Diet Soda Resolves Woman’s Mystery Pain and Vomiting
▼ Summary
– A 63-year-old woman arrived at a Boston hospital emergency department with severe, month-long symptoms including stomach pain, nausea, and vomiting.
– The patient had a complex medical history including Type 2 diabetes and opioid use disorder and had been taking the weight-loss drug semaglutide for a year.
– Medical imaging, including a CT scan and an MRI, revealed a semi-solid mass in her stomach and an enlargement of her bile ducts.
– The mass was identified as a potential gastric bezoar, a clump of material that can form in the stomach, with phytobezoars being the most common type.
– A specific type of phytobezoar, a diospyrobezoar, is notoriously hard and forms from persimmons due to tannins that create a glue-like substance in the stomach.
Medical professionals at a Boston hospital recently encountered a fascinating case where a patient’s debilitating symptoms were ultimately resolved by an unexpected dietary change. A woman arrived at the emergency department suffering from intense abdominal pain, persistent nausea, and frequent vomiting. For an entire month, she had endured a burning sensation that radiated from her upper abdomen to her back, with no relief from any remedies she tried.
Her medical background was complex, involving Type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and a history of opioid use disorder. She was also managing gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Among her many medications was semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist prescribed for weight loss, which had helped her lose a significant amount of weight over the previous year.
Doctors initiated a thorough diagnostic process, admitting her for further observation. Advanced imaging scans revealed critical clues. A CT scan showed an enlarged bile duct and a stomach distended with what appeared to be a semi-solid substance. An MRI confirmed the presence of a mass within the stomach, displaying a mottled pattern suggestive of trapped air bubbles. These findings, combined with the bile duct enlargement, pointed strongly toward a specific condition.
The leading diagnosis became a gastric bezoar, a concretion that forms in the stomach. These masses vary in composition. The most frequently seen type is a phytobezoar, which develops from undigested plant matter like cellulose. A particularly stubborn subtype is the diospyrobezoar, which forms from the excessive consumption of persimmons. The high tannin content in the fruit’s skin interacts with stomach acid to create a glue-like substance, resulting in a mass that is notoriously difficult to break down and treat.
(Source: Ars Technica)