Blog & Columns
Useful information about health and Korean medicine.
Total 157 posts
Medical Diary — Geriatric Constipation: Approach When Medication Fails
# 진료일기: 노인성 변비, 약이 안 통할 때 "마그밀 먹어도 안 되고, 듀락칸 먹어도 안 되고, 결국 응급실 가서 관장했어요" 95세 어르신의 보호자분이 전화로 상담을 요청하...
Clinic Diary #03 — Bloated, Swollen, and Sleepless
# 진료일기 #03 ## 속이 더부룩하고, 몸이 붓고, 잠이 안 온다 --- 식사하고 나면 곧장 화장실로 달려가야 한다. 가스가 차고 배가 더부룩하다. 정상변일 때도 있지만 ...
"Always Bloated and Uncomfortable" | Chronic Indigestion in a 40-Something Woman
Always feeling bloated and uncomfortable...
“My Stomach Feels Bloated Whenever I Diet” | Indigestion in a 20-Year-Old Female Dieter
Every time I start dieting, I get bloated...
“My Stomach is Twisting and Diarrhea Won’t Stop” | 30s Office Worker Indigestion & Diarrhea
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My Stomach Feels Like a Ball of Fire! | A 30-Something Office Worker's Chronic Indigestion and Heartburn
<p>Let me explain by sharing a case I encountered.</p> <p>In August 2017, a woman in her early 70s came to me. She reported having received <b>treatment, including surgery, for several years at another clinic, but with little effect.</b></p> <p>Initially, she presented with merely <b>leg numbness caused by chronic lower back pain.</b> However, as time went on, she experienced weakening in her legs and ankles, which progressed to <b>'foot drop,'</b> where her foot would drop involuntarily. Unable to lift her foot properly, walking became challenging, and she required assistance to navigate stairs.</p> <p>At that time, this patient's mobility was severely impaired due to lower back pain, leg numbness, weakness, and foot drop, leading to a significant decrease in her quality of life.</p> <p>Detailed examination results led to a diagnosis of <b>'peripheral neuropathy'</b> caused by <b>'spinal stenosis.'</b> The patient's foot drop was a symptom resulting from nerve compression due to spinal stenosis.</p> <p>Spinal stenosis is a condition in which the spinal canal, the passageway for nerves within the spine, narrows. When the spinal canal narrows, it leads to nerve compression and inflammation, resulting in lower back pain, leg numbness, and leg weakness. In severe cases, it can even be accompanied by leg paralysis symptoms such as <b>'foot drop.'</b></p> <p>As this patient had already undergone multiple surgeries, she desired <b>'non-surgical treatment'</b> that could address her condition without further surgical intervention. Therefore, I recommended <b>'epidural neuroplasty'</b> to her.</p> <p>Epidural neuroplasty is one of the non-surgical treatments for spinal stenosis, a procedure that directly injects medication into the spinal canal to alleviate inflammation and swelling. It involves administering local anesthesia and then inserting a thin, specialized catheter towards the tailbone to deliver the medication.</p> <p>The patient underwent epidural neuroplasty a total of 5 times, with 2-week intervals. <b>Starting from the third week of treatment, the patient's pain improved, and by the fifth week, she felt strength returning to her legs.</b></p> <p>The patient, who had been unable to lift her foot well due to foot drop, found that <b>after the completion of treatment, her ankle strength improved, enabling her to lift her foot and walk more comfortably than before.</b></p> <p>The effectiveness of epidural neuroplasty in patients with spinal stenosis accompanied by foot drop can also be confirmed in the following paper:</p> <p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6902251/">Efficacy of Percutaneous Epidural Neuroplasty in Patients with Lumbar Spinal Stenosis with Foot Drop: A Retrospective Study of 17 Cases</a></p> <p>As such, foot drop caused by spinal stenosis can be effectively improved with non-surgical treatments, including medication, physical therapy, injection therapy, and neuroplasty.</p> <p>Therefore, even if foot drop symptoms arise due to spinal stenosis, rather than worrying prematurely and opting for surgery, it is advisable to <b>first consider non-surgical treatment.</b></p>
Feeling Bloated and Uncomfortable from Indigestion | A 30-Something Woman's Indigestion Workouts
In our busy daily lives, such indigestion and abdominal discomfort have become common, but they are signals that should never be taken lightly.<br><br>If dismissed as a temporary phenomenon and left untreated, it can lead to chronic indigestion, which not only significantly lowers the quality of life but also can be the cause of various gastrointestinal diseases such as gastritis and reflux esophagitis.<br><br>Furthermore, in severe cases, the possibility of developing into fatal diseases such as stomach cancer cannot be ruled out.
Bloating and Wild Blood Sugar Swings | Indigestion & Blood Sugar Management for 40s Women
Our body is an organism. While the digestive process and blood glucose regulation may appear different at first glance, they actually influence each other within the larger context of fundamental biological processes. When explaining the relationship between these two, I often liken our body to 'an intricately connected city.' Food is the energy that powers the city...
My Stomach Feels Bloated and Uncomfortable | A 40-Something Housewife's Chronic Indigestion
Such chronic indigestion goes beyond mere discomfort, significantly impairing our quality of life.
Feeling Bloated and Loss of Appetite | Indigestion in a Stressed 20-Something Office Worker
When I open my eyes in the morning, my stomach feels queasy. For lunch, I usually just grab something quick or often skip it entirely. After work, I don't have an appetite either. I'm really worried that if this continues, I might actually develop a serious illness.
What if you see mucus in your stool with Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
"Every time I go to the bathroom, I see mucus" | A 30-something working professional's Irritable Bowel Syndrome...
Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Diarrhea (IBS-D) | Nervousness Sends Me Straight to the Bathroom
IBS with Diarrhea | When I get nervous, I have to go to the bathroom right away...