Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Alexandra Modiri MD
Kian Makipour MD MS
Houshang Makipour MD AGAF
2280 Opitz Blvd, Suite 200
Woodbridge, VA 22191
703-580-7433
Online Healow Appointment Requests Must First be Confirmed by the Office!
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
8:30am – 4;30pm
7:30am – 3:30pm
8:30am – 4:30pm
7:30am – 3:30pm
8:30am – 4:30pm
CLOSED
CLOSED
GI Specialist
Why Would You Need a GI Specialist?
If you've been having digestive problems, you may be tempted to attribute them to "something you ate." However, if you find yourself saying this frequently, chances are that it has little or nothing to do with what you ate. That's because people tend to eat the same types of things all the time, and our systems adapt to our normal intake. Even if you eat Chee-Tos by the bowlful every day, your digestive system will eventually expect that and have the necessary enzymes at the ready.
To put it a different way: It almost surely is not just something you ate, though certain problems are exacerbated by diet. You need to see a GI specialist to find out what the underlying problem is and properly treat it.
What GI physicians would expect to find depends on the symptoms you show or tell them about. Temporary dietary mistakes are often blamed for problems that are actually GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease), ulcers, or irritable bowel syndrome. While long-term dietary problems can make these things worse, the real solution is for the GI specialist to prescribe medications to fix them. This is especially true for ulcers, which are known to be caused by a specific bacterial infection.
In some cases, you will need to alter your diet, not for one-offs, but for the long term. This is because certain conditions are caused by an inability to properly process particular food components. It is also true that you may be told to eat more fiber. However, in all cases, there is something amiss if you eat a particular thing and end up suffering for it. Instead of depriving yourself of random items, you should always get the opinion of GI physicians. The problem may well turn out to have nothing to do with what you're eating.
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