Yes!! My favorite question to ask my pancreatic patients is if their diarrhea is oily/greasy and gets worse with fried/fatty foods. Time for pancreatic enzyme replacement!!
Weirdly enough, I love this one. The details you’re referring to differed enough to save me from a misDX of IBD to a DX of ibs due to endometriosis complications. GI worked with my surgeon/care team to help finally get me correctly treated after 14 years and advocated for me that it was reproductive due to the location of inflammation on my scopes. Lots of words to say I feel SEEN, but yea! Thanks man! 😂
It's amazing how small things can inspire something so great. Makes me wonder if there was ever a moment when you questioned why this, of all things, inspired you to do what you do.
I can’t imagine what makes someone want to go into digestive health or something like a urologist… But I’m super thankful y’all exist. My mother and older sister both have Crohn’s, it’s amazing to have doctors who care so much about the subject.
Many years ago when I worked with peds GI and met one of the new docs, it was spring and we talked about how lovely spring is and how much I appreciated the scent. He said he didn’t have a well developed sense of smell so working in GI was perfect for him. 😆
I have complicated pancolonic diverticulosis resulting in a hemicolectomy. I wish I had a GI Dr. like you. I keep meeting GI Drs who want to yank my entire colon out. You listen to your patients . As an RN of 26 years, I appreciate your humor and content.
LOL “He was only a second year medical student.” “To be fair this was 9 years ago…” I’m sure you have grown much. Medicine is a practice and more importantly an evidenced based skill.
When I was homeless I caught a bug that everyone got, but mine was so bad I couldn't even tell the paramedics my name, rushed me to the ER, I woke up 6 hours later with 3 IVS in me, one in my hand and either arm, wearing a diaper just constantly pooping myself, just full of it, I overheard the nurses who knew I was awake calling me a lazy pig as if I could control it, THEY LEFT ME STEWING IN MY OWN LIQUID FECES THAT WAS UP MY BACK, DOWN MY LEGS, FOR 6 HOURS!!!!! So that I would wake up and clean myself!! I got diaper rash, and an infection everywhere the poop sat for those hours, I had to clean myself IN A SINK WITH PAPER TOWEL!! I'll never forget how poorly they treated me just bcuz I was homeless thinking I was just on drugs and passed out, meanwhile the dr tells me that it took 5 bags of the IV saline to basically save my life, I was dying and they were gossiping about me! Absolutely disgusting behaviour.
Exactly. My teacher used to say that doctor is like a detective. If you ask the right questions, you can almost solve the case by just interviewing. The devil is in the detail indeed.
I love listening to you tell your "real-life" stories, even about diarrhea! Somewhere along the way you drifted from interested storyteller to "interesting" storyteller.Kudos, keep it up.😉🙂👍
I have a lot of those “someone once told me” memories where something they said/did really stuck with me even though all of the other details have faded. First example that comes to mind is when someone told me, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may hurt my heart.” Words have power and must be wielded carefully. They can’t be taken back, just like how a struck blow can’t be taken back. It has stuck with me.
Turns out it wasn't a second year medical student it was a 4,000-year-old wizard that knew that transforming into someone and pretending to be a medical student for 2 years would be exactly what's needed to be in the position to be there for you for that one moment so that you would go down the path of becoming a diarrhea doctor...
All over the world people who attend teaching hospitals meet medical students. They are all under supervision and can’t make any meaningful decisions. This is the situation in the best teaching institutions, private or public. How the hell do you think medical students are going to learn to be doctors if they don’t get to meet patients?
@@gerardacronin334 Ive been a med student (EU) and in no way were we running clinics. We would attend clinics run by attendings. A 1st year med student running a clinic, even supervised by an attending seems completely laughable.
@@ribbot6666 I too have been a medical student. If you review DocSchmidt’s video carefully, he NEVER said that the medical students RAN the clinic. He said they would see patients and present the cases to more senior personnel. Perhaps he did not make it clear that attending were in the background and responsible.
