November means Thanksgiving!
The time when families and friends across the country get together for a delicious meal and a day of fun. However, for people with GI issues like IBS, Crohn’s disease, and GERD, Thanksgiving may begin to feel like running a gauntlet to avoid causing stomach discomfort, inflammation, or gas.
Luckily, there are many things that you can do to protect the health of your gut while still enjoying this special day. This includes limiting the amount of sugary, spicy, or fatty foods that you eat as well as avoiding excessive alcohol consumption. This doesn’t mean that you have to skip your favorite Thanksgiving treats entirely. Instead, try to balance these special treats with a meal full of vegetables and whole grains, and drink plenty of water to help cleanse your body throughout the day.
Simple lifestyle changes like these can go a long way in preserving your overall health and wellness all year round. To find out more, check out our blog post on The Importance of Maintaining Gut Health for Overall Well-being and The Benefits of a High Fiber Diet.
Remember to take advantage of the harvest before this beautiful New England Autumn ends!
Local and in-season fruits and vegetables support your digestive system and keep you healthy. As the colder weather approaches, continuing to eat foods that are in season will help keep you, and your immune system, in top shape!
Locally sourced is always best, but eating a wide range of fiber and nutrient rich fruits and vegetables is most important.
Warm teas are also great for your digestive system and as a bonus, are fun to drink as the temperatures drop!
What is Crohn’s disease?
Crohn’s disease is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes inflammation of the tissues of the digestive tract. While it most commonly involves the small intestine, it can impact different areas of the digestive tract in people and generally begins to extend into the deeper layers of the bowel. It can also be localized in either the small or large intestine or it can appear in multiple segments of the GI tract.
Crohn’s disease can cause abdominal pain, weight loss, fatigue, severe diarrhea, and malnutrition. It is often painful and debilitating and can even lead to life-threatening complications.
What are the symptoms of Crohn’s disease?
Some of the symptoms of Crohn’s disease include the following:
- Fever
- Diarrhea
- Blood in your stool
- Reduced appetite
- Fatigue
- Mouth sores
- Pain or drainage around the anus
How do you treat it?
Although there is no cure for Crohn’s disease, there are different types of therapy available that can reduce the symptoms such as medication, bowel rest, or surgery. Through these treatments, some patients experience long-term remission or healing of the inflamed tissue.
Bowel rest involves restricting food and drink and consuming only nutritional liquids given through a feeding tube or intravenously. This period of rest allows the intestines to heal and can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on the severity of the Crohn’s disease.
The type of medicine described differs based on the symptoms that a patient is experiencing. The most common ones prescribed include aminosalicylates, corticosteroids (also known as steroids), and immunomodulators, which is usually only given to people experiencing severe symptoms of Crohn’s disease due to the drug’s potential side effects. There are also biologic therapies available that target proteins made by the immune system and is used when patients haven’t responded to other types of treatment.
Even with bowel rest and medication, many Crohn’s patients will also need to have surgery over the course of their lifetime to repair structural damage caused by inflammation. The surgeries are generally for intestinal obstructions, life-threatening bleeding, and fistulas and can include removal of parts of the small or large intestines or the entire colon and rectum.
Patient Education
Although GI issues like Crohn’s disease may seem challenging to live with, there are many things that you can do to protect the health of your gut. These include consuming a healthy diet rich in fiber and vegetables, exercise regularly, stop smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, and managing stress levels. Simple lifestyle changes like these can go a long way in persevering your overall health and wellness. To find out more, check out our blog post on the Importance of Mantaining Gut Health for Overall Wellbeing and The Benefits of a High Fiber Diet.
GSG Retirement Gala
The GSG team came together to honor our doctors, welcome new team members, and talk about the importance of the Make a Wish Foundation. Dr. Dainiak led the evening as Emcee (top row, 2nd image-top).
Check out some of the highlights of the evening!
Dr. Roalsvig receives congratulations on a distinguished career (top row, 4th image) and Dr. Roalsvig with his wife, Jean (top row, last image).
Dr. Karagiannis being honored at the Gala (bottom row, 2nd image-top) and Dr. Karagiannis with his wife (bottom row, 1st image).
A warm welcome to Dr. Tobar (top row, 1st image), Dr. Tsistrakis (bottom row, last image), and Dr. Horton (bottom row, 2nd image-bottom).
A BIG thanks to the Make a Wish Foundation for sharing such an important message (bottom row 3rd image-bottom). We’re so grateful for the amazing work this organization does.
Office Updates
Just a reminder, GSG is no longer at the Derry location.
We have opened our temporary clinic right next door to the WorkOut Club in Londonderry for convenient care to our local area patients.
The address is 18 Orchard View Drive, Londonderry, NH. We are adjacent to the Shaw’s Plaza just after the AMC Movie Theater.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions.