Digestive Health Services

For patients in central Connecticut, The Digestive Health Center at MidState is a comprehensive resource for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a full range of gastrointestinal disorders that affect the stomach, colon and digestive tract.

We provide expert care. But we also realize that when you visit us, you may be experiencing some discomfort. That's why we do everything we can to ensure that your visit is as pleasant and comfortable as possible.

What makes our Center different?

• The Digestive Health Center is a dedicated hospital center, located at MidState's main campus on Lewis Avenue.
• For your convenience, there is a separate entrance and parking area, as well as a private waiting area.
• The Digestive Health Center is staffed by board certified gastroenterologists.
• All of our nurses and clinical staff have special expertise in the field of gastroenterology and many are certified by professional societies.
• The Digestive Health Center follows the highest national standard for cleaning and reprocessing scopes and equipment between patients - patient safety is our utmost concern.

For more information, view our Digestive Health brochure

Conditions and Risk Factors

Some of the more common digestive health conditions and their risk factors are listed below. If you think you may have one of these conditions, talk with your doctor. Click each of the conditions listed below to view more information:

• Ulcerative Colitis
• Your age: Ulcerative colitis can strike at any age, but you're most likely to develop the condition when you're in your 30s.
• Your ethnicity: Whites and those of Jewish descent, have a higher risk.
• Your family history: You're at higher risk if you have a close relative, such as a parent, sibling or child, with the disease.
• Where you live: If you live in an urban area or in an industrialized country, you're more likely to develop ulcerative colitis, because diets in these areas tend to be high in fat or refined foods.
• Inflamed bile ducts: Your doctor may look for ulcerative colitis if you've been diagnosed with this condition.
• Abnormalities of the immune system: Many doctors aren't sure whether this is a cause or result of the disease.
• GERD (heartburn)
• Obesity: Extra weight puts extra pressure on your stomach, allowing stomach acids to back up into your esophagus. Eating very large meals or meals high in fat may cause similar effects.
• Hiatal hernia: In this condition, part of your stomach protrudes into your lower chest. If the protrusion is large, a hiatal hernia can worsen heartburn by further weakening the lower esophageal muscle.
• Pregnancy: Pregnancy results in greater pressure on the stomach and a higher production of the hormone progesterone. This hormone relaxes many of your muscles, including the lower esophageal sphincter.
• Asthma: Coughing and difficulty exhaling lead to pressure changes in your chest and abdomen, triggering regurgitation of stomach acid into your esophagus.
• Diabetes: One of the many complications of diabetes is gastroparesis, a disorder in which your stomach takes too long to empty. If left in your stomach too long, stomach contents can regurgitate into your esophagus and cause heartburn.
• Delayed stomach emptying: In addition to diabetes or an ulcer, abnormal nerve or muscle functions can delay emptying of your stomach, causing acid backup into the esophagus.
• Zollinger-Ellison syndrome: One of the complications of this rare disorder is that your stomach produces extremely large amounts of acid, increasing the risk of acid reflux.
• Diverticulitis
• Your age: You're more likely to get diverticulitis if you're over the age of 40, although it's not known why.
• Too little fiber
• Lack of exercise
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Adolescence or early adulthood: The disease usually presents when you're between the ages of 15 and 30.
• Your sex: It is more common in women.
• Low-fiber diet
• Emotional stress
• Use of laxatives
• Abnormalities of the immune system: Many doctors aren't sure whether this is a cause or result of the disease.
• Crohn's Disease
• Your age: Most people are diagnosed with Crohn's between the ages of 20 and 30.
• Your ethnicity: Whites and those of Jewish descent, have a higher risk.
• Your family history: You're at higher risk if you have a close relative, such as a parent, sibling or child, with the disease.
• Where you live: If you live in an urban area or in an industrialized country, you're more likely to develop ulcerative colitis, because diets in these areas tend to be high in fat or refined foods
• Smoking: If you smoke, you are far more likely to develop Crohn's disease.
• Barrett's Esophagus
• Chronic heartburn and acid reflux or GERD
• Your sex: Men are two to threes times more likely to develop Barrett's esophagus.
• Your race: White and Hispanic people are at greater risk of the disease than are blacks and Asians.
• Your age: Although Barrett's esophagus can affect people of all ages, the condition is more common in older adults
• Colon Cancer
• Your age: About 90 percent of people diagnosed with colon cancer are older than 50.
• Your personal history: If you've already had colon cancer or polyps, you have a greater risk of colon cancer in the future.
• Inflammatory intestinal conditions: Long-standing inflammatory diseases of the colon, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, can increase your risk of colon cancer.
• Your family history: You're more likely to develop colon cancer if you have a parent, sibling or child who has or has had the disease.
• Your diet: Colon cancer and rectal cancer may be associated with a diet low in fiber and high in fat and calories.
• Your lifestyle: Those who don't exercise regularly are at a greater risk.
• Diabetes: People with diabetes may have an increased risk of colon cancer.
• Obesity: People who are obese have an increased risk of colon cancer and an increased risk of dying of colon cancer when compared with people of normal weight.
• Smoking
• Alcohol: Heavy use of alcohol may increase your odds of getting colon cancer.
• Radiation therapy for cancer: Radiation therapy directed at the abdomen to treat previous cancers may increase the risk of colon cancer.

To learn more about these conditions, contact MidState's Digestive Health Center at 203 694 8585.

Testing

• Tests performed at the Center

The Digestive Health Center performs colonoscopies, upper endoscopies, bronchoscopies and related diagnostic procedures. It is important that, when you come in for your procedure, you are well prepared and have followed all recommended instructions. Understanding how to best prepare for your test will ensure the most accurate results.

• Colonoscopy Services

More than 150,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer every year. Colorectal cancer is easily treatable and cured if detected early.

• About Colon Cancer

Colorectal cancer almost always develops from precancerous polyps (abnormal growths) in the colon or rectum. Screening tests can easily detect these growths so that they can be removed before they become cancerous. If performed regularly, screening tests can also detect colorectal cancer in its earliest stages. Click the link below for more information:

• When should you begin screening for Colorectal Cancer?

You should get a screening test for colon cancer soon after turning 50 years old, and then continue to have one on a regular basis. However, you may need to have a screening test earlier if:

• You or a close relative have had colorectal polyps or cancer.
• You have inflammatory bowel disease.
• You experience symptoms like blood in your stool, unexplained and frequent stomach pain, cramps, or aches, or a change in your bowel habits.
• What Kinds Of Screening Tests Are Used For Colorectal Cancer?

Click on the following list of testing procedures to view more information:

• Fecal Occult Blood Test

This is a simple test you can do at home that checks for hidden (occult) blood in the stool. Place a small amount of your stool on test cards. Then return the cards to your doctor's office or a lab, where the stool samples are tested for hidden blood.

• Flexible Sigmoidoscopy

A lighted tube, called a sigmoidoscope, is inserted into your rectum and lower part of the colon to examine the lining for polyps or cancer.

• Combination of Fecal Occult Blood Test and Flexible Sigmoidoscopy

Some experts recommend using both tests to maximize your chances of detecting polyps and cancer.

• Colonoscopy

This test is similar to a sigmoidoscopy in that the doctor uses a thin, flexible, lighted tube, called a colonoscope, which is inserted into your rectum and entire colon so that your doctor can find and remove polyps and cancer.

• Double Contrast Barium Enema

This test allows your physician to see if any abnormalities are present through an x-ray image of the rectum and entire colon.

For patients who live in the middle of Connecticut, the Digestive Health Center at MidState offers comprehensive, expert diagnostic services close to home. For more information, call 203 694 8585.