Having Sharp Epigastric Pain To Back And Rib Cage. On Lansoprazole. History Of Lymphoma. Any Cure?

Posted on Sun, 29 Jul 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 Answered on

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : I am a 55yr old female and have had intermittent ,sharp epigastric pain that radiates to the left back and occasionally under right rib cage for 5 days now. Sometimes the pain occurs only in my left back. It started 2 days after I returned from vacation in Mexico where I did ingest a moderate amount of alcohol (3 drinks per day) I do not have a gallbladder. I do moderate exercise and am now of normal weight for my height after a 45 lb weight loss since Dec 2011. The pain does not seem to be related to eating and I don't experience it when I am sleeping at night. I have no other symptoms. I have been on lansoprazole 30mg for 2 days now with only 50% relief in symptoms. I am scheduled for an endoscopy in 3 weeks, no bloodwork has been done and I have not seen a doctor. I do have a hx of a B.A.L.T. lymphoma 2007, now in remission. I am on Lisinopril 5mg and hydrochlorothiazide 25mg qd for HTN.

Answered by Dr. Divya Kuttikrishnan (50 minutes later)

Hi there,

Thanks for writing in.

You appear to be having symptoms of gastritis, as evidenced by sharp epigastric pain. Lansaprazole belongs to the class of proton pump inhibitors and helps with acidity related problems. Continue with the lansoprazole. Avoid hot and spicy food. Avoid alcohol ,as alcohol is a gastric irritant and might worsen your epigastric pain.
Drink plenty of water , at least 8 glasses of water a day.

However, I would advise a cardiac evaluation also as Angina has many ways of presenting itself. Sometimes epigastric pain , might be the only symptom of a heart attack.

Another possibility is cholecystitis (inflammation of the gall bladder), which can be ruled out by ultrasound of the abdomen. I didn't quite understand what you meant by 'I do not have a gall bladder' .Did you mean that the gall bladder was removed as part of a surgical procedure?

There are many causes of epigastric pain, I have mentioned the common ones above.
It is a good thing you are getting an endoscopy done later on.

Hope I have answered your question. In case you don't have any further queries, kindly accept my answer. Any reviews are welcome.

Have a nice day.

Regards,
Dr. Divya Kuttikrishnan

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar