Ongoing Abdominal Pain? It Could Be One of These Gastrointestinal Diseases

Maybe your abdominal pain comes and goes. Or maybe the pain is more of a discomfort because of bloating. Or, worse still, your abdominal pain is constant and it’s casting a shadow over everything. 

Gut health is a strong piece of your overall wellness puzzle, so when something’s off in your digestive system, it can greatly impact your quality of life. Unfortunately, millions of Americans struggle with abdominal pain on a daily basis due to gastrointestinal (GI) issues.

At LaSante Health Center, our multi-disciplinary team includes gastroenterology specialists who have a lot of experience helping patients find relief from abdominal pain.

Thanks to this extensive experience, we’re familiar with the common culprits behind chronic abdominal pain, and we want to discuss a few of them here.

Irritable bowel syndrome

Let's start with one of the most commonly diagnosed GI issues — irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) — which affects between 5% and 10% of the worldwide population.

IBS can lead to:

• Abdominal pain
• Bloating
• Constipation, diarrhea, or both
• Mucus in your stool
• Excessive gas

The abdominal pain is generalized and involves your intestines, so the discomfort can be anywhere in your belly.

Inflammatory bowel disease

This GI issue includes two distinct diagnoses: Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and cumulatively, they affect between 2.4 and 3.1 million Americans. 

In either case, symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) include:

• Chronic diarrhea
• Abdominal pain that’s often described as cramping
• Blood in your stool
• Fatigue
• Increased bowel movement urgency

IBD can flare, so many people experience quiet periods that are disrupted by IBD flare-ups.

Diverticulitis

Each year in the United States, diverticulitis sends about 200,000 Americans to the hospital, to say nothing of the many more who manage the condition without hospitalization.

With diverticulitis, pouches form in the colon and when waste matter gets caught in one of these pouches, it can lead to inflammation and:

• Abdominal pain, usually in the lower left quadrant of your abdomen
• Fever and chills
• Nausea and vomiting
• Constipation and/or diarrhea
• Bloating and gas

These symptoms tend to come on fast, and they’re hard to ignore, which is good because you should come see us right away if these symptoms develop.

Gallbladder disease

Did you know that there are more than 20.5 million cases of gallbladder disease in the US? Or that, in most cases, people are unaware of the problem?

Gallbladder disease often strikes in the form of gallstones, and symptoms tend to only arise when a stone blocks the duct, which can lead to:

• Sudden and severe pain, usually in the right upper quadrant of your abdomen
• Tenderness in your upper right belly
• Nausea and vomiting

As with diverticulitis, if you experience sudden and severe abdominal symptoms, please come see us immediately.

Pancreatitis

Another road to abdominal pain includes pancreatitis, which is often tied to gallbladder disease. Symptoms of this common condition include:

• Severe upper abdominal pain
• Pain that radiates to your back
• Nausea and vomiting
• Jaundice
• Fever
• Tender and swollen abdomen

If any of these symptoms develop, please get medical care immediately, as pancreatitis is very serious.

Finding relief from your abdominal pain

The best way to find relief from your nagging abdominal pain is to come see us for a full evaluation. This is really important, because how we treat each of these issues can be very different.

To get that set up, please call our Brooklyn, New York, clinic at 718-246-5700, or use our online booking tool to set up an appointment. You can also visit our urgent care center as a walk-in.

Our team proudly serves the Flatbush and East Flatbush, Crown Heights, Park Slope, Little Haiti, Little Caribbean, and Prospect Lefferts Gardens communities.