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What Leads To Functional Dyspepsia & Can It Be Cured?

Functional dyspepsia refers to a chronic disorder related to peristalsis i.e. movement and sensation in the upper digestive tract of a person. Here, peristalsis implies the regular downward squeezing and pumping of the stomach, esophagus and small intestine and it starts after you swallow anything.(1)

Doctors mention this condition as functional because your upper digestive tract or area does not have any problem, but you experience bothersome symptoms. Moreover, the condition may be chronic as well as affect the quality of your life. Positively, you may reduce your discomfort levels because of functional dyspepsia in different ways.

These include bringing changes in your lifestyle, therapy, and medication-based treatments.(2)

What Leads To Functional Dyspepsia?

Functional dyspepsia does not take place from a single cause. Instead, there are many reasons, because of which an individual develops this problem. Moreover, a few of the causes associated with the condition are-

  • A bacterium called Helicobacter pylori, which usually grows within the digestive tract and tends to attack the person’s stomach linings
  • Changes in the person’s intestinal microbiome
  • Certain types of allergens
  • Infection
  • When the secretion of acid from the body exceeds its normal level
  • Inflammation in the individual’s upper digestive tract
  • A disruption in the ability of one’s stomach in digesting food
  • Poor lifestyle and diet plan
  • Cigarette smoking and alcohol
  • High levels of stress as well as anxiety
  • Side effects of a few of the specific medicines, like the nonsteroidal type of anti-inflammatory drugs

Stomach muscles impairment, which results in slowness in the empty of stomach within the duodenum i.e. the first segment present in the human’s small intestine
In very rare cases, people suffering from IBS i.e. irritable bowel syndrome also suffer from the problem of functional dyspepsia. However, doctors have failed to find a link between the two diseases.(4)

Can Functional Dyspepsia Be Cured?

Until now, doctors have failed to find any proper cure for functional dyspepsia. However, many people succeeded to manage their functional dyspepsia symptoms via a few major lifestyle changes. These are-

  • Reduction, removal or management of any ongoing cause related to anxiety and stress
  • Avoiding any food items or drinks, which can make your symptoms worse, like for instance fatty foods and caffeinated beverages
  • Having small but frequent meals instead of large and a few meals
  • Lose the extra body weight
  • Reduce your alcohol intake and cigarette smoking activities

Excluding this, you should undergo treatment for Helicobacter pylori with the essential antibiotic medicines to reduce your symptoms significantly. Secondly, you should look for a few of the common medicines, like proton pump inhibitors, antacids, and histamine blockers. These medicines help in reducing the acid content in your stomach. Finally, doctors recommend for some of the pain medications to treat pain or depression. You have to use them at a low dose for the treatment of your functional dyspepsia.(5)

Symptoms Of Functional Dyspepsia

Symptoms associated with functional dyspepsia varies among people. However, in most of the cases, you experience-

  • Pain or burning sensation in your upper digestive tract
  • Gas and bloating
  • Vomiting
  • Feeling full even after having only a small amount
  • Nausea
  • Burping
  • Severe weight loss
  • Sour taste in your mouth
  • Psychological distress associated with the condition

However, you have to experience the symptoms of functional dyspepsia at least for one month before you should undergo diagnosis with it. Moreover, your symptoms may arrive and go with time depending solely on the level of stress you experience, your lifestyle changes and other major triggers. Besides, many people succeed to manage their functional dyspepsia symptoms effective, while others identify that their symptoms go away eventually.(3)

Conclusion

To conclude, we should say that functional dyspepsia in humans takes place because of multiple reasons and it cannot be cured completely. Instead, patients may manage their symptoms by choosing a healthy lifestyle combined with the necessary medications based on the consultation of a doctor.

References:

Also Read:

Team PainAssist
Team PainAssist
Written, Edited or Reviewed By: Team PainAssist, Pain Assist Inc. This article does not provide medical advice. See disclaimer
Last Modified On:December 16, 2019

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