Adult pyloric stenosis?

As an infant I was diagnosed with pyloric stenosis; my mother was a nurse and refused to have me surgically treated.  Family stories are that I projectile vomited for many months and then things settled down slowly.  I am in my fifth decade of life now. In retrospect, I know i have had fairly serious gastrointestinal issues my whole life that have not been treated.  For example, chronic and severe constipation that sometimes "ends" only with an episode of severe cramping and vomiting and diarrhea that went on for a number of years until I learned to increase the amount of fiber in my diet, but if I take long trips in a car, plane , etc., then I am sometimes constipated for up to a week even with a high fiber intake.  Severe episodes of bloating and gas that are terribly painful, reflux that I have thought was minor that my allergy/immunologist eventually recommended that I regularly take prevacid or somesuch, and just chronic feelings of mild nausea, and other assorted digestive distress.  I have gotten to the point that I am just plain sick of it all.  I recently took a trip that meant lots of time in cars and hotels and even though I was eating a decent fiber diet, I am still miserable and recovering almost a  couple weeks later and I am noticing lots of gas , bloating, constipation regularly now.  I am overweight and I have a terrible time losing weight; my metabolism is just terrible and I had been thinking of some kind of gastric band surgery recently, but I have also been doing a bit of research into pyloric stenosis and am now wondering if my lifelong problems may relate to the pyloric stenosis and if it is time or past time to consult a gastroenterologist?  And who in the world/where in the world would I go for such a situation??  Thank you.  

[Poorna Chandra, SMD, DM]

Dear Pippi711,

Infantile pylori stenosis is most commonly due to hypertrophy of the sphincter muscle and presents with recurrent vomiting 4 weeks after birth. Treatment is operative dissection of the muscle. It can be associated with intestinal disorders such as Hirschsprung's disease which is associated with constipation. But it starts manifesting from early infancy itself. Hence it is difficult to say if you had a minor variant of these diseases.

However several other diseases such as congenital mesenteric bands, hypothyroidism, and acquired causes of dysmotility such as long standing diabetes or post operative adhesions can also cause such symptoms. So I would advise that you contact a gastroenterologist for a thorough work up to find out the cause of your symptoms. Further treatment can be planned accordingly.

Hope that this information helps and hope that you will get better soon.

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Best Regards,
Dr. Poorna Chandra K.S