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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Hard Parts In Stomach. History Of Eating Rocks. Any Insight?

Hello. This is quite embarrassing but i have been eating rocks since i was about 15 years old. The ones that are weak enough to grind into dirt so i can eat the whole thing. I am 21 now and recently i have noticed some hard parts in my stomach and now im very alarmed. I scared of what i may have done to myself and if this could be life threatening. Im worried to the point where i just want to run to the emergency room. Id like some insight on what damage i may have done to my body and advice on what to do from this point on.
Thu, 16 Aug 2012
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Gastroenterologist 's  Response
Hello, Philanthropy,
What you have is a condition called "Pica" , a disease where people crave
for dirt,sand,crumbled rocks etc. This is considered a psychiatric disorder
an obsessive compulsive one. You do need to see a psychiatrist. You may
also want to see an endoscopist, a digestive disease specialist that can
take a good look inside your stomach and see if you still have any rocks
that have not passed through and may have to be removed.
Please do this as soon as you can.
Wish you well.
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General Surgeon Dr. Grzegorz Stanko's  Response
Hello!
First of all: stop eating rocks. This is not a good idea and has never been (unless you are a bird who must eat a stone for grain to crumb) In human body eaten stone is more than undesirable.
There are 3 ways for eaten stone. First you can excrete it with stool without your attention. Second it can stay in your stomach for a long time (and if you are unlucky may cause a "bedsore" in your stomach and a perforation - that is really bad). And third it can flow through a small intestine and block it in place where it falls to large intestine. This is very bad and needs surgery to fix it.
What you should do is to have gastroduodenoscopy performed and an abdomen X-ray to check if and where are this stones.
Take care
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Internal Medicine Specialist Dr. Mayank Bhargava's  Response
Hi,
Thanks for posting your query.
You should immediately go to ER and consult with physician. You should also go for ultrasound imaging and CT/MRI scanof abdomen (if needed).
You may have accumulated stone particles in form of bezoar. Until unless this hard part is removed, you can't get relief.
You should also consult with psychiatrist for getting relief fromthis bad habit.
Thanks,
Dr. Mayank Bhargava
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Hard Parts In Stomach. History Of Eating Rocks. Any Insight?

Hello, Philanthropy, What you have is a condition called Pica , a disease where people crave for dirt,sand,crumbled rocks etc. This is considered a psychiatric disorder an obsessive compulsive one. You do need to see a psychiatrist. You may also want to see an endoscopist, a digestive disease specialist that can take a good look inside your stomach and see if you still have any rocks that have not passed through and may have to be removed. Please do this as soon as you can. Wish you well.