Home Care:

• Allow enough time for meals.
• Chew food carefully and completely.
• Avoid arguments during meals.
• Avoid excitement or exercise immediately after a meal.
• A calm environment and rest may help relieve stress-related indigestion.
• Avoid aspirin and other NSAIDs. If you must take them, do so on a full stomach.
• Antacids may relieve indigestion. Stronger medications are available over-the-counter, such as ranitidine (Zantac) and omeprazole (Prilosec OTC). Your doctor may prescribe similar medications in higher doses or for longer periods of time than over-the-counter drugs recommend.

Call your health care provider if:

Seek immediate medical help if your symptoms include jaw pain, chest pain, back pain, profuse sweating, anxiety, or a feeling of impending doom. These are possible heart attack symptoms.

Call your health care provider if:

• Indigestion symptoms change noticeably
• Symptoms last longer than a few days
• You have unexplained weight loss
• You have sudden, severe abdominal pain
• You have trouble swallowing
• You have yellow coloring of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
• You vomit blood or pass blood in the stool

What to expect at your health care provider's office:

Your doctor will perform a physical examination, paying special attention to the stomach area and digestive tract. You will be asked questions about your symptoms, including:

• Does the discomfort begin or get worse after eating particular foods?
• Does it begin or get worse after drinking alcoholic or carbonated drinks?
• Do you eat fast?
• Have you been overeating?
• Have you changed your diet?
• Have you had any spicy, high-fiber, or fatty foods?
• Do you drink a lot of caffeinated beverages (tea, soda, coffee)?
• What medications are you taking?
• Have you changed medications recently?
• What other symptoms do you have? For example, stomach pain or vomiting.

The following tests may be performed:

• Abdominal ultrasound
• Blood tests (depending on the suspected cause)
• Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD )
• Upper GI and small bowel series