With summer trips wrapping up, your stomach doctor in Orlando may be the last stop. Traveling has been known to upset a tummy or two. Here are a few ways you can help your gastro doctor narrow down your pain.

What is causing my new stomach pain?:

There are many causes to stomach aches. Not only are there a few causes to blame, but the range of pain can differ from patient to painting. First off, visiting your local gastroenterologists, also referred to as stomach doctors, can answer plenty of questions.

Most often, when a person has new stomach pains, food is the first reason to check off the list. Because of this, even your primary care doctor may recommend this before referring you to a gastroenterologists. However, if the stomach aches persists, there is a whole list your stomach experts must check out.

An initial examination is first up on the to-do list. You gastro doctors may begin by asking what you have done recently lately. They may ask you if you have recently started a new diet. A new diet may either add or remove a certain food from your daily consumption.

Right off the bat, if you answer yes to this question, you may just need to try resuming back to your original habits. On the other hand, if the patient is experiencing intense stomach pain, a gastro doctor may proceed with routine testing such as an ultrasound.

The range of pain:

Pain can range from off an on aches to severe sharp pains or cramps. Getting more precise measurements of pain is not necessary usually. Intense and unbearable pain will alert your doctor of issues that need to be addressed in a timely manner.

Depending on the severity of the pain, the patient may be rushed to the hospital. However, if it is ongoing pain, the stomach doctor in Orlando will evaluate the issues in their offices. In most cases, a doctor’s office will give a patient a sheet to fill out once checking in for their visit.

A few papers may ask a whole plethora of answers, but be sure to answer as correctly as possible. These papers may seem monotonous, but they give an extremely useful insight as to what you are feeling.

Pain may be described as:

  • burning
  • crampy
  • steady
  • sudden (or acute)
  • ongoing (chronic)
  • worsening/ progressing
  • dull
  • intermittent
  • sharp
  • intense

Paying attention to the location of the pain is just as useful. Is the pain coming from the left side most of the time? Does the pain seem to come from the lower abdomen?

The pain may also start in the abdominal area but seem to spread to other areas of the body. Stomach pain may just be all over the abdomen plain and simple. Just take a few minutes to best pinpoint the location of the pain. These are the areas your doctors will focus on.

Stomach pain may be worsened by certain activities. First off, abdominal pain may be worsened by eating in general. More specifically, try to note what foods you eat by journaling your meals, snacks, and any liquid intake.

Is the food to blame?:

Journaling for just a few days may help you narrow down a food or food group that makes your stomach feel unsettled, crampy, or bloated. Also, alcohol may be a doozy.  Here, we have to say that it may not be easy journaling alcoholic mixed drinks because of the long list of ingredients in common cocktails.

For this, make it easy on yourself and take a picture of the drinks or menu items in general you order while your are out. Later, write down as many ingredients. From here, you can narrow down the culprits.

Next week, we are going to continue right along. Stomach pain should not be your norm. Contact Gastroenterology Consultants of Central Florida to relieve your pain. Live your life free of stomach pains. Stop by next time for more in gastro news!

Staff Writer