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What Causes Sharp Pain In The Upper Right Abdominal Area?
Posted on
Sat, 3 Jun 2017
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Sat, 3 Jun 2017
Answered on
Fri, 23 Jun 2017
Last reviewed on
Question : I am a 50 year old female. Two days ago, I began experiencing a moderate sharp pain in my upper right abdomen, just inside my lowest ribs, after eating meals. The pain begins within 10 minutes of finishing a meal and lasts about 30-45 minutes. I do not have pain after eating a small snack, like a granola bar, and the pain is worse if the meal is larger. Can you suggest a possible cause and/or treatment until I can see my PCM? I have an appointment in about 3 weeks. Should I try to get an earlier appointment?
Brief Answer:
Detailed answer below.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for choosing HealthacareMagic for your query.
Have gone through your details and I appreciate your concerns.
Going through your complete history there are two possibilities-
Dyspepsia, in layman's language, is known as indigestion. It is a term that describes discomfort or pain in the upper abdomen. However, it's not a disease in itself. A dyspepsia is a group of symptoms which often include bloating, nausea, abdominal pain etc. However, different patients have different presentation.
As the onset in your case is acute, most likely cause of indigestion is due to either overeating or taking over oily or fatty food. Anxiety or intake of alcohol or aerated beverages can also cause the symptoms.
Take a proton pump inhibitor like Esomeprazole 40 mg twice daily along with a prokinetic drug (eg.Domperidone) for 3 days. This will provide you symptomatic relief from symptoms of dyspepsia (you may need to obtain a prescription for this from your local physician).
Take Tylenol twice daily for pain.
Antacid like Pepto Bismol can be taken for few days along with it.
Any over counter probiotic should be taken for few days to provide relief in symptoms of indigestion.
The second possibility is postprandial angina- Pain on the right side below ribs can also be a symptom of angina(heart pain). Medically it is termed as postprandial angina. When a person takes big meal blood supply is diverted towards intestines hence supply to the heart is compromised causing pain.
So initially I would suggest you go for -
Stress test to rule out the possibility of involvement of heart.
An ultrasonogram abdomen- To rule out gall bladder disease.
As of now start taking the medicines I have suggested if the gastric issue is the cause you would be relieved in a day or two.
Hope my answer was helpful.
Follow ups are welcome.
Thanks
Detailed answer below.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for choosing HealthacareMagic for your query.
Have gone through your details and I appreciate your concerns.
Going through your complete history there are two possibilities-
Dyspepsia, in layman's language, is known as indigestion. It is a term that describes discomfort or pain in the upper abdomen. However, it's not a disease in itself. A dyspepsia is a group of symptoms which often include bloating, nausea, abdominal pain etc. However, different patients have different presentation.
As the onset in your case is acute, most likely cause of indigestion is due to either overeating or taking over oily or fatty food. Anxiety or intake of alcohol or aerated beverages can also cause the symptoms.
Take a proton pump inhibitor like Esomeprazole 40 mg twice daily along with a prokinetic drug (eg.Domperidone) for 3 days. This will provide you symptomatic relief from symptoms of dyspepsia (you may need to obtain a prescription for this from your local physician).
Take Tylenol twice daily for pain.
Antacid like Pepto Bismol can be taken for few days along with it.
Any over counter probiotic should be taken for few days to provide relief in symptoms of indigestion.
The second possibility is postprandial angina- Pain on the right side below ribs can also be a symptom of angina(heart pain). Medically it is termed as postprandial angina. When a person takes big meal blood supply is diverted towards intestines hence supply to the heart is compromised causing pain.
So initially I would suggest you go for -
Stress test to rule out the possibility of involvement of heart.
An ultrasonogram abdomen- To rule out gall bladder disease.
As of now start taking the medicines I have suggested if the gastric issue is the cause you would be relieved in a day or two.
Hope my answer was helpful.
Follow ups are welcome.
Thanks
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Answered by
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