Gastrinoma is a term used to describe the tumors associated with Zollinger Ellison Syndrome, sometimes called ZES. This is a rare gastroenterological disorder. The tumors are commonly found in the pancreas and in the very beginning of the small intestine. The tumors secrete a large amount of gastrin, a hormone that causes gastric acids to be released. The excess amounts can cause ulcers.
Instructions
1. Determine if you have similar symptoms of ulcers including stomach pain, vomiting of blood and difficulty in eating. Some people also have diarrhea associated with the ulcers. Sometimes, in the early stages of the disease, the gastrinoma can be hard to detect because of the infrequent symptoms.
2. Seek out the help of a doctor if you have any ulcer like pain. In cases of gastronoma, the only definite diagnosis of the condition is through your doctor's tests. Explain to the doctor where the pain is located and what other symptoms you may have.
3. Diagnosis gastronoma with a secretin stimulation test. This test, administered by your doctor, will detect the levels of gastrin in the body, as they related to secretin. If the levels are off, doctors will continue testing for ulcers in the body. Those with ulcers and with high levels of gastrin in their bodies, as shown by this test, are likely to have gastrinoma, or Zollinger Ellison Syndrome.
4. Fast. Doctors may request that you fast for 12 or so hours. They will then give you a fasting gastrin test, to measure the amount of gastrin in your body without any food in it. These levels are necessary to see if you have gastronoma like conditions in the body. This secondary blood test will provide doctors with proof of the problem.
5. Have a diagnostic imaging technique performed. By taking a very highly-powered x-ray test, called a radionuclide octreotide scanning doctors can locate gastronoma throughout the body. Only about half of those in the body will show up with imaging. Doctors use this test to help them locate the tumors that may need to be removed.
Tags: Zollinger Ellison Syndrome, amount gastrin, associated with, Ellison Syndrome, levels gastrin