Dr. Dirkie Claassen

Dr. Dirkie Claassen Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Dr. Dirkie Claassen, Gastroenterologist, Suite G001, Mediclinic Cape Gate, Tanner Street, Cape Town.

Iron deficiency in women gets blamed on periods, and often that is the right answer.But not always.Iron is absorbed in y...
29/08/2026

Iron deficiency in women gets blamed on periods, and often that is the right answer.
But not always.

Iron is absorbed in your gut. So a gut problem can leave you deficient in two ways: slow bleeding you never see, or an intestine that cannot absorb iron properly. Coeliac disease is a classic example, and sometimes low iron is the only sign of it.

Push for more if the supplements are not working, if you have gut symptoms alongside the fatigue, if you are past menopause and still deficient, or if nobody has ever asked you about your digestion.
Low iron is a symptom, not a diagnosis. It is worth knowing why.
Book an appointment.

Yes and no, and the no matters more than you would expect.IBS does cluster in families, and twin studies show a real gen...
28/08/2026

Yes and no, and the no matters more than you would expect.

IBS does cluster in families, and twin studies show a real genetic contribution. In a small group, around 2 to 4 percent, researchers have found a specific gene variant affecting how certain sugars are digested.
But there is no single IBS gene. For most people it is many genes interacting with environment, and environment does a lot of the work. Early life stress roughly doubles the risk, and that is not inheritance at all.

So if a parent has IBS, their children are somewhat more likely to develop it. That is not the same as passing it on.

"You are too young for that" are a sentence I would like to hear less often.Bowel cancer is rising in younger adults wor...
25/08/2026

"You are too young for that" are a sentence I would like to hear less often.
Bowel cancer is rising in younger adults worldwide. That is why international guidelines lowered routine screening from 50 to 45.

The South African picture is worse than most people realise. Local data found the average age at diagnosis is 56, with more than a quarter of cases in people under 50.
Two things worth knowing.

Screening ages apply to people without symptoms. If you have bleeding, a change in bowel habit, or unexplained weight loss, age does not matter. Get it looked at.
And if bowel cancer runs in your family, you may need to start considerably earlier.
Book an appointment.

"Just eat more fibre" is why a lot of people with IBS end up feeling worse.Fibre is not one thing.Soluble fibre dissolve...
24/08/2026

"Just eat more fibre" is why a lot of people with IBS end up feeling worse.
Fibre is not one thing.

Soluble fibre dissolves and forms a gel. It settles things down. Oats, psyllium, bananas.
Insoluble fibre does not dissolve. It adds bulk and speeds things up, which is the last thing an irritable gut needs. Bran and wheat are the usual culprits.

Two rules. Go soluble. Go slowly, because doubling your fibre overnight will bloat you either way.
It will not work for everyone, and it is not a substitute for a diagnosis. But it costs nothing to try.

People do not like this question. It sounds like being told the problem is in your head.It is not.Most of your serotonin...
21/08/2026

People do not like this question. It sounds like being told the problem is in your head.
It is not.

Most of your serotonin is made in your gut, not your brain, where it controls the pace of digestion and how much pain you feel. Certain antidepressants act on those same pathways, often at different doses than they are used for depression.

Two honest things. The evidence is mixed and it does not work for everyone. And it is never the first step. It comes after proper investigation.

If a medication has been suggested and nobody explained why, ask.
General information, not medical advice. Never start or stop a medication without speaking to your doctor.

Everyone bloats. Food goes in, gas is produced, you expand. That is physics.But many people who feel badly bloated are n...
18/08/2026

Everyone bloats. Food goes in, gas is produced, you expand. That is physics.
But many people who feel badly bloated are not actually more swollen than anyone else. The gas is normal. The feeling is not. Oversensitive nerves are reporting normal pressure as pain.

Which is why cutting out food after food so often fails. The problem is the signal, not the food.
Some bloating genuinely is food-related though, so test properly rather than guessing.

Come and see me if it does not settle, if it comes with weight loss, bleeding, or a change in bowel habit, or if you are a woman with persistent bloating that will not go away.

If you have been told your stomach ulcer is from stress, please read this.Most ulcers are caused by one of two things. A...
17/08/2026

If you have been told your stomach ulcer is from stress, please read this.
Most ulcers are caused by one of two things. A bacterium called Helicobacter pylori, or the ordinary anti-inflammatory painkillers many people take without thinking twice.

South Africa has one of the highest H. pylori infection rates in the world. Which means this myth costs us more than it costs most countries.

Here is why it matters. An ulcer blamed on stress gets managed with rest and antacids. An ulcer properly diagnosed gets treated, and the cause gets removed. Untreated, H. pylori is linked to ongoing gastritis, recurring ulcers, and in some cases stomach cancer.

Stress can make ulcer symptoms feel worse. It is rarely what caused them.

So if you have persistent burning stomach pain, do not settle for "you need to relax." Ask to be tested.
Book an appointment.

Winter is quietly hard on digestion.We drink less water. We move less. We eat later and heavier. And for most people the...
14/08/2026

Winter is quietly hard on digestion.

We drink less water. We move less. We eat later and heavier. And for most people the year is at its most demanding right about now.

Here is the part people do not expect. Stress does not just make you feel worse. It changes how sensitive the nerves carrying pain signals from your gut actually are. Turn that sensitivity up and normal digestion, normal gas, normal stretching, starts to register as pain.

So a difficult month can genuinely change how your gut behaves. That is physiology, not weakness.
The basics still help. Water. Daily movement, even a short walk. An earlier evening meal.
But if the symptoms persist once the pressure lifts, it is no longer just a hard month. Come and have it looked at.

Most people picture one-way traffic. Brain gets stressed, stomach suffers.It runs both ways, and the gut does a great de...
11/08/2026

Most people picture one-way traffic. Brain gets stressed, stomach suffers.
It runs both ways, and the gut does a great deal of the talking.

This is why the churn arrives before the worry does. Not because you are dramatic, but because that is how everyone is built.

What matters clinically is this. That system can become oversensitive. When it does, ordinary sensations start registering as pain or urgency, and everyday digestion begins to hurt.
That is a real physiological change, not a personality trait. And it is something we can treat.

Send me your questions and I may answer them here.

Happy Women's Day
09/08/2026

Happy Women's Day

Address

Suite G001, Mediclinic Cape Gate, Tanner Street
Cape Town
7560

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 16:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 16:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 16:00
Thursday 08:00 - 16:00
Friday 08:00 - 12:00

Telephone

+27217700035

Website

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