To endoscopy or not to endoscopy....
July 28, 2022 5:21 AM   Subscribe

Inspired by a recent Ask question, I'm wondering if my doctor jumped the gun on an endoscopy

It was my first visit with this doctor, I scheduled the appointment because I've been having constant stomach issues, mainly a sour stomach. I have GERD, and have had intermettent minor stomach problems for years, but this time the issue didn't go away after a few hours or a day or so so I made the appointment.

During the visit there was no physical exam, and no questions about diet or allergies (other than the general intake questions). I told the doctor about my decades long use of ibuprofen due to arthritis and the GERD diagnosis. He said to continue taking prilosec and scheduled me for an endoscopy a month later. That was pretty much the extent of the visit.

We're coming up on that appointment date, I still have stomach issues, though not as constant, and I'm still taking the daily prilosec. After reading this askme, I realized that there are intermittent steps that could (and possibly should) be taken before jumping straight into an endoscopy.

I understand that YANMD and are not giving medical advice, but does this seem normal? I'm leaning towards trying to find a different doctor if it seems that the endoscopy is premature.
posted by newpotato to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)
 
Best answer: The thing is, you could spend a year going through all the other options, only to ultimately need the endoscopy. Whereas an endoscopy could catch all kinds of serious things and rule out a lot of other things you might otherwise waste your time considering. My friend pushed her endoscopy off for several months, and it turned out she had a very serious condition which the endoscopy wouldve caught. Instead she ended up in the ER and the situation is about as dire as possible. If you have a specific reason to think going under would be especially dangerous for you, then okay. But otherwise it seems wise to let them take a good look and go from there.
posted by asimplemouse at 6:12 AM on July 28, 2022 [16 favorites]


Best answer: Not a doctor, but a veteran of many endoscopies. With your history, I'm not at all surprised your doctor wants to get a look in there right off the bat - I'd be more surprised if they didn't, actually. It's a very minor, easy procedure and will help guide useful treatment.
posted by invincible summer at 7:12 AM on July 28, 2022 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Do you have a specific concern or fear around the endoscopy? Like, is insurance not paying for it? Because otherwise, this seems a reasonable course of action. As a veteran of stomach issues, endoscopy is where you end up a lot of the time, often after suffering for months/years. I would be grateful for a doctor not beating around the bush and just getting to the good diagnostic tool.
posted by Bottlecap at 9:47 AM on July 28, 2022 [3 favorites]


Response by poster: Okay I'll keep the appointment. It didn't occur to me that it might not be the appropriate course of action until I read that ask meta question that made me start to wonder. My insurance is covering it and I'm not reluctant to have the procedure done and after reading the responses it seems like it might save me a bunch of intermittent steps anyway. Thanks for the input everyone.
posted by newpotato at 2:48 PM on July 28, 2022 [2 favorites]


It sounds like you've already decided but I ran into this as well. Especially with the long-term use of ibuprofen. That sounded just like me. My test was to check my digestive system to see what long term effects that the taking of pain killers had cause. It turns out that it truly was something that was a problem and it lead to better treatment. I think the doctor is saving you time, money and stress. Good for you on keeping the appointment!
posted by I_count_crows at 5:08 PM on July 28, 2022 [1 favorite]


Every time I've had an endo, the answer has been "take PPIs" which is sounds like you already do, especially if the cause is ibuprofen. I resent the large bill I get landed with every time i get bullied into one, and even though I was desperate enough to ask for the most recent endo and the cause was "bleeding stomach" the answer is (as always, for me) take PPIs and/or antacids. YMMV. I've been lucky enough to at least not have major problems/damage resulting from the endoscopies.

If I were you I'd ask the doctor to posit several of the most likely scenarios and what the treatment would be, and then I'd make my decision after that.
posted by liminal_shadows at 8:35 PM on July 28, 2022


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