What your stomach symptom might actually be
Six of the commonest reasons people come to a GI clinic in Jalandhar — what each one usually turns out to be, and which single test settles it. This is a map, not a diagnosis: it tells you what to ask about, not what you have.
Some of these need a hospital today
If any of these is happening now, go to the nearest emergency department rather than reading further. Innocent Hearts Hospital on Nakodar Road has 24×7 Gastro ICU cover.
Symptom, likely cause, and the test that decides
Every card says “could be”, not “is”. The same symptom has different answers in a 25-year-old and a 55-year-old, which is exactly why the last line of each card is a test rather than a treatment.
Burning in the chest after meals
Worse lying down or bending forward. Often mistaken for a heart problem — and occasionally it is one, which is why chest pain is never dismissed here.
- Acid reflux (GERD) — the commonest answer by a distance
- Gastritis or an ulcer, especially if painkillers are being taken
- Hiatus hernia, if it has been going on for years
- Something cardiac, if it comes on with exertion rather than food
An upper GI endoscopy settles it if symptoms have lasted more than a few weeks, or if medicines have already been tried and failed.
Bloating and gas most days
Stomach feels tight by evening, better after passing gas or a bowel movement. Usually long-standing rather than new.
- IBS — especially if it comes and goes with stress and stool habit
- Lactose intolerance, if dairy makes it worse within hours
- Small bowel bacterial overgrowth, if there is also loose stool
- Coeliac disease — uncommon, but missed for years when it is there
Usually blood tests first, not a scope. A colonoscopy is only needed if there is bleeding, weight loss, or the symptoms started after 45.
Pain in the upper right abdomen
Often after a fatty or heavy meal, sometimes going through to the back or the right shoulder blade. Can come in waves lasting an hour or two.
- Gallstones — the classic pattern
- Fatty liver, if it is a dull ache rather than colic
- Pancreatitis, if the pain is severe and constant
- A duodenal ulcer, if it eases after eating
An ultrasound of the abdomen is the first test, not a scope. It is cheap, quick, and answers the gallstone question outright.
Change in bowel habit that has stuck
Looser or harder than your normal, for more than three or four weeks. Not one bad week after a wedding.
- IBS, if it alternates and there is no bleeding
- IBD (Crohn's or ulcerative colitis), especially with blood or night-time urgency
- A thyroid problem — worth excluding with one blood test
- A colon polyp or growth, which is why age matters here
A colonoscopy is the honest answer over 45, or at any age with bleeding, anaemia or weight loss. Below that, blood and stool tests usually come first.
Blood when you pass stool
Bright red on the paper or in the pan, or dark blood mixed into the stool. These two mean different things and are not interchangeable.
- Piles or a fissure, if the blood is bright red and on the surface
- Colitis, if there is mucus and urgency with it
- A polyp, which often bleeds silently
- Bleeding higher up, if the stool is black rather than red
Bright red bleeding still needs looking at — “it is just piles” is the assumption that delays a colon diagnosis most often. A colonoscopy settles it.
Feeling full after a few bites
Meals that used to be finished now cannot be. Often with nausea, sometimes with weight coming off on its own.
- Gastritis or an ulcer near the stomach outlet
- Delayed stomach emptying, particularly in long-standing diabetes
- H. pylori infection, which is common and treatable
- A growth at the stomach outlet — uncommon, but the reason this one is not watched and waited
An upper GI endoscopy, and sooner rather than later if weight is falling. This is one symptom where waiting three months is not a neutral choice.
Looking for something else?
These four pages answer different questions. None of them repeat this one.
A fatty liver report is a different conversation
None of the six above is about the liver, because fatty liver usually causes no symptom at all — it turns up on an ultrasound done for something else. If that is what brought you here, the liver report page is the more useful one. Dr. Ankit also formulated Hepatolean Advance Liver Pro+, a sugar-free liver-care protein sold at hepatolean.com — it is a nutrition product, not a treatment for any symptom on this page.
Asked at the desk, most days
Is a stomach specialist the same as a gastroenterologist?
How long should I wait before seeing someone?
Can you tell me what I have over the phone?
Will I definitely need an endoscopy?
I have had this for years. Is it too late?
Two centres, one doctor
OPD hours are different at each. Check before you travel — and bring every old report you have, even the ones you think are useless.
GastroNova Clinic, GTB Nagar
448, GTB Nagar, opposite Prithvi Planet, Jalandhar 144003
Monday – Saturday5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Sunday9:00 am – 11:00 am
Innocent Hearts Hospital, Nakodar Road
Near Wadala Chowk, Nakodar Road, Jalandhar 144003
Monday – Saturday10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Gastro ICU24 × 7
Bring the symptom, and everything already tried for it.
Including the medicines bought over the counter. Those matter more than people expect — painkillers alone explain a good share of what is found on a scope.