Find it based on what you are experiencing now
Even if you do not know the name of the condition
start by looking for your questions
From the onset of heartburn, bloating, abdominal pain, or changes in bowel movements, to remaining discomfort after tests and preparing for your visit, we explain the steps you need now in the necessary order.
Total 10 guides
When symptoms begin
What should I check first?
First, examine your current symptoms and any changes that require prompt medical evaluation.What should I check first when I have stomach pain and bloating?
The phrase 'indigestion' can encompass a mix of symptoms, such as pain in the solar plexus, a feeling of fullness after eating only a little, acid reflux, lower abdominal pain, and changes in bowel movements. Start by noting whether your most distressing symptoms occur before meals, after meals, or before and after bowel movements. If you vomit blood, have black stools, vomit to the point of dehydration, or experience sudden and severe abdominal pain, you must seek medical evaluation immediately rather than waiting while documenting.
View Guide →The list of foods I can eat keeps shrinking.If you are continuously reducing your food intake due to gas and abdominal bloating
Distinguish between the feeling of bloating, actual changes in waist circumference, pain, bowel movements, and intake amount. Rather than simply eliminating foods that caused discomfort once, record whether the symptoms recur with the same amount of intake. If you experience weight loss or difficulty with nutritional intake, you should seek medical evaluation before further increasing dietary restrictions.
View Guide →When similar symptoms are confusing
What differences should I look for?
We explain the differences needed to distinguish between diseases that appear similar on the surface.How are reflux, gastritis, and functional dyspepsia different?
Heartburn and the feeling of acid rising into the throat are clues for reflux, and a diagnosis of gastritis is used when inflammation of the gastric mucosa is confirmed via endoscopy. Functional dyspepsia refers to cases where solar plexus pain, post-meal fullness, or early satiety recur, but no structural disease is found that sufficiently explains these symptoms. Since symptoms can overlap, do not attempt to self-diagnose based on a single term or a single endoscopy result.
View Guide →If my abdomen feels hard when pressed, is it Damjeok?What is checked during a medical evaluation when the term 'Damjeok' is mentioned?
Even if the term 'Damjeok' has been mentioned, the actual cause can vary. After first reviewing the tests already performed and checking for diseases that must not be missed, we determine the direction of herbal medicine treatment by distinguishing whether post-meal stagnation is the primary issue, whether tension and bloating occur together, or whether digestion and recovery of energy are slow.
View Guide →When discomfort persists after treatment
What has improved and what remains?
We organize the response to the treatment received and the process of how discomfort returned.If digestive symptoms persist even after an endoscopy and other tests
While a result showing no major structural abnormalities is an important basis for reassurance, it does not mean there is an absence of bloating, early satiety, abdominal pain, or changes in bowel movements. Try to categorize when you had which tests, what improved while taking medication, and which symptoms returned first. The next step may be a medical evaluation that examines the gut-brain interaction along with gastrointestinal motility and sensation, as seen in functional dyspepsia or irritable bowel syndrome.
View Guide →I still have a foreign body sensation in my throat and heartburn even after taking reflux medication.If discomfort remains despite taking acid suppressants or digestive aids
Instead of summarizing in one sentence that the medication did not work at all, try to write down which of the following improved first and which remained: acid reflux, heartburn, satiety, pain, or bowel movements. If you experience new difficulty swallowing, bleeding, or weight loss, receiving a re-evaluation is the priority. By distinguishing whether acid reflux decreased but heartburn remained, or heartburn decreased but satiety remained, or if bowel discomfort stayed the same after changing medication, the questions regarding medication adjustment and Korean medicine treatment become clearer.
View Guide →When preparing for your appointment
What should I write down?
Prepare photos, test results, current medications, and lifestyle changes so that nothing is missed.What should I write down before a digestive health appointment?
Briefly record the relationship between your most uncomfortable symptoms and the timing of meals and bowel movements for about one week. Rather than collecting photos of stool, record the shape, frequency, urgency, and feeling of incomplete evacuation, and prepare your endoscopy and test results, medications tried, and any changes. Instead of listing every food as a potential cause, it is sufficient to mark only the items that overlap repeatedly.
View Guide →It's hard to explain because diarrhea and constipation alternate.What should I record for a week when diarrhea and constipation alternate?
Rather than just recording the food eaten, write the time of bowel movement, the Bristol Stool Scale, and the level of abdominal pain and urgency before and after bowel movements on the same line. Recording 'good days' allows for comparison of what was different. If you have bloody stools, black stools, dehydration, or high fever, do not wait until the record is complete.
View Guide →When monitoring changes during treatment
What changes should we monitor together?
We categorize the changes to monitor as you continue treatment and the symptoms you should report immediately.What changes should we monitor during digestive treatment?
Digestive treatment does not only count 'completely comfortable days.' We also look at whether the amount of food you can eat has increased, whether the time when pain and bloating begin has been delayed, and whether the number of days you postpone going out due to bowel movements has decreased. Please notify us without waiting for your next appointment if you experience new bleeding, persistent vomiting, weight loss, or severe pain.
View Guide →The pain has decreased, but the bloating remains the same.How do we monitor what changes first during digestive herbal medicine treatment?
During treatment, do not look at weight or pain alone; instead, record how comfortably you can eat a single meal, which of the following remains after eating, pressure in the solar plexus, drowsiness, or delayed bowel movements, and how much your sleep and outings have returned to normal. Distinguishing between improved intake capacity and remaining recovery delays makes it easier to determine during the medical evaluation whether to maintain or adjust the prescription.
View Guide →