Results

Cause of your symptoms

If your abdominal pain settles quickly it is probably due to bowel spasm caused by something you have eaten.

Advice

Try the treatment outlined below for four weeks.

Treatments

Eat a simple diet and if necessary take antispasmodic tablets. A pharmacist can advise on suitable treatments.

What now?

If you get better nothing further needs to be done. However, if your abdominal pain persists for four more weeks or recurs after stopping treatment see your GP.

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You are over 50 yrs old and have abdominal pain with a normal appetite and no weight loss. You have no rectal bleeding and no change in your bowel habit.

Additional information if you see your GP

Your GP will probably examine your tummy and back passage and do a blood test and if these are normal you are at low risk of having severe bowel disease and it would be reasonable to advise a further period of treat watch and wait. However, if your symptoms don’t settle completely your GP may refer you to a routine hospital clinic for further investigations and advice on how to manage your abdominal pain.

In healthy patients aged 50-70 years old not having previous colonic investigations, a single flexible sigmoidoscopy has the added benefit of detecting incidental but significant polyps which if removed may prevent a bowel cancer developing in the future - ‘opportunistic screening'.