HomeAnswersMedical Gastroenterologyabdomen painWhat could be the reason for abdominal pain in elderly with diabetics?

My father has mild to moderate abdominal pain for the past 5 days. Please suggest medication.

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The following is an actual conversation between an iCliniq user and a doctor that has been reviewed and published as a Premium Q&A.

Answered by

Dr. Ajeet Kumar

Medically reviewed by

Dr. Vinodhini J.

Published At June 21, 2020
Reviewed AtNovember 30, 2023

Patient's Query

Hello doctor,

My father is 71 years old. He having abdominal pain in the middle for the past four to five days. Pain is constant and mild to moderate in intensity. He is not having any issue in passing stools or urine but sometimes complains of burning sensation while passing stools. His appetite is good. No vomiting or diarrhea. No fever. His current medial history includes diabetes and hypertension. He is an Alzheimer patient. Can you please prescribe some medication for his abdominal pain.

Answered by Dr. Ajeet Kumar

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I can understand you must be very upset about your father's health. Well, you see the abdominal pain in such age is often an alarming finding, and I urge you to get him some investigations before giving any blanket cover of medicines.

Common possibilities in his age are:

1. Mesenteric ischemia, which is the narrowing of the blood vessel supplying the blood to abdominal organs. This can frequently occur in old age with diabetes and hypertension. The pain arises because of lack of blood supply to organs like small bowel, large bowel, and others.

2. The second possibility is pain due to any organ within the abdomen which is inflamed commonly the pancreas (a gland over the back of the tummy), and large bowel.

3. And lastly, since he has a problem with constipation the gas accumulation can also be the reason of his abdominal pain. But remember, we cannot say that it is because of gas distension unless we exclude all other possibilities which are more concerning.

I suggest you to get investigations which I write below. Only after the investigation, we can be able to diagnose the problem and treat it appropriately. I really hope this set of investigations will help us to approach the problem correctly.

The Probable causes

Mesenteric ischemia. Pancreatitis, gall bladder or common bile duct stones. Colitis, colonic neoplasia. Gas, constipation related.

Investigations to be done

Compete blood count. Serum amylase and lipase. Liver function tests. Serum lactate level and serum CRP (c-reactive protein). HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin). Lipid profile. Stool for detailed report. Stool for occult blood on consecutive three days. Stool for fecal calprotectin.

Treatment plan

Capsule Esomeprazole 40 mg half an hour before meals. Ispagol husk two tablespoons full with water daily.

Regarding follow up

Follow up after investigation.

Same symptoms don't mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!

Dr. Ajeet Kumar
Dr. Ajeet Kumar

Medical Gastroenterology

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