Questionable Abdominal Pain Has Multiple Causes

Dear Ask The Doctor: We were desperately trying to find out the cause of these symptoms, if you could help us please! Symptoms are lower abdominal pain, achy pain, number 6 on pain chart, starts lower in stomach, some sparatic sharper pain here and there, constant headaches all day everyday, nausea, bloating/fullness, difficulty eating due to upset stomach but no weight loss, dizziness/faint, white outs and hot flashes, always not feeling well, always tired and run down, severe pain somtime so bad that uncapable of moving or standing more so falling over because of the pain. Please help us!

Dear Rob: There are many causes of abdominal pain, and this pain can arise from the gastrointestinal tract, the liver or biliary tree, the pancreas, the kidneys or genitourinary system, the muscular wall and sometimes it can be referred pain from another source. I advise attending your family doctor for a detailed history of the pain and clinical examination. He can perform routine blood tests including: complete blood count, urea and electrolyte profile; liver function tests; kidney function and check inflammatory markers. He can also perform some bedside tests to check your blood sugar level and urine. If any of the results are abnormal he may refer you to a specialist in that particular field.