5 Reasons You Should See the Doctor With Abdominal Pain

Abdominal pain refers to any pain in your belly region — between your ribs and your pelvis. While abdominal pain is often thought of as a stomachache, it can also be emanating from other organs besides your stomach.

Everyone is bound to get a bellyache from time to time, and often it’ll go away on its own. However, abdominal pain can be a sign of a more serious condition, so it’s always important to seek medical attention when you’re experiencing this kind of pain.

Ven Kottapalli, MD, CNSP, and our team at GI Physicians, Inc. in Lima, Ohio, have expertise in diagnosing and treating abdominal pain. So, we want you to know what could cause your abdominal pain and when to be seen for it.

Symptoms and causes of abdominal pain

When you have abdominal pain, it can be acute (short-term), chronic (long-term), or progressive. It all depends on how quickly your pain comes on and how long it lasts. Abdominal pain can be mild or severe, dull or sharp, burning or achy, crampy, and constant or intermittent. 

This wide range of symptoms is because abdominal pain can be caused by so many things. Some of the most common causes of abdominal pain include:

• Indigestion
• Appendicitis
• Constipation
• Food intolerance
• Flu
• Bowel obstruction
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Ulcers
• Kidney stones

Abdominal pain can also be a symptom of certain kinds of cancer such as colon cancer.

When abdominal pain requires medical attention

No matter what your symptoms are, if your pain lasts longer than 48 hours, it’s best to get in touch with our GI Physicians, Inc. team to have your symptoms checked out. Five reasons you should see your doctor for your abdominal pain are:

1. Fever
2. Diarrhea
3. Loss of appetite
4. A burning sensation when you urinate
5. Unexplained weight loss

When you come in to see us, our team can work with you to figure out what’s causing your pain.

How we diagnose and treat abdominal pain

At GI Physicians, Inc., we use a wide range of diagnostic tools to find out what’s at the root of your abdominal pain. Some of these options include upper gastrointestinal endoscopies and colonoscopies. 

Once we find the culprit, our team works to come up with a conservative and effective treatment plan that will give you relief while trying to avoid invasive procedures.

If you’re struggling with any of the symptoms of serious abdominal pain, don’t wait to come and see us so you can get some much-needed relief. Contact our office by giving us a call or scheduling an appointment online today.