Suggest Treatment For Severe Upper Abdominal Pain

Posted on Mon, 24 Aug 2015

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

Mon, 24 Aug 2015 Answered on

Mon, 14 Sep 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I am 88 yrs old and a male. For 20 years I have been taking a daily pill of 5mg finasteride. About a year ago I was diagnosed with extramammary paget's disease and was operated on 4/27/15 for this disease. No medicines were prescribed. About a month ago I encountered a heart condition and a stent was inserted. I was prescribed 1 81mg of aspirin, 75mg of clopidogrel, 12.5mg of metoprolol, and 40mg pantoprazole. 2 weeks ago I slightly fractured my back moving a chair and to help reduce pain I was prescribed the daily use of a 5% lidocaine patch. Now I am having terrible upper stomach pains and want to eliminate or control them. What should I do?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
additional medication, diet changes, may need other tests

Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic

The stomach is in the upper part of the abdomen and pain in this area is usually due to from here.

Usually due to reflux/gastritis, formation of an ulcer due to persistent reflux/gastritis though there are other less common more serious causes.

Treatment
(1)Since you are already on reflux medication and still having pain, you may want to add another medication to help decrease any stomach inflammation .

Adding medication like zantac or pepcid to the pantoprazole may have added benefit.
They work differently than the pantoprazole and may work together to help you.

There are no drug interactions between pepcid or zantac with your other meds

(2)lifestyle changes- gastritis/ reflux is worsened with certain foods

Avoid spicy, citrus foods
Avoid fatty/fried foods
Limit tomatoes, mint, onion, caffeine, chocolate
Use small frequent meals rather than large meals

These foods worsen symptoms

(3)if there is still no improvement , you may need additional tests including imaging of the esophagus and stomach with a barium meal and also blood tests to check for h pylori bacteria

The barium meal would show up any ulcers or inflammation of the stomach lining that may be causing the problem

H pylori is a bacteria that can be found in the stomach, it can make reflux/gastiris worse.
If present a course of 2 antibiotics would be needed for 10 days to 2 weeks

I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions

Note: Revert back with your health reports to get further guidance on your gastric problems. Click here.

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