Q: For the past 2-3 months, I am getting severe pain along the diaphragm, central portion of the stomach every fortnight. The pain is unbearable and I can neither sit nor sleep, as it usually appears at night. Doctors prescribed Pentacid, Femacid 40 and Mucacid syrup. After taking these I feel better. But the problem reappears after a fortnight. The doctor diagnosed it as gastro-enteritis. Please advise.

A:Your symptoms are most likely due to acid peptic disease. However, it is important to exclude other diseases that can give rise to similar symptoms. To be certain about the cause of your pain, I suggest that you should have an ultrasound of the upper abdomen, and an upper GI endoscopy. Besides acid related pain, other causes of pain in central upper abdomen would include gall bladder pain, pain of pancreas, etc. As your symptoms improve after taking acid suppressants, the most likely cause in your case would be acid-peptic disease.