What Causes Discomfort In Upper Abdomen Below The Ribcage?

Posted on Mon, 14 Apr 2014

Question: Lately, I have been waking up with discomfort in the upper part of the stomach just below the rib cage along with a feeling of tightness that seems to affect my breathing.This feeling wakes me up. If I sit up in bed and read for a while it subsides and as the day goes on it goes away completely.This feeling is also accompanied by gas.I had a sleep study in January and it was normal.I was also diagnosed with IBS and treated with a muscle relaxer and this has since gone away. Note:While taking the relaxer I didn't experience the problem in the stomach.Is this characteristic of a nervous stomach?

Answered by Dr. Ashish Verma (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: can be due to gastritis Detailed Answer: Hi, Thanks for writing to HCM. This pain of yours can be due to gastritis which might be mostly drug induced. You may try taking a ppi like omeprazole or pantaprazole for two days, if it improves then continue it for a few weeks, if not then show to your physician to rule out any cardiac cause as they also have similar presentation. Hope i have been helpful. For any further query, feel free to ask. Regards Dr. Ashish Verma

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj

Follow up: Dr. Ashish Verma (2 hours later)

When you say cardiac cause,I had a stress test done in January,2013 which was normal and I do not experience any discomfort when I run. In addition I do not have any discomfort in my chest. I am confused.

Answered by Dr. Ashish Verma (17 minutes later)

Brief Answer: then its much more likely to be gastritis only Detailed Answer: Hi, Actually the thing is that about 95% people with this type of pain is due to gastritis rather than due to myocardial ischemia (MI). But the later being so serious a condition and being treatable if identified early, no doctor takes even the slightest of risk of ignoring it. In my opinion, the first possibility is gastritis only. But you said that you also feel tightness in your chest and breathless, which is usually not seen in gastritis but very often seen in MI, so i had adviced that. But as you say that there is no discomfort or pain during running, so MI becomes highly unlikely. So try an antacid for a few days and see the response. Regards Dr. Ashish Verma

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

Follow up: Dr. Ashish Verma (28 minutes later)

I was not very clear, The tightness is not in my chest but in my stomach.I apologize for the confusion.To further clarify,I have poor sleep hygeine, I fall asleep in the recliner in the living room for several hours and then go to bed. I only feel the discomfort in my stomach in the morning after laying in bed, never on the recliner?

Answered by Dr. Ashish Verma (5 minutes later)

Brief Answer: its gastritis only then Detailed Answer: Hi, This is very likely to be gastritis only then and should resolve with a ppi. Don't get so much worried then, as stress is also a cause for gastritis. And its nothing related to your sleep hygiene. The pain in morning is due to accumulated excess acid in the stomach, and its production is not related to posture. Get well soon. Dr. Ashish Verma

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