11/5/2015

Dyspepsia(Indigestion)AmericanFamilyPhysician

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patienteducationWebsite.

InformationfromYourFamilyDoctor

Dyspepsia(Indigestion)
AmFamPhysician.2011Mar183(5):554.

See related article on evaluationandmanagementofdyspepsia

(http://www.aafp.org/afp/2011/0301/p547).

Whatisdyspepsia?
Dyspepsia(disPEPseah)isanothernameforindigestion.Itcancausebloating,ormakeyoufeelfulltoo
earlywhenyoueat.Itmayalsocauseacidreflux(aburningpainthatmovesupfromyourstomachinto
yourchest),nausea,orvomiting.

Whatcausesit?
Dyspepsiacanbecausedbymanythings.However,inmanypeoplethecauseisunknown.Thisiscalled
functionaldyspepsia.
Insomecasesofdyspepsia,yourstomachmaynotbeemptyingproperly,oryoumayhaveacidbuildup.
Sometimesyoucangetdyspepsiafromtakingoverthecounterpainmedicines,suchasibuprofen(one
brand:Motrin)oraspirin.Somepeoplegetulcersintheirstomachorintestinesfrombacteriacalled
Helicobacterpylori.Infectionfromthisbacteriacancauseindigestion.
Sometimesdyspepsiacanbeasignofsomethingserious,suchasgallstones.Inrarecases,itmaybea
signofstomachcancer.Othersignsofseriousdiseaseincludeunplannedweightloss,anemia(ablood
problem),lossofappetite,troubleswallowing,frequentvomiting,andindigestionsymptomsthatbegin
after55yearsofage.Talktoyourdoctorifyouhavethesesymptoms.

Howisittreated?
Youshouldstoptakingoverthecounterpainmedicines.Drinkinglessalcohol,quittingsmoking,and
changingyourdietmayhelp.Trytoavoidfoodsthatmakeyoursymptomsworse.
Indigestionmaygetworseifyouarestressedordepressed.Yourdoctorcanhelpyoufindhealthywaysto
copewithstressortalktoyouabouttreatingdepression.

Canmedicinehelp?
Ifyouhavepainorburning,yourdoctormayrecommendmedicine,suchasranitidine(onebrand:
Zantac)oromeprazole(onebrand:Prilosec).Thereareothermedicinesthatmayhelpifyoufeelbloated
orfull.Ifyouhaveabacterialinfection,youmayneedantibiotics.

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Dyspepsia(Indigestion)AmericanFamilyPhysician

WherecanIgetmoreinformation?
Yourdoctor
AAFP'sPatientEducationResource
Website:http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseasesconditions/dyspepsia.html
(http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseasesconditions/dyspepsia.html)

ThishandoutisprovidedtoyoubyyourfamilydoctorandtheAmericanAcademyofFamilyPhysicians.
OtherhealthrelatedinformationisavailablefromtheAAFPonlineathttp://familydoctor.org
(http://www.familydoctor.org).
Thisinformationprovidesageneraloverviewandmaynotapplytoeveryone.Talktoyourfamilydoctorto
findoutifthisinformationappliestoyouandtogetmoreinformationonthissubject.
Copyright2011bytheAmericanAcademyofFamilyPhysicians.
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Dyspepsia(Indigestion)AmericanFamilyPhysician
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