What should I expect from the first GI appointment

[JillianGrace]

I made an appointment for my nephew. He is 15 years old. His appointment isn't for another 3 weeks. But I would like to know what they do and what should expect and how should I prepare for it. He currently doesn't have arimary care doctor we are working on that. He just moved in with me from out of state soa still working on what I need for him. So I would like to know exactly what I need to do for it ??

That y"all so much

 

[Patricia56]

I suggest that you document his symptoms on a daily basis -

1. check him for fevers and record even low grade temps
2. record stools (frequency per day, type, blood) - he could help do this by marking on a chart over the toilet - don't forget ones he has at school
3. abdominal pain - scale of 1 to 10, location, duration
4. any other body pain or symptoms - joint pain, eye problems, skin ulcers are typical of Crohn's
5. weight - record it daily
6. diet - note frequency of meals, anything special he cannot eat or cause problems, any significant changes you have made in his diet that seem to help or are recent (this can mask disease severity)
7. record whether he was able to do normal activities or not - for example he couldn't do football due to symptoms
8. doesn't hurt to ask him for a global number each day to express how well he is feeling - 1 great to 10 lying on the couch moaning and may need to go to the hospital he hurts/feels so bad

That's what I can think of.

All the best.

 

[Patricia56]

And if he has abdominal pain so severe that he cannot stand up straight or walk and it lasts more than briefly - go to ER. It's one of those things you will recognize if you see it - which I hope you don't - but it's hard to describe.

 

[Patricia56]

As for the appointment, I would expect them to take a history of the current illness as well as a general health history. If you don't know much about his overall health history you might try to get more info about that particularly if he has a history of GI distress/problems or periods of poor growth/weight loss.

I would expect the GI to do a thorough exam including listeniing to heart/lungs, manually examining his belly, listening for bowel sounds and (you will want to step out for this) examining his perianal area and perhaps his genitals for signs of disease and to do a Tanner staging.

Depending on what he finds he might do a rectal exam.

I would not tell your nephew about the later for sure. If he hasn't been to docctors much and you think it wise you could generally describe what's going to happen. but not all doctors do all these things of course and it may depend on what the doctor finds as she/he goes through the exam.

 

[Mehita]

I think many teens find talking about their bathroom habits embarrassing, so be forewarned about that and encourage him to be open and informative. GI's hear this stuff all day long and nothing will surprise them. The doctor is going to ask a lot of questions. Maybe discuss with him beforehand whether he wants you in the room as well - don't assume he does or that you're allowed to be there. Are you his legal guardian?

There will likely be a physical exam. Look in the mouth, feel the stomach, possibly check out his bottom. Depending on his symptoms, maybe even an anal exam. Also a blood draw for labs. If the timing works out, maybe even a stool sample. I don't remember if you said he's had scopes done yet, but if not, they may schedule him for a colonoscopy, endoscopy or even an MRE.

Then you wait. At our GI office, lab results are usually back the same day, but I know the turnover isn't always that quick everywhere.

And like Patricia said, start logging everything now. It might get annoying after awhile, but if you go in with everything documented and can say on average he poops x many times a day, has blood x times a week, eats x calories a day... I think you'll be taken pretty seriously.

When you leave ask for copies of everything and be sure you understand what the plan will be.

Hope that helps!

 

[Sascot]

Great advice from all those above, good luck for the appointment!

 

[upsetmom]

Good luck :hug:

 

[Dexky]

You might ask the GI if his office does fecal calprotectin test and possibly take a stool sample with. If there is inflammation, that could get the ball rolling faster. I don't know why more offices don't automatically order fecal cal test for new patients. It's completely non-invasive and by all accounts I've read about very accurate. Good luck!