Keeping up with your physical health is extremely important. Therefore, you should know the signs and symptoms that are clearly telling you that it is time to find a gastroenterologist. To help you with this, you might want to take a moment to review some of the following signs that tell you it is time to schedule an appointment with a specialist:

Food Intolerance

This does not simply mean that you are having trouble keeping down food for a couple of days. After all, you could simply have a stomach bug that will pass in good time. What you want to do is to make note of what types of foods are giving your stomach trouble and if this is a problem that is consistent over several weeks or more.

For some people, the issue might be that they are not able to tolerate any food, despite feeling otherwise healthy. If you happen to find yourself in a similar situation, you need to make sure that you are scheduling an appointment with a reputable gastroenterologist as soon as possible.

Sudden Bowel Habit Changes

If you have suddenly went from being fairly regular to having constant diarrhea with no change in your eating habits, you might need to schedule an appointment with a specialist. Of course, if you are currently dealing with the flu or food poisoning, it might be a little early to jump onto the schedule of your busy doctor. Sudden bowel habit changes need to be consistent for several weeks or more and not be a side effect of an illness.

Pain With Bowel Movements

The occasional small amount of pain with a hardened stool is not the cause of alarm. However, if you find that no matter what you eat, how much water you drink, or how lose your stool is, that you are in pain when you go to the bathroom, you are going to be in need of professional help. The last thing you want to do is to continue to allow yourself to be in so much pain, especially if there is a specialist that might be able to do something about it.

As you can see, there are some very clear signs and symptoms. However, should you still have some questions regarding whether you should take the time to be seen by a specialist, you can always consult your regular family doctor. He or she will be able to assist you when it comes to finding the best specialist for your needs if it is truly needed.

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