Q:

From about the time I came back for Winter quarter, I've started feeling nauseous every now and then. Mostly I notice it at meals, after I've eaten a bit. I feel like I eat a pretty fair amount of food, so I've been trying to eat a bit smaller. If I've eaten more than this curbed amount however, I'll have kind of sharp stomach pains about an hour or so afterward. They don't last longer than 30 min and are usually pretty slight, but sometimes I have to curl up somewhere and not move or else it gets worse. Do you know what might be causing this? The only thing I can think of is that I'm eating too much, but I'm not eating any more than I used to.

 

A:

There are several possibilities:

• Stomach lining irritation or gastritis from excessive acid, sometimes caused by stress, or overuse of caffeine, alcohol or anti inflammatories like ibuprofen, naproxen or aspirin
• Esophageal reflux or stomach ulcer resulting from increasing acid/gastritis food intolerance such as to milk or wheat
• Pancreas inflammation for unclear reasons
• Gall bladder attacks, worse especially with fatty meals
• If you are female, possibility of pregnancy

It sounds as if we should see you since it is bothering you so much.

~The Doc