What Causes Constant Dull Pain In The Epigastric Quadrant?

Posted on Tue, 28 Nov 2017

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

Tue, 28 Nov 2017 Answered on

Wed, 25 Apr 2018 Last reviewed on

Question : I am having midline epigastrc pain with rebound tenderness. I am wondering if this could be from an ulcer or something to do with my liver. It does not seem to change with what I eat. It is a dull, achy pain all day and bothers me when sleeping.

Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (-4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Can be acid peptic disorder.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for choosing HealthcareMagic for your query,
Dull achy constant pain in epigastric quadrant can be due to acid peptic disorder termed as gastritis or reflux problem.Excessive acid irritates the mucosal lining of gut causing constant pain.Peptic ulcers usually develop overtime if symptoms are not controlled properly.
Characterstic feature of this pain is that it responds to antacids.
Rx-
Zantac (ranitidine) 150 mg twice a day. Zantac is an acid reducer that decreases acid production by 70%, allowing the tissues to heal. You may need to take this for a month or longer.
If these changes don't help enough, ho for an endoscopy (visualizes the esophagus, stomach, with a fiberoptic tube), or manometry (pressure testing of the esophagus).

I hope this information helps. Please let me know if I can provide further information.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D