Recurring Abdominal Pain

Your improvement after eating strongly suggests that you have an injury or irritation of your stomach or small intestine lining. After you eat, your stomach and small intestine coat themselves with soothing mucus and can temporarily relieve pain.

For the time being, we will narrow our thinking to problems that occur in the stomach or small intestine. As we consider possible diagnoses, it is important to identify symptoms that could be a sign of a dangerous condition in one of these areas.

Have you experienced any of the following worrisome symptoms:

• vomiting with blood

• black stools with a tar-like or paste-like texture (caused by deteriorated blood)

• difficulty swallowing

• fever

• unexplained weight loss?

Yes, I have experienced one or more of these symptoms.

No, I do not have any of these symptoms.