by “If there is stomach pain that doesn’t feel normal to you, I recommend seeing a primary care physician and a gastroenterologist to understand what’s going on,” Nathoo said.
If you can’t see a gastroenterologist for a while, Sarker said just seeing a primary care doctor is also fine. “You don’t really want to delay if you’re not comfortable,” Sarker noted. Stomach problems can be debilitating and even cause other problems with bowel movements and eating habits.
“At the end of the day, all pain is real and needs to be evaluated,” Nathoo said.
But the type of pain you’re experiencing should dictate your next steps, because some symptoms are more serious than others, especially if you experience sudden new pain.
“If people are experiencing severe, sharp pain, they should go to the emergency room. The problem would be that the pain could be due to a cause that requires urgent intervention,” explained Nathoo.
Some symptoms that may accompany stomach pain should also be treated as quickly as possible.
“If it’s a new symptom, we always say you should probably see someone,” Sarker said. This is especially true if certain gastrointestinal “alarm factors,” which Sarker says are new abdominal pain, intestinal bleeding and weight loss, coincide with the pain.
Although a one-time stomach upset can occur, if you experience mild, chronic stomach pain, you should see a doctor if the pain is not debilitating and persists for more than a week or two, said Nathoo.
It’s also important to take any pain or symptoms seriously if you have a family history of stomach, esophagus, or colon cancer, according to Dr. Ekta Gupta, a gastroenterologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.
Colorectal cancer is increasingly common among young people, according to a recent report from the American Cancer Society. Colorectal cancer diagnoses increased from 11% in 1995 to 20% in 2019 among people under 55 years old. So this is something that everyone should take seriously.
Abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, and blood in the stool are all signs of the disease, so it is important to report any bowel-related symptoms to a doctor.
