Re: Abdominal Pain

Posted By HFHSM.D.-rf on June 01, 1998 at 21:24:14:

In Reply to: Abdominal Pain posted by Sarah on May 27, 1998 at 02:14:31:






My stomach has been bothering me off and on since January.  
The symptoms vary (heartburn, diarrhea, nausea) but for the
last month and a half I've had a persistant pain in my upper
abdomen (above my navel, below my breastbone) I went to a
doctor before coming home from school and he tested my blood
count, my liver, and for H. pylori.  All of these tests came
back normal and he told me to wait it out because it might just
be stress.  This pain gets worse when I eat regardless of how
mild the food is and my appetite has gone way down.  I've lost
10 pounds in the last month which I guess wouldn't be that much
if it was intentional.  I'm planning on waiting it out to see
if it was just the stress of school but it's already been a
week.  How long should I wait?



Dera Sarah,
In view of your recent weight loss and mid abdominal pain, I would arrange to see a gastroenterologist as soon as possible.  Your physician assumed that you did not have an ulcer since approx 90% of ulcers are associated with H. pylori infection, which you do not have.  However, the other 10% of ulcers are not due to this infection.  You need an endoscopy to exclude ulcers of the stomach or pylorus as the cause of your symptoms.  The endoscopy will also exclude esophagitis as a contributing cause for your pain.  The diarrhea and weight loss raise the possibility of inflammatory bowel disease.  Although you did not write that you had traveled recently, intestinal infections must also be excluded.
If you are in the Detroit area,we would be happy to see you in the Division of Gastroenterology of Henry Ford Health System. You can arrange an appointment with Dr. Fogel, one of our experts in the diagnosis and treatment of abdominal pain  by calling the Henry Ford Physician Referral Line at [phone].
This response is offered for your general information and should not replace the conclusions drawn from a careful and complete evaluation by your physician.
HFHSM.D.-rf
*keywords: abdominal pain, ulcer disease, H. pylori infection