Abdominal pain and weight loss can have many causes -- from simple gastritis to a colon blockage. The diagnosis of your symptoms will begin with keeping a close watch on when they occur and their severity, and relaying that information to your health care provider. If your stomach distress accelerates to vomiting blood, seek immediate medical attention.
Identification
Abdominal pain is a fairly common complaint. It refers to any pain that occurs from below the heart to above the pelvis and can be chronic or acute. To help your doctor identify the source of the pain and weight loss you'll need to better pinpoint the area of pain. Additionally you need to record how much weight you have lost and if the weight loss is caused by eating fewer calories or a malabsorption issue.
Significance
Identifying the area of the abdominal distress can help your doctor pinpoint and treat your problem. Lower abdominal pain accompanied by weight loss can be caused by diverticulitis, diverticulosis, Crohn's disease, appendicitis or ovarian cysts or cancer. Upper abdominal pain accompanied by weight loss could indicate gallstones, ulcer, pancreatitis or intestinal blockage. More diffuse pain with weight loss can be irritable bowel, gastritis or stomach cancer. Because there are so many issues that begin with abdominal pain and weight loss, it's essential to keep track of exactly when the pain occurs, where it occurs, how long it occurs and if it resolves.
Considerations
Food poisoning and viruses will also cause abdominal pain and weight loss, but they are usually acute bouts followed by recovery. If your abdominal pain is chronic and recurring, it is unlikely to be a virus or food poisoning.
Tests
Your health care provider may schedule tests to help diagnose your abdominal pain and weight loss. Tests may include an endoscopy, which sends a small camera into the digestive tract to diagnose abnormalities, a colonoscopy, which can diagnose issues specific to the colon, barium X-ray studies to gauge how substances move through the digestive tract, or ultrasound, CT scans and MRIs to diagnose cysts and masses. You physician may also test your bowel movements for blood.
Prevention/Solution
If your problem is recurring, you can keep a food and emotional journal to help you determine triggers for the condition. By keeping careful watch on what causes your stomach distress, you'll be able to eliminate foods that cause the problem or take prophylactic action with acid reducers if necessary.
