Results

Cause of your symptoms

Your abdominal pain or discomfort and change in bowel habit may have been caused by something you have eaten.

Advice

Try the simple treatments outlined below for two weeks. However, if your abdominal pain is preventing any of your activities like working or sleeping see your GP.

Treatments

Try a simple diet for your change in bowel habit and take antispasmodic tablets for your abdominal pain or discomfort and. A pharmacist can advise on suitable treatments.

What now?

If you quickly get completely better nothing further needs to be done. However, if your symptoms persist for two more weeks or recur after stopping treatment see your GP.

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You are over 50 yrs old and have abdominal pain associated with weight loss and or a reduction in appetite and a non-specific change in bowel habit but no rectal bleeding.

Additional information if you see your GP

People who eat less to avoid their abdominal pain or discomfort and or lose a significant amount of weight may have a partial bowel blockage and are likely to be promptly referred for investigation in hospital.

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'.