Got my intestines inflammed pretty bad a couple of years ago. My diarrhea doc came in and explained the entire digestive system to me very clearly. Even my mom who does not really understand or like human body understands it well. And now I'm trying to be a diarrhea doc myself. The irony😭
Doc--- you just rock. I am a thrilled and fascinated retired RN and I can't get enough info! You are so funny and cool and real. Carry on and give us the poop! 🫀🫀🫀🧡🧡🧡❤️❤️❤️🐊🐊🐊🌹🌹🌹🐞🐞🐞
Haha, I appreciate you calling yourself a "diarrhea doctor". As a 3rd year MD student, I appreciated this story and I especially appreciate your light-hearted approach to things.
I appreciate the information about the digestive system. I'd like to hear what you have to say about fecal implants, as cure for people with diarrhea, c.difficile.
I would love some info on that as well. My mom had c.diff once last year…I worry about her getting it again. 😦if the fecal transplants are effective, we’d be all in. C diff is horrible. Took my mom months to recover.
In 2011 diarrhea almost killed me. Multiple colonoscopies with biopsies, negative for Cdiff, parasites, etc. Only rectal medication for my inflamed colon, and no answer for the cause. I lost 40 lbs weighing 103 lbs at 5'9". I was isolated, unable to continue to work as a Surgical tech due to bowel incontinence. I began to think I might not survive. No one spoke of the microbiome in my area at that time. I began to eat one teaspoon of authentic kimchi daily. My Korean friend felt it would make my diarrhea worse as her mother gave her kimchi if they were constipated as children. It gave me the opposite effect. I slowly began to retain food longer and have healthier BMs. Let's pause to appreciate how far we've come in understanding the importance of our microbiome and gut health.
My husband has severe Crohns. His specialist has told him that his has been the most complicated case he's had. But 18 years dealing with his doctors, multiple long hospital stays, ER visits & his chronic symptoms..I feel like I've become a "diarrhea expert" too. 😂 Definitely would never wish Crohns upon my worst enemy.
My roommate & friend had a bone marrow/stem cell transplant a few months ago. Transplant prep involves some verrrrry toxic chemo. Which wreaks havoc on a body (to put it mildly). The GI tract being the worst. "Poop talk"-especially diarrhea-was a prominent feature of EVERY visit for the first 3 months post-transplant. She had neverrrrrr talked about poop with a living soul before, let alone in so much detail, so often. She was verrrrry uncomfortable with "poop talk." I knew she was feeling better when near the end of one of the last transplant team visits she yells out "AREN'T YOU GONNA ASK ME ABOUT MY POOP??!!!" You could hear nurses and patients laughing in the hallway. 🤣 The BEST part though? She had brought home so many "poop hats" during that period, we were left with an impressive collection of unused "poop hats" at home. So we did what any reasonable human being would do: got out the hot glue gun and bedazzled the SHIT out of it and made it into an award for the transplant nurses at the clinic!🏆💩🏆💩🤣 (Who thankfully also have a warped sense of humor. 😁)
This reminds of the episode of its always sunny in Philadelphia were they had some poop analyzed by some guy they thought was a poop doctor but he was an economics major who just likes to look at poop
That’s a good point. I have digestive issues and let’s just say my poop is never normal, ever. And I often wonder why and yet at the same time, it doesn’t effect my blood work so I just kind of ignore it. Bad, I know.
@@user-svqmbiv Logically youre right. I have dysautonomia so I assume it's from my gastrocolic reflex not working right since my autonomic nervous system doesn't.
@@TheRealityfades No way! I have dysautonomia also!!! I’ve literally never heard another human say/type that out in the world. I could go on for an hour about why we, w dysautonomia, have our own special brand of diarrhea. No offense to the GI docs out there but I found them to be zero help bc our prob isn’t w GI system function directly - it’s our autonomic nervous system, and often endocrine system, sometimes throw in some autoimmune issues depending on the person, that’s the prob. They are all sending faulty signals to organs that could function fine to way over simplify it. So all the colonoscopies in the world will only show evidence I have insane chronic diarrhea but you’ll never find the CAUSE by looking up my butt. Unfortunately there are no answers up my butt. (Sorry I couldn’t resist the shitty joke😏 ….. 😒ok…I’ll show myself out now….)
