For most people, indigestion (dyspepsia) is mild and infrequent, and does not require treatment from a healthcare professional. However, see your GP if you have indigestion regularly or if it causes you severe pain or discomfort.
Your GP will ask you about your symptoms of indigestion as well as:
- any other symptoms you have, which may indicate an underlying health condition
- any medication you are taking as some medications can cause indigestion
- your lifestyle as some lifestyle factors can cause indigestion, such as smoking or drinking alcohol
Your GP may also examine your abdomen (tummy) by pressing gently on different areas to establish whether or not this is painful.
Depending on the type of indigestion symptoms you have, your GP may want to investigate your condition further. This is because indigestion can sometimes be a symptom of an underlying condition or health problem, such as a Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) infection.
Details of some of the further investigations you may have are outlined below.
Diagnosing anaemia
Your GP may carry out a blood test if you have any symptoms of anaemia (a condition that is caused by a lack of red blood cells). The symptoms of anaemia can include:
- tiredness
- breathlessness
- an irregular heartbeat
Your GP will take a blood sample from a vein in your arm and carry out a full blood count (FBC). This means that all the different types of blood cells in the sample will be measured.
If you have anaemia, the blood test will indicate that you have a shortage of red blood cells (cells that carry oxygen) in your blood. A lack of red blood cells may be the result of gastrointestinal bleeding (internal bleeding into your stomach or intestines).
See the Health A-Z topic about Anaemia - diagnosis for more information about how the condition is diagnosed.
Endoscopy
An endoscopy is a procedure where the inside of your body is examined using an endoscope. An endoscope is a thin, flexible tube, about the width of your little finger, which has a light and a camera on one end. The camera is used to relay images of the inside of your body to a TV monitor.
An endoscopy is not often needed to diagnose indigestion, but your GP may suggest that you have one if:
- they need to examine the inside of your abdomen in more detail
- you have had treatment for indigestion that has not been effective
- you have any serious symptoms (see Indigestion - symptoms)
Endoscopies are carried out in hospital. During the procedure, you will be awake but you may be given a sedative to help you relax. The surgeon will gently feed the endoscope down your throat and into your stomach. This will allow your surgeon to see images of the inside of your abdomen on a TV monitor.
See the Health A-Z topic about Diagnostic endoscopy for more information about this procedure.
Taking certain medicines for indigestion can hide some of the problems that could otherwise be spotted during an endoscopy. For at least two weeks before your endoscopy, you will need to stop taking:
- proton pump inhibitors (PPIs)
- H2-receptor antagonists
Your GP may also recommend changing other medications that may be causing your indigestion. However, only stop taking medication if you are advised to do so by your GP or another healthcare professional responsible for your care.
See Indigestion - treatment for more information about PPIs and H2-receptor antagonists.
Diagnosing Helicobacter pylori infection
If your GP thinks that your symptoms may be due to an infection with Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) bacteria, you may need to have several tests, such as:
- a urea breath test: you will be given a special drink containing a chemical that can be digested by the bacteria, and your breath will then tested for H pylori
- a stool antigen test: a pea-sized stool (faeces) sample will be tested for H pylori bacteria
- a blood test: a blood sample will be tested for antibodies to H pylori bacteria (antibodies are proteins that are produced by the body to fight infection)
Antibiotics (medication to treat infections) and PPIs can affect the results of a urea breath test or a stool antigen test. Therefore, these tests may need to be delayed until two weeks after you last used a PPI, and four weeks after you last used an antibiotic.
Diagnosing other conditions
If your GP thinks that your indigestion symptoms may be caused by another underlying medical condition, you may need to have some further tests.
For example, abdominal pain and discomfort can also be caused by biliary conditions, which affect the bile ducts in your liver. The liver is the largest organ in your body and performs many functions, including storing energy and producing chemicals.
Your bile ducts are a series of tubes that carry bile (fluid used by the digestive system to break down fats) from the liver to the gallbladder (a pouch that holds bile) and the small intestine (part of the digestive system).
If your GP thinks that you may have a biliary condition, they may suggest that you have a liver function test. This is a type of blood test that can be used to assess how well your liver is working.
You may also need to have an abdominal ultrasound. An ultrasound scan uses high-frequency sound waves to create an image of the inside of your body. See the Health A-Z topic about Ultrasounds for more information about this procedure.
