What Causes Sharp Pain In The Upper Quadrant Of The Abdomen?

I have been experiencing a very sharp vertical north to south pain in the upper dead center of the stomach, top of pain , just under rib cage, going perfectly straight down , maybe 2 to 3 . The pain starts as slight and grows in intensity for at least an hour to when it maxes out. I start taking TUMS at the early onset and end up taking a min of 6, maybe 8 or 9 total in a 15 to 20 minute span. If I lay down with pillows between my legs it eases the pain in conjunction with the TUMS. This began as a one time deal 6 months ago. In the past 6 weeks it has occurred at least once a week, maybe 2 times. I stopped gluten a few yrs ago and recently have cheated somewhat on that front. This week I turned up the vigilance and thought things were better only to be struck hard this noon. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you. Paul Joubert