I don’t know where you live, what specialists you are seeing or have seen. But my blood work was “normal” too until the right eyes looked at it and said I was all sorts of messed up. Not bc of the digestive issues, but bc dysautonomia can be severe body-wide disruptive and do slow progressive damage to nerves effecting many systems over time. So please take care of yourself. If you feel well, fantastic. If you don’t, look for other drs and be your own advocate the best you can until you find the dr who can give you the care you need and deserve. Dysautonomia can be devastating and most drs have v little experience w it I’ve found. But the right drs can change your life. Drs are just people like everyone else - a lot do the minimum and coast on by and don’t want to do more than that. But there’s a smaller group that are truly amazing and spend their lives going above and beyond for others and sacrifice a lot in their own lives to do so. Drs are people just like everyone else - and some people are jaw-droppingly amazing and give their all in service to others. It took me years but I’m so thankful for my drs. They not only allow me the life I lead, but gave my husband back his wife and my child her mother. They gave me back myself and l’ll always be grateful. But damn I met a lot of crappy ones along the way 🤣
@@kkilljoy3588 I do! I have hyperadrenergic pots and have had for 12 years. I had a Washington Post article written in me about my disabilities and such. I'm always happy to advocate because we are a mystery to most doctors.
Hahahahaha 💩 dr . I'm dying lol . My mom is a nurse and told us to ask questions if we didn't understand what our dr was saying. (Some forget we all didn't go to med school lol) and honestly I like when a dr asks me bunch of questions...I feel heard and I feel like they are willing to take the time to get the information and hear me when I speak of my health concerns
Think good thoughts for me Doc. Was hospitalized for 10 days due to acute diverticulitis, complicated by abscess. Second hospitalization in less than a year, last time I perforated my bowel. This time, I had the NG tube for like 6 days and then radiology assisted drainage and catheter insertion. I was just released on Monday and will have the drain in for another week and a half, if all goes well. Then on to a consult for Laproscopic resection of the affected intestines. Ugh. Really wishing I had just eaten more fiber. Yikes.
I really want to sit down with a diarrhea doctor. But I still think it's all in my head. But I also figure other 34-year-olds arn't running around pooping their pants once or twice a month. Oh well. Makes for good stories! Like that one time the fire alarms went off. I'm a jumpy person. :D :D :D
Yep. Just went through diarrhea university with my kid’s ulcerated colitis (first crohn’s D manifestation), doubled down with a weird unusual bacteria, so… yeah. I know you know.
Interesting timing since I'm dealing with amoxicillin induced diarrhea right now after a week long icu stay for bactrim induced severe hyperkalemia that almost killed me. Worried about C. Diff. I have no adrenals and 4 years out from stage 4 nasopharyngeal cancer, so if I get sepsis from C. Diff, I'm a goner.
Ive had ibs d for 15 years (diagnosed at least ) plus I had gastroparisis, I had my gallbladder out and I had weight loss surgery . Everything moves thru me lol
I get diarrhea pretty often. No idea why. No pain, No blood. And it doesnt seem to be triggered by certain foods but it happens when I eat healthy for some reason. When I live off of 2 minute noodles and gas station pies it seems to be fine so meh
And the fact is your entire career the most important thing you will do in the diagnostic process is listen and ask questions. No one knows their body the way the patient does and they may not know what significant but sometimes if you listen you can save a lot of time tons of money in terms of tests and diagnostic procedures and labs and so forth by just listening to the details. This attitude of listen for 15 seconds run a few tests write a prescription and kick them out the door or just listen for 15 seconds write a prescription and kick them out the door is not good medicine and yet is standard these days.
I used to be too embarrassed to tell a doctor I had diarrhea, even if I did. Then I started having severe abdominal pain and I realised I should tell the doctor my butt has been a firehose for the past three weeks. I had ulcers in my small intestine and was diagnosed with IBS. Now all I do is think about the consistency of my poop 😂😂💩
This guy should work in Wallstreet. I mean if in one sitting, he sold you on diarrhea to the point you dedicated your life to it, imagine what he could do with business opportunities.
I only knew that there are many types of diarrhea when I had chronic diarrhea around 3 years ago and the doctor did diagnose me simply from asking questions 🤣 I still got a scan later on though
