Stomach pains can be very disruptive to your lifestyle and sense of well being. Pancreatitis is one possible cause of abdominal discomfort, but there are many others. Generally speaking, however, digestive enzyme supplements won't help with stomach pain, though they can help with gut pain under certain conditions. Talk to your doctor about using them.
Digestive Enzymes
There are many common misconceptions regarding digestive enzymes and how they work. Your own digestive tract makes and secretes digestive enzymes that break down the nutrient molecules in your food. Without these enzymes, you wouldn't be able to extract nutrition from the food you eat. In most cases, you don't need and don't benefit from digestive enzyme supplements; they can't help with any physical conditions other than digestive enzyme deficiencies, which are generally quite rare.
Stomach Pain
There are many different reasons you might have stomach pain. One possible reason is that you could have a stomach ulcer. This is generally due to a bacterial infection, and is something your doctor can test for if you have chronic stomach pain. Alternately, you could have stomach pain of unknown cause. MayoClinic.com notes that this is relatively common, and doctors refer to it as a functional disorder, meaning it isn't the result of a particular condition.
Digestive Enzyme Supplements
While no digestive enzyme supplements can help with pain in your actual stomach, if you have pain in the abdominal region, it might be your intestines that are troubling you. If this is the case, and if the pain is the result of bloating or cramping as a result of being unable to digest certain components of your food, digestive enzyme supplements might help. While most digestive enzyme deficiencies are very rare, lactose intolerance is relatively common, causes intestinal discomfort, and is alleviated through using lactase supplements, explains MayoClinic.com.
Guidelines
If you experience stomach pain routinely or have severe stomach pain, you should contact your physician for a checkup. If you have stomach pain infrequently or after eating, you could simply be experiencing acid stomach or indigestion. There are over-the-counter and home remedies, including antacid and indigestion medications, that can help with your symptoms. There are also over-the-counter remedies such as anti-gas medications for pains that occur lower down, in the intestines.
