Ask a doctor on the topic of Internal medicine

Complaints in the upper abdomen, a lot of stress.

March 19, 2015 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Frauke Gehring

Hello, I am a 37 year old woman and have been suffering from an anxiety disorder since the birth of my daughter 2 years ago. I constantly worry about getting a serious illness. I am also waiting for a therapy spot in this regard. About a year ago, I had severe stomach problems for the first time, which manifested as heartburn, nausea, and acid reflux. A stomach endoscopy revealed an acute gastritis without a stomach germ. After I went to a spa and the endoscopy did not show any "cancer", the pain was gone. Now, for about 6 weeks, I have been under a lot of stress (with my partner, moving, building a house, and fear of illness) and have strong upper abdominal pain again. This time I felt the pain in the middle/left upper abdomen. Initially a burning sensation and later sharp, stabbing pain, no cramps, as if someone is stabbing a knife into the stomach and it comes out the back. The pain worsened when I was upset or after meals. Now I have been on a light diet for about 3 weeks and the pain has reduced to a burning sensation in the middle, left upper abdomen. When I press on the stomach, it burns more (as if inflamed) and sometimes it itches afterwards. I am worried again, mostly consuming chamomile tea and oatmeal, and waiting for the results of the upcoming stomach endoscopy in 4 weeks. My question is, could it be just a "simple" gastritis again, even if this time I do not feel any nausea or have acid reflux on only a few days? I am very worried that I have stomach cancer. A full blood count was done by my doctor. All values were within the normal range except my leukocytes were at 2.8.

Thank you.

Dr. med. Frauke Gehring

Good day,

Stomach cancer at your age would be extremely unlikely and grows very slowly and painlessly until it is found. That's why it probably would have been detected in its early stages around 2 years ago. It doesn't fit your symptoms at all!
However, gastritis is a possibility, as it can be caused not only by Helicobacter infection, but also by stress and worry.

Heartburn occurs when the stomach entrance does not close properly; this has nothing to do with gastritis.

However, I find it unacceptable not to treat you now with stomach acid blockers like Omep! With these (e.g. Omeprazole 40 mg in the morning on an empty stomach), you would likely be symptom-free in 2 weeks, even without a restrictive diet! It is perfectly in line with guidelines to treat in this way even without a gastroscopy. So please urgently ask your doctor for a prescription and forget your fear!

Warm regards,
Dr. Höllering