Q: I am a 26 years old man who had an umbilical sinus operation 8 years back. After 3 years of operation, my weight started to increase and I felt pain at the umbilical region. After sometime I started having headache, vomiting, and irregular bowel movements. If I eat something I experience flatulence, if I don't eat on time, I have headache and vomit after having food. The doctor told me that I have gastric erosion (gastroesophageal reflux disease) so he prescribed Pantoprazole and Sucralfate. Now I am feeling some relief, but the bowel movements and flatulence is still there. Please help.

A:You may be suffering only from hiatus hernia. However, it may be worthwhile investigating for some other cause, especially since your symptoms are not typical for hiatus hernia. Your symptoms suggest partial obstruction of the intestines, but this is associated with weight loss, not weight gain. Do you have an endocrine problem (e.g. thyroid)? You probably need a further check, but from the present data I cannot give a more specific suggestion.