Re: abdominal pain

Posted By HFHSM.D.-rf on June 27, 1998 at 11:52:39:

In Reply to: abdominal pain posted by mr on June 25, 1998 at 16:15:55:






I am female 43 yrs old and have had this problem for several yrs now. I know I am harming myself because I have the pain everyday and night to prove it but I've gotten myself into a vicious cycle and don't know how to stop. I can't seem to stop taking OTC aspirin w/caffeine as in Excedrin. I only take one at a time ,am conscious that I don't take another until at least 3 hrs later but I develop stomach pain then take one for the pain and sometimes in between use Rolaids, drink Coke in order to belch and that sometimes help. Latley I often take a 200mg Tagamet along with the aspirin tab. I've been diagnosed before with ulcer and my father died of cancer of the esophagus 13 yrs ago and he took an awful amount of Anacin.I do have stress in my life with a strained marriage but that is only lately and I've been in this pattern for the last few yrs. Sometimes the stomach pain is severe but I continue this habit of asp,rolaidsCoke and I drink alot of milk at night and during the night.I guess I need to know the worst case scenario for me because if I know that maybe it would help me throw the bottle of asp away . I have felt better if I gave myself 12 hrs or more of no abuse to my stomach so why don't I just quit taking them?I think it is a dependancy on the caffeine. Please help.  
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Dear mr,
You need to talk with your physician about the possibility of a psychological dependency to these medications.  It is also necessary, however, to verify that you do not have any physical or structural problems with your GI tract.  These are the tests that need to have been done: upper endoscopy to exclude inflammation of the lining of stomach or esophagus, small intestine series, Ct scan of abdomen to exclude pancreatic problem, and a gastric emptying study.  Gastroparesis is a frequent cause of abdominal pain that is often overlooked by physicians.
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
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