diagnose several conditions that cause gastrointestinal symptoms. Gastrocure in West Orange, NJ performs the lactulose breath test to measure hydrogen in the breath. Please call Gastrocure at (973)736-1112 to schedule your test today. The Lactulose Breath Test What is the hydrogen breath test? The hydrogen breath test is a test…

Many physicians order blood tests looking for antibodies indicating sensitization to certain foods, and when such antibodies are found the physicians inform the patients to avoid those foods. Blood tests alone, however, are not diagnostic for food allergy, Sampson said, and many people with sensitivities to certain foods will not actually have a reaction upon exposure. “The exercise of diagnosing…

Tests vary from country to country, so the following information is provided as a rough guide to typical uses of the hydrogen breath test: Fructose malabsorption – the patient takes a base reading of hydrogen levels in his/her breath. The patient is then given a small amount of fructose, and then required to take readings every 15, 30 or 60…

Leaky gut can be a difficult diagnosis to establish for a number of reasons: It’s associated with a wide range of seemingly unconnected symptoms; it has a lot of different causes; there’s no specific test to confirm it; and evidence tying it to other conditions can be murky. As a result, there’s a fair amount of skepticism in the mainstream…

Many people with throat discomfort are surprised when they are told by their doctor that they have laryngeal pharyngeal reflux (LPR). Gastric acid can cause significant inflammation when it falls on the vocal cords. If this happens repeatedly, a person can be left with a number of bothersome throat problems. Examples include: • Hoarseness • Frequent throat clearing • Coughing,…

BIOFEEDBACK FOR CONSTIPATION — Biofeedback is a behavioral approach that may help some people with severe chronic constipation who involuntarily squeeze (rather than relax) their muscles while having a bowel movement. Indications are : • The patient has chronic, severe, and disabling symptoms from constipation that are unresponsive to medical therapy. • The patient has slow colonic transit of the…

What is Anorectal Manometry? Anorectal manometry is a test that evaluates bowel function in patients with constipation or stool leakage. It is done on an outpatient basis with mild discomfort. It measures: • Strength of the anal sphincter muscles • Sensation of stooling in the rectum • Reflexes that govern bowel • Movements of the rectal and anal muscles •…

Treatment of Intractable Constipation – Gastrocure West Orange, NJ Intractable constipation is a major colon motility disorder. This prolonged constipation does not resolve with dietary changes or other simple therapeutic measures. Causes vary, but intractable constipation may be caused by several factors: • Abnormal colon contractions • Anal sphincter spasm leading to a functional obstruction • Dysfunctional innervation of colonic,…

Neurogastroenterology Symptoms attributed to suspected motility disorders are the most commonly reported symptoms in the field of Gastroenterology and our center focuses on both common conditions (such as gastroesophageal reflux and constipation) as well as more rare conditions with potentially severe manifestations (such as gastroparesis and scleroderma). Some of the key diseases seen by our group include the following: •…