Questions that remain after testing
Solving the questions
that block your daily life
Rather than confirming a disease name on your own, we organize the timing of meals, abdominal pain, and bowel movements, the management you have already tried, and the symptoms that require prompt medical evaluation based on your daily routine.
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When acid suppressants or digestive aids do not work, what should be re-examined?
If symptoms do not improve even with acid suppressants or digestive aids, it is not because the medication is weak, but because the remaining discomfort may be originating from a different axis among acid, esophageal sensation, gastrointestinal motility, or intestinal function.
Read ColumnReflux esophagitis, non-erosive reflux, and reflux laryngitis: Where is the distinction?
Reflux esophagitis is a condition where mucosal damage is visible on an endoscopy, non-erosive reflux disease is a condition with reflux symptoms without damage, and reflux laryngitis is a condition centered on throat and larynx symptoms.
Read ColumnChoosing by search criteria
Start by identifying when you feel discomfort
Rather than searching by the name of a test, find columns based on scenes that repeat in your actual day, such as before and after meals, changes in bowel movements, tension and sleep, and responses to medications taken.
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When there is no response to acid suppressants or digestive aids, what should be re-examined?
If symptoms do not improve even with acid suppressants or digestive aids, it is not because the medication is weak, but because the remaining discomfort may be originating from a different axis among acid, esophageal sensation, gastrointestinal motility, or intestinal function.
Reflux Esophagitis, Non-Erosive Reflux, and Reflux Laryngitis: What are the differences?
Reflux esophagitis is a condition where mucosal damage is visible via endoscopy, non-erosive reflux disease is a condition where reflux symptoms exist without visible damage, and reflux laryngitis is a condition centered on throat and larynx symptoms.
Abdominal Bloating, SIBO, and Food Intolerance: The differences behind the phrase 'feeling gassy'
The feeling of a bloated stomach cannot be explained by the amount of intestinal gas alone. Intestinal sensation, abdominal wall movement, constipation, Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), and the ability to absorb specific sugars can all cause post-meal bloating in different ways.
Chronic Constipation and Constipation-Predominant IBS: Differentiated by abdominal pain
If hard stools, straining, and a feeling of incomplete evacuation are the primary symptoms, it is closer to chronic constipation; if abdominal pain repeatedly changes in relation to bowel movements, constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome is more likely.
When the stomach is fine in the morning but bloats every evening, what to check before considering gas
Evening abdominal bloating does not simply mean that gas has accumulated throughout the day. The difference between morning and evening can be significant due to a combination of food intake volume, intestinal transit, constipation, abdominal sensation, and the movement of the diaphragm and abdominal wall.
When You Feel Full After Lunch: Diet and Korean Medicine Treatment to Save Your Afternoon
If you feel fine in the morning but experience a tight sensation in the solar plexus, drowsiness, or a loss of focus only after lunch, you should compare your food intake amount and speed, morning tension, post-meal posture, and recovery time rather than focusing on the names of the foods.
Treatment to Accelerate Digestive Recovery When Intake Increases but Post-Meal Discomfort Persists
An increase in the amount consumed per meal and the time it takes for post-meal bloating to resolve are different axes of treatment. We first maintain the improved intake capacity and then narrow the next Korean herbal medicine treatment goal to the remaining delay in recovery.
Why do I still feel bloated when the endoscopy is normal?
Even if an endoscopy shows no major abnormalities, early satiety and bloating can persist if the stomach's movement in receiving and releasing food, the sensation in the solar plexus, or the gut-brain signals are misaligned. We examine the symptoms remaining after a 'normal' result from the perspective of functional dyspepsia categories and Korean medicine treatment.
How to restore gut rhythm when diarrhea and constipation alternate?
If you experience loose stools suddenly after holding in hard stools for several days, or have diarrhea in the morning and a feeling of incomplete evacuation in the afternoon, these should be viewed as a single cycle rather than treating diarrhea and constipation separately.
When gas persists despite changing probiotics and digestive aids
If gas continues to build up even after changing probiotics and digestive aids, it is difficult to view it as a problem with gut bacteria alone. A treatment direction is established by looking at how the speed of food descending from the stomach, constipation and bowel movements, the amount of fermenting food, and intestinal sensations overlap.
What is the difference between PDS, where you feel full after eating very little, and EPS, where the epigastric area hurts?
Within functional dyspepsia, Postprandial Distress Syndrome (PDS), characterized by feeling full after eating very little, and Epigastric Pain Syndrome (EPS), centered on epigastric pain and burning, differ in how the stomach is affected. Distinguishing between these two types clarifies whether Korean herbal medicine treatment should focus on supplementation, digestion promotion, heat clearing, or qi circulation.
When there is burning despite a normal endoscopy: Non-erosive reflux, esophageal hypersensitivity, functional heartburn
You may continue to experience heartburn and a feeling of a lump in the throat even if there are no lesions on the endoscopy. The treatment direction varies depending on whether there is significant acid reflux, if the esophagus is sensitive to minor reflux, or if pain circuits unrelated to reflux remain.
If palpitations, dizziness, and insomnia occur on days when digestion is poor
Some people experience heart palpitations when the epigastric area feels blocked, cold sweats and dizziness before bowel movements, or a more sensitive stomach the day after a poor night's sleep. These symptoms are not due to your state of mind, but are actual physical reactions where the gastrointestinal tract, brain, and autonomic nervous system influence each other.
What is Damjeok-byeong? It is a cluster of symptoms, not a mass visible on tests
Damjeok-byeong is not a medical term for a solid mass detected by endoscopy or CT scans. Rather, it is a clinical term used in Korean medicine to explain the connection between symptoms and determine a treatment direction when post-meal fullness, blockage in the solar plexus, bloating, nausea, and general systemic discomfort persist even after medical tests.
Where do Damjeok-byeong symptoms begin? Connection between the solar plexus, abdomen, and the whole body
Damjeok-byeong symptoms do not stay in the solar plexus alone. Early satiety (feeling full after a few spoonfuls), post-meal bloating and belching, nausea, and changes in bowel movements may appear first, and the scope can expand to include fatigue, headache, dizziness, and sleep disturbances on days when digestion fails.
Diarrhea-predominant, Constipation-predominant, and Mixed-type IBS: What are the differences?
While IBS shares the commonality of recurring abdominal pain and changes in bowel movements, the treatment cannot be the same for those with urgent diarrhea, those blocked by constipation, or those who fluctuate between the two states.
Solar plexus, navel, and lower abdominal pain: How should we view the timing around meals and bowel movements?
The solar plexus, navel, and lower abdomen are starting points for finding the cause, but the location of pain alone cannot distinguish between stomach, intestinal, gallbladder, or pelvic issues. We must look at how many minutes after eating it begins, whether it changes before or after bowel movements, whether it wakes you up at night, and whether the pain migrates.