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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffTo investigate your signs and symptoms of indigestion, your doctor will likely review your medical history and perform a physical exam. To rule out other conditions that can cause indigestion, the doctor might order tests, including:
- X rays of your esophagus, stomach and small intestine. Also called an upper gastrointestinal and small bowel series, this exam uses X-rays to make images of the inside of your body.
- Blood, breath or stool tests. These help determine whether peptic ulcer disease is causing symptoms.
- Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. After you've been sedated, a long, thin tube with an attached camera is placed in your mouth, down your esophagus and into your stomach. The doctor looks for abnormalities and may remove some tissue (biopsy) for later examination.
- Abdominal ultrasound. Using high-frequency sound waves, an ultrasound makes images that show movement, structure and blood flow. A gel is applied to your abdomen, and then a hand-held device that emits sound waves is pressed against your skin.
- Abdominal CT scan. A dye might be injected into your veins in order to get more-detailed pictures of inside your body. Then, you lie on a table and the CT scanner rotates around you, taking X-ray pictures as it moves.
References
- Indigestion. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/indigestion. Accessed March 14, 2009.
- Feldman M, et al. Treatment of functional dyspepsia. In: Feldman M, et al. Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/127528571-4/0/1389/50.html?tocnode=51637799&fromURL=50.html#4-u1.0-B1-4160-0245-6..50012-3_220. Accessed March 23, 2009.
- Longstreth GF. Functional dyspepsia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 14, 2009.
- Longstreth GF. Approach to the patient with dyspepsia. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 14, 2009.
- Geeraerts B, et al. Functional dyspepsia: Past, present and future. Journal of Gastroenterology. 2008;43:251.
- Prescrire editorial staff. Herbal remedies for dyspepsia: Peppermint seems effective. Prescrire International. 2008;17:121.
- Soo S, et al. Psychological interventions for non-ulcer dyspepsia. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2009:CD002301.
- von Arnim U, et al. STW 5, a phytopharmacon for patients with functional dyspepsia: Results of a multicenter, placebo-controlled double-blind study. 2007;102:1268.
- Picco MF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla. March 31, 2009.
- Understanding antidepressant medications. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/antidepressants010909.html. Accessed March 31, 2009.
