What Causes Severe Pain In Upper Abdomen?

Posted on Wed, 11 Feb 2015

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

Wed, 11 Feb 2015 Answered on

Thu, 12 Mar 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : HI THIS IS XXXXX XXXXXXX FROM XXXXXXX XXXXXXX , I AM SUFFERING FROM UPPER ABDOMEN SEVERE PAIN SINCE 5 YEARS BUT NO RELIEF , TAKEN MANY ANTACIDS, DONE ENDOSCOPY AND COLONSCOPY. EVERY THING IS OK BUT PAIN IS NOT DIAGNOSED TILL DATE , PLZ HELP.
RIGHT NOW I AM NOT CARRYING ANY REPORTS , BUT WHAT IS THIS DISEASES ? WILL YOU HELP ME IN DIAGNOSIS THIS PAIN ? WHAT IT MIGHT BE . SOME TIMES IT IS VERY LIFE THREATENING . IF I EAT SOMETHING , IT GIVE RELIEF FOR SOME TIME , BUT REOCCURS AGAIN AFTER AN HOUR AND CONTINUED FOR 4 TO 6 HOURS.

Answered by Dr. T Chandrakant (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Detailed history is very important .

Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXX XXXXXXX
Thanks for your query and history.

To recapitulate: Female / 39 from XXXXXXX - severe pain upper abd 5 years - Rx for GERS / IBS - done endo, colonoscopy - no relief - wants help in diagnosis - sometimes life threatening - relief for 1 hour after eating and recurs to continues for 4 to 6 hours...

I would like to know few more details, please give feedback:
- Any nausea, vomiting, hard stools or loose motions ?
-Bloating (distension) of abdomen ?
-What are the other factors which either increase your pain or reduce the pain ?
-Are you a working woman or at home ? Married ? Kids ?
-What are the investigations done till now ?
- You said the pain is life threatening - please explain in such a way that I can understand the severity.

Please post the reports on this link- YYYY@YYYY

The probable causes from your short history are:
May be related to Stomach, duodenum, Gall bladder, pancreas, sphincter of Oddi draining the bile ducts and pancreatic ducts.

These are special investigations which you may need:
-Barium study of the esophagus, stomach in lying down and head-down position, duodenum and follow-through for small intestine.
- MRCP for liver, gall bladder, bile ducts, pancreas- ERCP if required for spincter of Oddi dysfunction.
-high resolution CT scan of the upper abdomen.

All these are indicative studies and may be implemented as per the clinical diagnosis and reports of the previous tests.

I hope this answer will help you to get the idea of getting the proper diagnosis as proper diagnosis is the only key to a successful treatment.

Please feel free to give me feedback, discuss further the relevant points ...

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